BLACKPINK Rosé’s (블랙핑크 로제) duet with Bruno Mars, “APT.” is arguably the idol’s biggest hit, even winning her “Song Of The Year” at the recent MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) 2025. However, like most songs, the track had a different version from the one released.
During her appearance on “The Howard Stern Show,” the 28-year-old discussed the smash hit and how it came to be. Rosé revealed that the song came about during a songwriting session after she taught a few other songwriters the Korean drinking game, apartment or apateu. After the team became obsessed with saying the now-iconic phrase associated with the game, Rosé suggested that they write a song about it.
While talking about the song, Rosé then revealed that she still kept the original version of “APT.”, which she called “APT. 1.0”. She said the demo was before Bruno Mars jumped on the track. She then played the first verse of the demo straight from her phone. Unsurprisingly, the demo version contained vastly different lyrics from the original. Nevertheless, host Howard Stern shared praise for “APT. 1.0”, saying the original version sounded good.
Rosé then shared how she came to partner up with Bruno Mars for the song, saying she sent the demo for him to listen to. After showing interest in the demo, Bruno began adding his own touch to the song, including his own verse and some instrumentals. Rosé said the collaboration process felt like a movie and also credits the success of “APT.” to Bruno, saying she wouldn’t have believed the song would be a hit if it weren’t for his help.
Fans have reacted to the reveal, saying that they also enjoy the original version of “APT.”. Many praised the lyrics, saying they felt more mature-sounding than the released version. Some even said they prefer the demo version to the official version with Bruno Mars. Many also urged Rosé to officially release “APT. 1.0”, either as a special single or in a deluxe version of her “Rosie” album.
Meanwhile, “APT.” is currently in consideration for a Grammy nomination. If the nomination goes through, it could add to the song’s growing list of accolades. Here’s the clip of Rosé talking about the track and the demo version:
