Feb. 1, 2026

2026 Grammy Nominee - ROSÉ & Bruno Mars - APT.

Show Notes
Transcript

Welcome back to Hitmaker Chronicles! I'm your host, Garrett Fisher. This week we add to our Grammy countdown with ROSÉ and Bruno Mars' "Apateau" - the drinking game that became K-pop history. We'll trace how a late-night McDonald's run turned into the year's biggest song, why ROSÉ begged her team to delete it from their phones, and how teaching Bruno to say "apateau" created a billion-stream phenomenon. It's a story about stacked hands, perfect storms, and proving that staying authentic to your culture can make the whole world sing along.

Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed!

Subscribe now for exclusive shows like 'Palace Intrigue,' and get bonus content from Deep Crown (our exclusive Palace Insider!) Or get 'Daily Comedy News,' and '5 Good News Stories’ with no commercials! Plans start at $4.99 per month, or save 20% with a yearly plan at $49.99. Join today and help support the show!

We now have Merch! FREE SHIPPING! Check out all the products like T-shirts, mugs, bags, jackets and more with logos and slogans from your favorite shows! Did we mention there’s free shipping? Get 10% off with code NewMerch10 Go to Caloroga.com

Get more info from Caloroga Shark Media and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to get in touch our email is info@caloroga.com

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:13.880
Caalaroga Shark Media. I'm Garrett Fischer and on a tired evening.

2
00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.640
In November twenty twenty three, Rose was wrapping up another

3
00:00:17.719 --> 00:00:21.199
long studio session in Los Angeles. She'd been working with

4
00:00:21.280 --> 00:00:26.679
a dream team producers Sircut, Omayer Fetti and Rose Shahayed,

5
00:00:27.079 --> 00:00:31.480
plus songwriters Amy Allen and Theren Thomas. They'd spent all

6
00:00:31.559 --> 00:00:34.840
day trying to craft an R and B track slower

7
00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:39.600
and more serious. It wasn't clicking. Everyone was exhausted, the

8
00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:42.439
kind of exhausted where you order McDonald's at midnight and

9
00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:46.920
just need to decompress. And that's when Rose started teaching

10
00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:51.079
them a Korean drinking game. It's called the apartment game

11
00:00:51.399 --> 00:00:54.679
Apa tow in Korean, which is how Koreans pronounced the

12
00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:59.799
English word apartment. The game is simple. Players chant apa

13
00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:04.159
apatow while stacking their hands in a pile. The leader

14
00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:07.400
calls out a number representing a floor in an apartment building.

15
00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.760
You count as hands moved from bottom to top. Whoever

16
00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:13.480
lands on that floor number has to take a shot.

17
00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:16.959
Rose was showing Amy Allen and omer Fetti how to

18
00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:23.719
play laughing stacking hands chanting apatow apatow in rhythm songwriter

19
00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:27.200
there on Thomas looked up and said, wait, what is that?

20
00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:29.560
That's so cool? We should put that in a song,

21
00:01:30.439 --> 00:01:32.920
And just like that, after an entire day trying to

22
00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:36.319
force something that wasn't working, they stumbled into what would

23
00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:40.519
become the biggest song of twenty twenty five. Let's back up,

24
00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:45.480
because to understand how Appatoe became historic, the first K

25
00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:47.879
pop song nominated for a Record of the Year at

26
00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:51.239
the Grammys, the number one song on Billboard's year end

27
00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:54.280
Global two hundred chart, you need to understand who Rose

28
00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:58.319
is and how unlikely this entire journey was. Roseanne Park,

29
00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:02.040
known professionally as Rose, was born in Auckland, New Zealand

30
00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:07.280
in nineteen ninety seven and raised in Melbourne, Australia. At fifteen,

31
00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:10.560
she auditioned for YG Entertainment, one of Korea's biggest K

32
00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:13.879
pop agencies. She moved to South Korea alone as a

33
00:02:13.879 --> 00:02:17.400
teenager to train. In twenty sixteen, she debuted as a

34
00:02:17.400 --> 00:02:20.120
member of Black Pink, a group that would become one

35
00:02:20.120 --> 00:02:23.599
of the most successful K pop acts in history. Black

36
00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:27.919
Pink sold out arenas worldwide, broke YouTube records, headline Coachella.

