On the latest episode of South Korean variety show Sea of Hope, Rosé teamed up with SHINee’s Onew and AKMU’s Lee Suhyun for a show-stopping cover of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You.” Stream their live rendition below.
“If I Ain’t Got You” is not only one of Keys’ most iconic songs, but it’s also one of the most unshakeable radio hits in the US to come out of 2003. It’s got some massive vocal leaps that require true talent. Unsurprisingly, the BLACKPINK singer was able to nail them without a problem. Lee Suhyun and Onew opened up the soulful piano ballad before handing the mic over to Rosé, who scaled the highest falsettos just as smoothly as Keys does in the original. Throughout, the three add gorgeous harmonies to each other’s parts, too.
Later on Sea of Hope, Rosé and Onew performed a duet cover of Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat’s 2009 hit “Lucky.” Their pitch-perfect rendition went over well with the limited audience lucky enough to watch them sing it live, with everyone swaying to the beat on their blankets while waves crashed in the water behind them.
When asked why they chose to sing “Lucky” together, Rosé said she had fond memories of it from her childhood. “This is a song I listened to a lot on the radio back when I was in school,” she said, “and I chose it because I thought it was a song that was well-suited to the night sea.”
Rosé has become a regular guest of sorts on Sea of Hope. Earlier episodes of the variety show saw her break out a heart-swelling cover of Paramore’s “The Only Exception” and a viral take on John Mayer’s “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room,” the latter of which was so popular that it prompted Mayer himself to gift her a pink guitar.
The K-pop idol recently dropped her first solo project, R, which includes the singles “On the Ground” and “Gone.” Now, Rosé’s immediate future will see her reuniting with her BLACKPINK bandmates for the release of BLACKPINK THE MOVIE, which is set to hit theaters exclusively on August 4th and 8th, and will likely see the group performing tracks from their excellent debut The Album.
