On Authenticity, Loss, and Feeling “Sad Sad Sad”: An Interview With ROSIE
21-year-old singer-songwriter based in New York, ROSIE first rose to stardom after her 2020 single “Never the 1” went viral on TikTok, pulling in millions of streams on every major music platform. From being a classically trained violinist and sharing covers and original songs online, she’s now signed to Arista Records and is set to release her single “Sad Sad Sad” on August 13th preceding her full EP this fall (with a second project already in the works)! We caught up over Zoom to discuss her music, personal and universal loss, and how she’s moving forward, both in front of and away from the mic.
[UNPUBLISHED]: When did you first become interested in music and then making your own?
[ROSIE]: I grew up in an extremely musical family so I was not only supported but encouraged to do music. I began playing violin when I was ten and I was classically trained in violin for ten years, but age twelve is when I started getting into songwriting and contemporary music. I didn’t start taking it seriously until I started going to Berklee College of Music in 2018.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How did you decide to switch from classic to contemporary?
[ROSIE]: I was ten when I started violin and twelve when I started guitar and writing songs, so I wasn’t conscious of it but I wouldn’t be the songwriter I am without the background in violin, and I wouldn’t be the violinist I am without my interest in guitar and songwriting. It’s a very symbiotic relationship.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you ever use the violin in your current music?
[ROSIE]: I do! I actually play on multiple tracks in my upcoming EP, like “Retail Therapy”, which is one of my singles that I put out in February, and I actually started tracking violin for other artists as well.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Who are a few of your musical influences?
[ROSIE]: I am so inspired by Randy Newman, Carole King, Joni Mitchell—the original legends. On a more current 2010, 2020 scale, my biggest inspiration is Julia Michaels. Ben Rector is a really big one, I think his songwriting is incredible. Someone I’ve always looked up to and is my favorite artist of all time is Kacey Musgraves. I even have a tattoo of her. It says “Slow burn” because it’s the first track off the album, it’s the first album I fell in love with, and she’s the first artist I really fell in love with.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What are your other top albums?
[ROSIE]: I have really been into Ethan Gruska. He produces for Phoebe Bridgers, King Princess, etc. He has an artist project, Slow Motionary, and that’s really incredible. Another one is It’s Okay by MARO. Usually, I fixate on one album for a long time so I can really study it.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What does the songwriting process usually look like for you or does it change?
[ROSIE]: Every song starts with some type of feeling or experience that I need to work through. Either it’s a good one like love or attraction or a negative one like heartbreak or anger. From there, the biggest tool is my non-judgmental cap. When I wear that metaphorical cap on my head, I decide that when I sit down, I’m not going to be judging every single line I write, I won’t be hard on myself, and I’m going to accept what comes and what feels right. Then it’s pretty typical. I start with the verse, then go linearly all the way through.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you ever already have an idea of what the backing track sounds like in your head?
[ROSIE]: I never do! I’m such a songwriter first as an artist. I believe that if a song can’t stand on its own, then the song probably needs more work. Usually, the thought of production comes later.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Looking through your discography, I noticed that you’re credited as either a writer or co-writer on all your songs thus far, as well as sometimes a co-producer! Was having that kind of creative control in your music a given when you got signed to Arista Records?
[ROSIE]: Arista has been so artist-friendly and creatively on the same level as me. When I met president David Massey, the first thing he asked me was, “What’s your astrological sign?” And when I told him I was an Aquarius, he said, “This is gonna work.” That’s the energy that we have as a team, with my A&Rs, the president. They advocate for me the same way I advocate for me. Especially as an artist with a very specific brand, they’ve been so supportive and encouraging to make sure everything is authentic to me.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Speaking of which, we are so inspired by your brand, “No filters, no Facetune, no Vsco, no makeup, no bullshit.” What makes you so confident about embracing that message online?
[ROSIE]: What’s funny is that I’m not! I’m confident about my message but I knew how much I used to rely on those effects and edits. I want to be a positive voice and positive female influencer for the younger generation. It’s not easy. Some days I wake up and think, “Wow, I have a photoshoot today and I would look a lot better if I could put concealer on my face if I could tell the editor to just brush out that breakout and get rid of my dark circles.” But I know every time I have that thought, that comes from a place of insecurity. At the end of the day, I’m always grateful that I chose this brand.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you ever wear make-up?
[ROSIE]: Never, on or off the camera. I don’t use filters, I don’t have Facetune or Vsco. 100% of the time, I am the ROSIE that you see on social media.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Last year, when you released the video for your viral single “Never the 1,” which currently has over 12 million streams on Spotify, did you expect such a huge response from TikTok? What was your reaction to such a surge in popularity?
[ROSIE]: Never did I think that I would pop off the way that video popped off or that it would be “Never the 1.” My manager Matteo and I had so many conversations about how we felt the song was too complicated, no one would pick up on the countdown from 10 to 1, that the chords were unobtainable to the listener’s ear. We didn’t think that this would be the song, let alone that it would become the second-most viewed original unreleased song ever on TikTok.