37
00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:32.319
Rose was the main vocalist, known for her distinctive raspy tone,

38
00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:36.639
but being in a manufactured K pop group meant following rules,

39
00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:43.439
specific images, controlled releases, everything managed by the company. In

40
00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:47.039
March twenty twenty one, Rose released her first solo single

41
00:02:47.080 --> 00:02:51.439
album Are, with songs on the Ground and Gone. Both

42
00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:55.360
were successful, but they were still YG productions, still within

43
00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:58.800
the K pop system. Then in December twenty twenty three,

44
00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:03.159
Rose announced she was leaving YG Entertainment for her solo career,

45
00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:06.879
though she'd remain with them for Black Pink activities. She

46
00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:10.280
signed with the Black Label for management and Atlantic Records

47
00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:14.199
for distribution, the same label as Bruno Mars. For the

48
00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:17.400
first time, Rose had creative freedom. She could make the

49
00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:20.439
music she actually wanted to make. She could co write

50
00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:23.319
every song, She could be herself instead of a carefully

51
00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:27.240
crafted persona, and in November twenty twenty three, she was

52
00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.240
in Los Angeles with that team of collaborators, trying to

53
00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:35.599
figure out what herself sounded like. Producer Rose Shahayad remembers

54
00:03:35.639 --> 00:03:39.400
the moment Appatow was born. They'd been trying this slower

55
00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:42.960
R and B vibe for maybe twenty minutes. It wasn't working.

56
00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:48.479
Chahide suggested they try something more upbeat, more fun. Right then,

57
00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:52.240
Rose was showing Amy Allen the drinking game. Cha Hate

58
00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:56.080
saw her doing this rhythmic chant, this handstacking game that

59
00:03:56.240 --> 00:04:01.039
looked like patty Cake. Darren Thomas immediately recognize it could

60
00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:05.039
be a song. Rose explained how the game starts in Korea.

61
00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:11.840
Someone Yell's game start. Then the chanting begins, apatow, apatow, apatow.

62
00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:16.399
The team looked at each other, that should be the intro.

63
00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:21.720
Scoots started building a drumbeat of pop punk energy, cheerleader vibes,

64
00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:26.360
high energy and immediate. Rose and the songwriter started singing

65
00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:30.680
apatow over the drums, finding the melody. The whole thing

66
00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:34.879
came together in about twenty minutes. The rap style intro

67
00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:38.879
with Apatow repeated the verse about wanting to kiss for

68
00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:42.319
real instead of sending kissy faces on your phone. The

69
00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:45.600
pre chorus don't you want me like I want you,

70
00:04:45.720 --> 00:04:50.000
baby slash, don't you need me like I need you now,

71
00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:54.639
and then that explosive chorus The drinking game chant transformed

72
00:04:54.639 --> 00:05:00.000
into a hook apatow, apatow up too, apatoe. It was playful,

73
00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:05.000
it was infectious. It was undeniably catchy. It was also

74
00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:08.600
about a drinking game, and Rose, who'd spent years as

75
00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:13.199
a kpop idol projecting a specific image, was terrified. She

76
00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:16.720
went home that night thinking is this too lighthearted? Is

77
00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:20.959
this too silly? A drinking game for her first major

78
00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:24.959
solo single as a free artist, what would people think?

79
00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:28.959
Rose asked her team to delete the song from their phones,

80
00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:32.959
just get rid of it. It was too weird, too risky.

81
00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:37.439
They refused, they were already obsessed with it, but Rose

82
00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:41.680
wasn't convinced. The song sat on a shelf for months.

83
00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:44.560
She was working on other tracks for what would become

84
00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:50.160
her debut album, Rosie, more serious songs, heartbreak songs, songs

85
00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:54.800
about toxic relationships, and then someone. To this day, nobody's

86
00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:59.399
quite sure who played Appatou for Bruno Mars. Mars texted

87
00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:03.120
Circuit Yo, I heard you're involved with apatow. I love it.

88
00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:06.920
I have some ideas. I'll be in the studio next week. Now.

89
00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:10.439
When Bruno Mars says he has ideas, he's not talking

90
00:06:10.439 --> 00:06:14.319
about recording a quick guest verse and leaving. Bruno Mars

91
00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:18.639
is a producer, a multi instrumentalist, a perfectionist, when he

92
00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:21.959
gets involved, he becomes part of the project. Rose had

93
00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:25.759
actually pitched Mars three songs when they first connected, number

94
00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:30.800
one Girl, three Am, and Apatow. She preferred Apatow, but

95
00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:33.879
she wasn't sure he would go for it. When Mars

96
00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:37.680
asked what apatow meant, Rose explained the Korean drinking game.

97
00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:42.399
Mars was immediately sold. Over the next few sessions, Mars

98
00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:46.160
and Rose reworked the song. They tweaked the pre chorus melody.

99
00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:51.240
Mars added his verse, it's whatever, it's whatever, it's whatever

100
00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:56.959
you like, turn this Apatow into a club. I'm talking drink, dance, smoke,

101
00:06:57.079 --> 00:07:00.920
freak party all night. They added the bridge, one of

102
00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:04.720
the song's strongest moments, where the energy just explodes. Before

103
00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:09.319
that final chorus, Mars recorded guitar, bass and drums himself.

104
00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:13.680
He produced Rose's vocals, coaching her Yeah, do it again.

105
00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:17.800
Rosie and Rose coached Mars on pronunciation, teaching him to

106
00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:23.000
say apatow correctly. Session after session of Bruno asking wait,

107
00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:27.040
how do I say it? That back and forth, that chemistry,

108
00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:30.279
it's all over the final recording. You can hear them

109
00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:36.160
having fun. Rose's breathy emotive delivery playing off Mars's charismatic,

110
00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:40.000
high energy performance. The call in response dynamic makes the

111
00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:43.000
whole thing feel like a party you're invited to. The

112
00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:48.680
production team Mars, Sircut, omer Fetti and Roj Shahayed created

113
00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:53.360
something that blends genres effortlessly. It's pop rock, pop punk,

114
00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:57.439
new wave with indie rock and electro pop influences. There's

115
00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.800
even a Tony Basil mickey vibe to the Year Leader chant,

116
00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:05.680
though Circuit swears that was completely unintentional. They had to

117
00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:09.399
credit Basil's writers Mike Chapman and Nikki Chin for the interpolation,

118
00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:14.839
but the similarity was accidental. On November eighth, twenty twenty four,

119
00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:20.160
Rose posted to Instagram celebrating exactly one year since recording appatow.

120
00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:25.079
On November seventh, twenty twenty three, that casual late night

121
00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:30.480
session after McDonald's had turned into something extraordinary. The song

122
00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:34.240
was released October eighteenth, twenty twenty four, as the lead

123
00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:38.759
single from Rose's debut album, Rosie. A black and white

124
00:08:38.919 --> 00:08:42.360
rose tinted photo served as the artwork. Bruno Mars behind

125
00:08:42.360 --> 00:08:45.519
a drum set, Rose lying in front in a black

126
00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:50.200
leather jacket and skirt and accompanying music video, co directed

127
00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:54.919
by Mars and Daniel Ramos, dropped this same day. It's

128
00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:59.679
pure garage band energy, Rose and Mars alternating on drums

129
00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:03.960
and voe vocals, both in matching black leather jackets, performing

130
00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:07.840
on a pink set. They're playing the drinking game dancing.

131
00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:12.759
Mars waves Korean flags the Tagooki. At one point, Rose

132
00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:17.200
unexpectedly kisses him and he gets visibly flustered. It's joyful,

133
00:09:17.559 --> 00:09:22.279
unpretentious fun, and the world went absolutely insane for it.

134
00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:27.039
Apateau debuted at number one on both the Billboard Global

135
00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:31.159
two hundred and Global Excluding US charts. It became Rose's

136
00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:34.879
second number one on these charts after On the Ground

137
00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:38.840
in twenty twenty one, and Bruno Mars's second as well,

138
00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:42.279
after Die with a Smile with Lady Gaga. The song

139
00:09:42.360 --> 00:09:44.840
stayed at number one on the Global two hundred for

140
00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:48.679
twelve consecutive weeks. On the Global Excluding US chart, it

141
00:09:48.799 --> 00:09:52.960
spent nineteen non consecutive weeks at number one, breaking Mariah

142
00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:55.679
Carries All I Want for Christmas Is You as the

143
00:09:55.840 --> 00:09:59.519
longest running number one in that chart's history. It peaked

144
00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:01.759
at number thie three on the US Billboard Hot One

145
00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:05.840
hundred and the UK Singles Chart, making Rose the first

146
00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:08.679
K pop female soloist to crack the top five on

147
00:10:08.759 --> 00:10:13.000
either chart. It went to number one in over fifty

148
00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:22.960
countries Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan.

149
00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:27.039
The list goes on. The song became the first by

150
00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:31.120
a K pop female soloist to top Australia's Area Singles chart.

