It’s been slightly over a week (Oct 18) since Blackpink’s Rosé and American singer Bruno Mars released ‘APT.’, and we are certain you are already mouthing its catchy lyrics.
The song went so viral with its catchy riff that this writer personally heard it nine times in three minutes (yes, he counted) for an experiment.
But some people across the Causeway aren’t too big on Rosé and Bruno Mar’s latest bop.
According to a post on the Public Health Malaysia Facebook page, which has 1.1mil followers, the song encourages negative Western behaviour among people.
‘‘APT.’ aka ‘Apateu’ translates to ‘apartment’ which is the name of a drinking game in Korea.
Asking their followers if they have heard ‘‘APT.’ (who hasn’t?), the group even dissected the lyrics, saying word ‘apateu is being used seductively.
The following lines were highlighted to be of concern,
“Kissy face, kissy face, sent to your phone. But I’m tryna kiss your lips for real.”
“Turn this apateu into a club, I’m talkin’ drink, dance, smoke, freak, party all night.”
Calling the song “a symbolic meeting place that is at odds with Eastern cultural values”, the group says it’s “worrying how this song is often used in the background of social media videos, making it a part of everyday life without us even realising it.”
We may have gotten a headache with the song on constant replay but we doubt it made us crave for a shot of soju.
Also, in this day and age, we are hard-pressed to find chart-topping songs that do not have a hint of seduction.
However, the group doubled down on their criticism, saying “Children may memorise these lyrics to heart without being aware of the messages being conveyed.”
They also asked that parents, educators, and society in general be more careful and sensitive to the influence of Western culture as it is “increasingly being accepted without censorship”.
They ended the post by asking the public to judge for themselves by looking deeper into the lyrics.
Netizen reactions were mixed with many commenting that listening to the song was fine as long as people do not follow and participate in Western culture.
One hit back and wrote, “People just want to enjoy the melody? Why not you go live in a cave?”
Another commented that anyone who takes the song that seriously needs to have their “brains checked.”
There was also this comment: “Apa ini?” which translates to “What is this?”.
We think everyone should just lighten up and maybe indulge in a game of apateu or something?