As a global pop icon, ROSÉ finds it difficult to move through public spaces unnoticed. In a recent Dazed cover story released on May 29, the BLACKPINK member revealed that she once disguised herself as an elderly woman using prosthetic wrinkles and a gray wig to avoid recognition.
“It was really, really intense,” she said, explaining that the anxiety of potentially being discovered in disguise outweighed the brief sense of freedom it offered. “I don’t think I’ll ever do that again.”
Despite the experience, she admitted she still longs to feel like a normal person. “What does freedom look like to me?” she asked during the interview. “Freedom means being anonymous.”
ROSÉ also expressed how she misses “not having to be terrified of small things” and “not having to be the annoying person in the room full of my friends who is paranoid about something, when I want to be very nonchalant and chill, but I have to be careful about everything.”
“Even if I’m not doing anything wrong, I have to think, ‘What if this makes people think that I’m doing something wrong?’” she added, describing her constant “fear of being misunderstood.”
Currently at the height of her fame, the New Zealand-born artist has not only maintained her place in BLACKPINK, one of the most prominent girl groups in the world, but also achieved solo success. Her first solo album Rosie, released in December, included the hit single “APT.” with Bruno Mars, which held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Global 200 for 12 consecutive weeks.
This summer, ROSÉ is preparing to reunite with fellow BLACKPINK members LISA, JENNIE, and JISOO for a global tour starting in July. She briefly commented on the reunion to Dazed: “Each of us has gone out and been inspired and learned so much about ourselves, and now we’re coming back to each other with good energy.”
Discussing her personal goals, the “Number One Girl” singer shared her dream of one day receiving a Grammy. “That would be incredible,” she said. “But I think if it means more to my community, it’d be special. That’s the first thing that I want, and whatever awards or celebration comes after it, that would feel extra rewarding.”