151
00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:34.080
It was the first Western song to top the Billboard

152
00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:37.840
Japan Hot one hundred in over a decade. On Spotify,

153
00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:42.159
Apatow reached one hundred million streams in seven days, the

154
00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:45.639
fastest for any K pop female solo artist and the

155
00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:49.200
second fastest for any K pop act. It hit one

156
00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:53.240
billion streams in exactly one hundred days January twenty sixth,

157
00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:56.679
twenty twenty five, becoming the second fastest song in history

158
00:10:56.679 --> 00:11:00.559
to reach that milestone. Only Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars's

159
00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:04.600
Die with a Smile got there faster. The music video

160
00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:07.840
broke records too. It hit two hundred million YouTube views

161
00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:11.679
in eleven days and twenty two hours, the fastest for

162
00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:15.759
a female K pop solo artist. Then five hundred million views,

163
00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:19.559
again the fastest for any K pop artist. Apple Music

164
00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:23.919
crowned Apatow the biggest song of twenty twenty five, most

165
00:11:23.960 --> 00:11:28.320
streamed globally, most identified on Shazam, most spun on radio,

166
00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:31.120
and the track with the most read lyrics of the year.

167
00:11:31.639 --> 00:11:37.120
But beyond the numbers, Apatow became a cultural phenomenon. TikTok

168
00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:40.279
was flooded with videos of people doing the handstacking game.

169
00:11:40.759 --> 00:11:45.720
Celebrities posted themselves doing the choreography. Zoe Saldana performed it

170
00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:49.159
on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The chant became

171
00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.840
a meme, and crucially for Rose, the song promoted Korean

172
00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:56.879
culture worldwide. Here was a K pop artist singing partially

173
00:11:56.919 --> 00:11:59.759
in Korean, teaching the world about a Korean drinking game,

174
00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:04.519
making her culture cool and accessible. For Korean drinking culture specifically,

175
00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:08.840
the impact was significant. Around sixty percent of South Korea's

176
00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:13.080
population lives in apartment buildings, many over thirty stories tall,

177
00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:18.360
so the apartment metaphor resonates deeply. Korean drinking games strengthen

178
00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:23.399
social bonds among friends, family, even co workers. Younger generations

179
00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:27.480
had been losing touch with these traditions. Apatow brought them

180
00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:33.240
roaring back. The game became trendy again. Articles explained the rules.

181
00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:37.639
People all over the world were stacking hands and chanting Apatow.

182
00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:42.120
In September twenty twenty five, Apatow one Song of the

183
00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:45.960
Year at the MTV Video Music Awards, making Rose the

184
00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:49.399
first K pop act in history to win that category. Then,

185
00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:53.720
on November seventh, twenty twenty five, the Grammy nominations dropped.

186
00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:58.320
Apatow received three nominations, Best Pop Duo Slash Group Performance,

187
00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:01.960
Song of the Year, and Record of This made Apatow

188
00:13:02.039 --> 00:13:05.000
the most nominated song by any Korean or K pop

189
00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:08.879
artist in Grammy history. More importantly, it made Rose the

190
00:13:08.919 --> 00:13:11.440
first K pop artist ever nominated in one of the

191
00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:14.879
Big four Grammy categories Record of the Year, Song of

192
00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:17.080
the Year, Album of the Year, Best New Artist as

193
00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:20.679
a lead artist. BTS had been nominated for Best Pop

194
00:13:20.759 --> 00:13:24.799
Duo Slash Group Performance for Dynamite in twenty twenty one

195
00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:29.000
and My Universe with Colplay in twenty twenty three, but

196
00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:33.200
those weren't Big four categories. Rose had broken through a

197
00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:35.960
barrier that K pop had been trying to cross for years.

198
00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:39.440
When the nominations were announced, Rose was on a group

199
00:13:39.480 --> 00:13:43.120
FaceTime call with friends. Someone was streaming the ceremony live.

200
00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:46.279
As the Record of the Year nominees were being listed,

201
00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:50.240
Rose got increasingly nervous. Are we not gonna get it?

202
00:13:50.600 --> 00:13:53.679
Maybe we're not going to get it. Then her name

203
00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:57.720
and Mars's appeared on screen. Rose and her friends absolutely

204
00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:03.440
lost it, screaming disbelieve, oh my god. Later Rose told

205
00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:06.519
the Hollywood Reporter, It's still a dream for me. It's

206
00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:09.279
still a fantasy, a moment that proves to myself so

207
00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:14.080
many things. Because for Rose this wasn't just about commercial

208
00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:17.960
success or breaking records. This was vindication that she'd made

209
00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:21.480
the right choice leaving the K pop system, that being

210
00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:25.679
authentically herself, teaching a drinking game in the studio, being

211
00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:30.840
silly and lighthearted, mixing Korean and English, showing her Australian personality.

212
00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:33.679
That all of that was not only okay, it was

213
00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:38.000
exactly what the world wanted. When Rose was in Black Pink,

214
00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:41.879
she'd been molded into a specific image, the main vocalist,

215
00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:47.480
the fashion ambassador for Eve, Saint Laurent, glamorous, untouchable, fearce.

216
00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:51.679
That was the girl crush persona K pop demanded, but

217
00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.080
underneath was just Rosie, someone who wanted people to see

218
00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:58.159
her as not much different from your average girlfriend or

219
00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:01.720
twenty three year old, as she told Paper magazine, someone

220
00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:06.559
who plays drinking games with friends, someone relatable. Apatow let

221
00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:09.799
her be that person, and it turns out millions of

222
00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:22.720
people wanted exactly that. The song also represents something bigger

223
00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:26.720
about music. In twenty twenty five, as Omer Fadi, one

224
00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:30.159
of the producers, pointed out, the team working on Apato

225
00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:33.840
came from different parts of the world. Rose New Zealand

226
00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:38.240
Slash South Korea slash Australia, Bruno Mars American with Puerto

227
00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:44.000
Rican and Filipino heritage, Amy Allen American, Sircut, Canadian Turan

228
00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:50.360
Thomas Trinidadian American, Roje Shahayed Iranian American. They all came

229
00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:53.360
together to work on a groove about a Korean drinking game.

230
00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:56.519
Amy Allen said it perfectly. I feel like we all

231
00:15:56.559 --> 00:16:00.000
grew up hearing the saying music is a universal language.

232
00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:03.519
But it's a really emotional thing to then find yourself

233
00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:05.919
being part of a song that every culture, no matter

234
00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:10.440
what language you speak, resonates with. That universality is key

235
00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:14.639
to understanding why Appatow worked when it shouldn't have. On paper,

236
00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:18.240
it's ridiculous a song about a drinking game, mixing Korean

237
00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:21.039
and English, built around a chant that non Korean speakers

238
00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:24.679
can barely pronounce. It should have been too niche, too

239
00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:30.440
culturally specific. Instead it became the opposite. The specificity made

240
00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:34.879
it universal. Everyone has played drinking games. Everyone understands the

241
00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:39.000
fun of parties and flirtation. The appatou chant sounds like

242
00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:42.039
every other cheer or chant. People use it sports games

243
00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:45.840
or parties. Rose herself compared it to the Australian sporting

244
00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:50.559
cry Oi Oi Oi. Even if you don't know what

245
00:16:50.639 --> 00:16:55.039
apatau means, you want to shout it. Sircuit described the

246
00:16:55.120 --> 00:17:00.519
song as a perfect storm, the unique Korean chorus, Bruno

247
00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:06.039
Mars's involvement elevating it to another level, the chemistry between

248
00:17:06.119 --> 00:17:10.079
Rose and Mars, the fact that it came together so naturally,

249
00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:14.839
so quickly, without overthinking. Barren Thomas during that first session

250
00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.839
told Omer Fetti Omer, this is going to be the

251
00:17:17.880 --> 00:17:22.039
new Macarena. Betty thought he was crazy, How is this

252
00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:26.119
song going to be the new Macarena? But Thomas was right.

253
00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:31.880
Appatow became exactly that, a global phenomenon where the joy

254
00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:36.559
of participation mattered more than understanding every word, a song

255
00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:41.200
that created a shared experience across languages and cultures. For Bruno,

256
00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:45.799
Mars Apatow continued his incredible run. He'd already had a

257
00:17:45.960 --> 00:17:49.000
massive hit in twenty twenty four with Die with a

258
00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:53.559
Smile featuring Lady Gaga. Now Apatow was giving him another

259
00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:58.160
era defining song. His involvement was crucial. Circuit noted that

260
00:17:58.200 --> 00:18:01.759
Bruno doesn't just do phone in features. When he commits

261
00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:05.119
to something, he becomes a producer, a songwriter, a collaborator

262
00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:08.839
who makes everything better. And watching Rose and Bruno work

263
00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:13.559
together coaching each other's vocals, laughing about pronunciation, the whole

264
00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:17.519
room could feel the magic happening. That energy translated directly

265
00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:21.400
into the recording. The success of Apatow also paved the

266
00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:24.680
way for K pop at the Grammys. More broadly, the

267
00:18:24.759 --> 00:18:28.839
soundtrack to the animated film K Pop Demon Hunters featuring

268
00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:33.960
the fictional girl group Hunter slash X, received five Grammy nominations,

269
00:18:34.160 --> 00:18:39.119
including Song of the Year for Golden International. Girl group CATSI,

270
00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:42.559
formed through K pop training Methods by Heib and Geffen Records,

271
00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:47.119
got nominated for Best new artist. K pop was finally

272
00:18:47.119 --> 00:18:51.119
getting the recognition it deserved at American music's biggest awards show,

273
00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:55.480
and Rose had kicked the door wide open as Rosie.

274
00:18:55.480 --> 00:18:59.400
Her debut album dropped December sixth, twenty twenty four. Reviews

275
00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:03.319
praised Rose for showing different dimensions of herself. The album

276
00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:09.640
was personal, candid, covering toxic relationships and heartbreak. Apatow was

277
00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:14.119
the fun, lighthearted moment that balanced the heavier material. Critics

278
00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:19.480
compared Apatow to Gangnum Style Size twenty twelve global phenomenon

279
00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:23.160
as the next K pop song to truly transcend cultural

280
00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:27.880
barriers and become a worldwide smash, but Apatow did it differently.

281
00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:34.440
Gangnam Style was novelty, spectacle, a viral moment. Apatow was

282
00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:38.440
a genuinely great pop song that happened to incorporate Korean culture,

283
00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:41.319
not a Korean song trying to be a pop hit.

284
00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:45.799
That distinction matters. Rose didn't dilute her culture to make

285
00:19:45.839 --> 00:19:49.799
the song more palatable to Western audiences. She doubled down

286
00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:54.359
on it. The Korean lyrics, the Korean drinking game, teaching

287
00:19:54.400 --> 00:19:58.440
the world to say Apatow, and the world embraced it.

288
00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:02.119
On Grammy Night FA February second, twenty twenty six. Rose

289
00:20:02.279 --> 00:20:04.880
will attend as the first K pop artist nominated for

290
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:08.599
Record of the Year as a lead artist. Whether she

291
00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:11.799
wins or not, she's already made history. But the real

292
00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:14.920
victory is simpler than that. Rose made a song about

293
00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:17.799
a drinking game, a song she was terrified to release,

294
00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:21.319
a song she begged her team to delete, A song

295
00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:24.119
that came together in twenty minutes after a long day

296
00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:27.279
and a McDonald's run, and it became the biggest song

297
00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:32.160
in the world. It proved that authenticity resonates, that cultural

298
00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:36.960
specificity can be universal, that sometimes the best creative choices

299
00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:40.240
are the scary ones that you don't have to smooth

300
00:20:40.279 --> 00:20:43.000
off your rough edges or hide your background to connect

301
00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:46.759
with people globally. The last line of the chorus is perfect.

302
00:20:47.640 --> 00:20:49.559
All you gotta do is just meet me at the

303
00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:56.319
appatoe and an invitation, simple direct Come as you are,

304
00:20:56.680 --> 00:21:01.720
let's play, let's have fun, Let's connect. That's what apatow is.

305
00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:05.160
That's what Rose offered the world, and the world showed

306
00:21:05.240 --> 00:21:08.920
up twelve weeks at number one, one billion streams, three

307
00:21:08.960 --> 00:21:13.920
Grammy nominations, History made all because on one tired. November night,

308
00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:17.119
Rose taught her friends a drinking game, and someone said,

309
00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:22.559
we should make that a song. Perfect storms don't announce themselves,

310
00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:25.799
They just happen, and when they do, all you can

311
00:21:25.880 --> 00:21:30.319
do is ride them. Rose wrote, apatow all the Way

312
00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:33.079
to the Grammys. Not bad for a song about stacking

313
00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:36.680
hands and counting to random floor numbers. That's our Grammy

314
00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:41.319
Countdown bonus episode, a Korean drinking game, an unexpected collaboration,

315
00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:44.599
and proof that sometimes the songs you're most afraid to

316
00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:47.279
release are exactly the ones the world needs to hear.

317
00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:50.839
I'm Garrett Fisher. Stack your hands, count your blessings, and

318
00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:53.160
never delete a song just because it makes you nervous.