As the year comes to a close, we’re counting down the 10 most-viewed charts on MuseScore published in the last year. Coming in at number six is “APT.“, the high-gloss, bilingual party-pop duet by Bruno Mars and ROSÉ. MuseScore user kcalmusic uploaded a solo piano version that cleverly recreates the excitement of the original, even without the dense arrangement of the pop hit.
“APT.” blew up in late 2024 and stayed a global fixture in 2025. It’s racked up over 2.19 billion streams on Spotify, not to mention its popularity on TikTok, where it caught on for its chant-like chorus and retro-pop production. It became an instant party anthem, and it’s that same energy that has drawn so many musicians to learn and play it.
Its high ranking on MuseScore isn’t just from popularity: it’s about craft. “APT.” is built on a clear, repetitive structure adorned with a catchy hook and a danceable groove, all of which make it fun to play and adaptable to piano, guitar, or other instrumentation.
ROSÉ, a member of K-pop group Blackpink, explained the song’s origin in a statement from her agency, The Black Label.
“APT. is actually my favorite Korean drinking game that I play with my friends back home. It’s so simple, puts a smile on your face and breaks the ice at any party,” she said. “One night in the studio, I taught my crew how to play the game. Everyone was fascinated, especially when I started the chant, so we played around with it and I said we should make a song out of it and, after Bruno joined the track, the rest became history!”
Although the chorus is a simple chant, it serves as the track’s recurring anchor, driving its energy. The original version also develops the chorus each time it returns, building up energy and keeping listeners engaged. Chorus one sings the “아파트 (apateu)” hook to a simple drum beat. Chorus two adds distorted synth and guitar stabs on the downbeats, and so on.
kcalmusic‘s arrangement takes the same approach. The preliminary chorus uses single-note lines to play the rhythms. The second chorus plays full triads on the downbeats, and the third chorus adds harmony to the bass part.
Even without words, they emphasize important moments in the song through harmony and dynamics. During the pre-chorus, they harmonize the melody in sixths and thirds to recreate the sound of Mars and ROSÉ singing together. There’s also great use of octaves in the right hand to make the melody line more powerful.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Mars explained that “APT.” has a magic feeling to it, whether or not you understand its backstory.
“Even if they don’t know what [“APT.”] means, they’re going to feel it, because that’s our job as musicians,” he said. “And if we’re lucky, they’re going to deep dive into it: “What is this? What are they saying?” That’s the beauty of Rosie bringing this to the world. This is what going for it looks like. It’s a reminder that if it doesn’t feel like that, you’re probably not doing something right.”
Grab the sheet music for “APT.” and play along with the music video above:
