K-pop star Rosé and Bruno Mars performed their viral megahit "APT." live for the first time on Friday, rocking out in matching oversized suits at an award ceremony in Japan's Osaka.
The artists' catchy collaboration -- inspired by a South Korean game -- was released last month and its music video has been viewed nearly 400 million times on YouTube.
Its noughties electro-pop energy and chant of "apateu", meaning apartment in Korean, has brought global chart success and unleashed a social media dance craze, with the track ranked among the most popular on TikTok in recent weeks.
South Korean TV music channel Mnet announced earlier in the day on its website that the artists would give the "world's first performance" of "APT." on Friday at the MAMA Awards in Japan.
The annual event, the Mnet Asian Music Awards, is a top ceremony for the K-pop cultural phenomenon.
It has been held in different countries over the years, and the 2024 show is split between one night in Los Angeles and two nights in the western Japanese city of Osaka.
"The song began with the game I like the most, and I never expected it to be loved this much," said Rosé as the pair received the "Global Sensation" award.
"Gamsahamnida!" said US singer Mars -- the Korean word for "thank you".
Rosé, 27, is a member of Blackpink, the first K-pop girl group to reach the top of the US Billboard 200 and the first Asian artists to headline Coachella.
She began working with Mars after signing a solo deal with Atlantic Records, also his label, according to an interview with youth culture magazine i-D.
"I knew people would want to dance to it, but I just didn't know that everyone would jump on it so quickly after the release, because we teased it so last-minute," Rosé told i-D.
Some South Korean students were even avoiding "APT." ahead of a crucial university entrance exam last week, saying the song was just too catchy and distracting.
Rosé, whose real name is Roseanne Park, was born in New Zealand to a South Korean family and grew up in Australia before training as a K-pop idol. —AFP
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