After a two-year hiatus, The Rose have surprised fans by releasing a digital single, “Beauty and the Beast.” If you’ve been keeping up with the news, the group was previously in a legal dispute with their agency, J&Star Company. This will be the last song under their former agency, and also the last song until all the members return from their mandatory military service. Fans need not worry about disbandment, they were a well-known indie band prior to their debut so they already had a history together. Woosung has already confirmed during an interview that they still plan on making music together. 

Although it is bittersweet, The Rose leave fans with a beautiful song and an equally mesmerizing MV. Instead of going overly literal with the title of the song, the MV focuses on three stories that explore hardships in different kinds of relationships. It is nice to see that they decided to focus on unique stories as opposed to just a typical princess and prince fairytale for the MV. In doing so, it also expands the song’s message of love to include friendships and family.

Light plays a huge role in the MV representing a path to happiness. In the beginning, the scenes are shot in mostly darkness with only foggy patches of light. This helps create a somber tone that goes along with the sad scenarios: a man wishing a doll was a real boy, an angel who cut off his own wings, and two people stuck in cells next to each other. However, a direct beam of light helps the characters in different ways. For the dollmaker, his doll comes to life, the angel seeks comfort from a female character, and the wall disappears between the two cellmates.

However, the story does not end there. All the characters follow the light through a dark and thorny path representing both literal and figurative obstacles. During these scenes, we see the two characters helping each other get through. The path represents the painful obstacles they must travel, but ultimately they have each other to help them get through. There is a literal light at the end of the tunnel where all the characters are finally able to enjoy their time together.

The band’s center stage is a majestic ballroom that is also the setting for the conclusion of all three stories. The room is barely lit until the ending when the added light helps serve to brighten up the atmosphere of the MV. It is a wholesome scene with all the characters smiling and dancing together. The band members themselves are dressed in regal clothing matching perfectly with the golden ballroom. It is as if they are the princes saving the day with their musical melody.

While the stories take a dive into dark fairytales, the lyrics are based on the story of Beauty and the Beast. As you may already know, ‘The Beast’ must make the female character fall in love with him before the last petal falls from a magical rose, or else he will be stuck as a beast forever. The lyrics of the song are repetitive but still pack a punch due to the addictive melody and emotion brought forth by the singers. In the lyrics, the voice of the song refers to the rose losing its petals but blooming again. Again, they are simple lyrics but clearly state the message about a relationship that degrades but comes back to life. The lyrics are accompanied by a heavenly harmony from the members that elevates the song to another level:

You’re beauty
The withered flowers bloom
I think the magic will work out
Beautiful love you and I
It’s a beautiful life you and I

It is a shame that after their debut, The Rose were not able to put out as much music as they could have under their agency. They have been together since 2015, but did not officially debut until 2017, only to end up on a two-year hiatus. Now, they are entering another hiatus due to their military enlistment. However, now that they are free from their previous agency, “Beauty and the Beast” shows exactly what was hiding in the vault. The MV uses three unique and individual stories, reminiscent of dark fairytales, to help express the lyrics of the song. It has a simple message but beautiful composition. Hopefully, after their hiatus, we will be able to see more of what this band can produce as they continue to grow as a musical group.

(Naver, South China Morning Post, Youtube. Lyrics via Genius. Images via J&Star Company.)