I really do love “Rose,” and I love CL like nobody’s business so of course I was excited to know these two would collaborate for a performance. For CL’s rap, the lyrics were all there, they made sense in English, and they made sense in the context of the song, but it fell short. First of all, CL’s usual charisma was a not all there, and I could say that she toned it down to keep from overshadowing Lee Hi, but at this point Lee Hi is doing just fine, and is pretty established for a rookie, so if CL brought all of it nothing bad would happen to her. Next, the beat that CL was keeping for her section was too slow, and out of sync with the song. If whoever worked this rap in had keep the beat the same as the beat for Lee Hi’s original rap in the song I would have thought this collabo perfection.

What I would have loved to see was, since this is a special stage anyway, Lee Hi, and CL performing “Special” (no pun intended). The beat for a lengthier rap would have already been worked out, and the lyrics would just need to be changed for CL. If she turned up the fierce, the whole thing would have been perfection. [HINT HINT YG]