[UNPUBLISHED]: And you have a few upcoming releases, including your EP coming out this fall and single “Sad Sad Sad” this Friday! You’ve said of the song: “Sometimes there are certain scars that never go away, and when sadness is accepted it can serve as a lesson to never repeat the same mistake twice.” Can you talk a little bit about what you meant by that?
[ROSIE]: So “Sad Sad Sad” is the only song that I collaborated with two other writers on, my manager Matteo and FLORIO, a Brooklyn-based writer and producer. I originally wrote it last January because it was the one-year anniversary of my taking antidepressants. I was finally feeling like I had my life together, I was in college, and I was finally sleeping again. But I realized that despite the antidepressants and everything going well, I was still sad. Months later, the pandemic came, and around March, I was healing from heartbreak and an emotionally and verbally abusive relationship. I started to associate that song with my break-up. Even though I had put in a year’s work of healing and after all that, I was still sad. Being mistreated, you don’t just recover from that, it’s something that sticks with you. And as we hit the one-year mark of the pandemic, I realized it had been a year and suddenly, it took on a universal meaning because everyone in the world had something to grieve. We were all sad together, and I want to make music that makes people feel whole and understood in some way.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How does the song fit into the EP and what is the whole project about?
[ROSIE]: It is a seven-song EP and it is based around the five stages of grief. Each song represents a stage or transition stage. Ironically, “Sad Sad Sad” is the last track on the album so it’s the acceptance of sadness, not just feeling sad but accepting that you are sad and that you can finally learn those lessons that you weren’t ready for yet.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What inspired that structure for the EP?
[ROSIE]: I had gone through the five stages of grief before in high school when I lost a friend of mine. The second time around, it wasn’t because of death but because of a different kind of loss, which was heartbreak. As I sat down with my manager a couple of months ago to try to figure out the theme of this album, we realized it was already there and I had gone through every stage. It all fits together perfectly. You can clearly tell in every song what stage I’m in and where I’m going to next. I didn’t decide the concept, the concept decided it for me.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you have a favorite track?
[ROSIE]: I know I should say “Sad Sad Sad” because it’s coming out this Friday but one that resonates with me is called “All My Favorite Songs” where a line is, “You ruined all my favorite songs for me.” Music means everything to me and I’ve always been a musician at heart even when I didn’t know it and so when I lost this person, I also lost the ability to do the one thing that always kept me whole, safe, and sane, which was listen to music. For months, I stopped listening to music, and instead, I wrote. When I finally started up again, I gained a whole new perspective. Now I’m more in love with music than ever — listening to it, writing it, being a part of the creation. I had to go through that loss of the thing I love most in order to regain it and fully appreciate it.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What was the recording process like, especially during COVID?
[ROSIE]: I am a full-on collaborator so I like to be part of every process, which means being in the studio. That’s why I have co-production credits because I’m there contributing. So I struggled with the production of the first half of this project. Like for “Retail Therapy,” the producer was in Greece the whole time and I was in New York so everything we did was from a continent away. But for the second half, the first thing I did was fly to LA, and I got to work with my favorite producers and collaborators in person. It was definitely such a struggle but such a blast once we made it through the bad half.
[UNPUBLISHED]: In the future, are there people in the industry that you would want to work with?
[ROSIE]: Someone I’d always wanted to work with was Andrew Wells, who produced “Sad Sad Sad.” That was a full-circle moment, and now we have this awesome professional relationship. On the writer side, I’ve been really privileged to work with some incredible people like Scott Harris, Ross Golan, Dan Wilson, people who I’d always looked up to. In terms of artists, I would love to collaborate with Julia Michaels, Tate McRae, Maggie Rogers.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Following the release of the EP, what’s next for you? A tour? A full-length album?
[ROSIE]: Hopefully a tour in spring 2022. It really depends on COVID so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’m also working on a second project.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is this second project about?
[ROSIE]: So, the first project is all about this one person and being really hurt, and it’s all focused on the “you.” The second project starts out with the “I”, so it’s very introspective and about the growth and healing that happens once you’ve gone through the five stages and accepted the grief. Then, the way it is now, it grows into beginning to love again by the end, to love a positive “you.” Even though it hasn’t happened yet for me, it feels good to begin to move forward.
[UNPUBLISHED]: So picture it, it’s 2025, five years from now. Where do you picture yourself and your career?
[ROSIE]: Ideally, I’ve done a headline tour, written some hits as a writer, and most importantly, used that exposure to create my not-for-profit with my advance and the money that I hopefully going to make from what I create.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Can you tell us about the not-for-profit?
[ROSIE]: I am 90% sure it will be surrounded around mental health. I’m extremely passionate about mental health awareness, being real about what it’s like to be a human being, and normalize the fact that it’s okay if you’re not okay. That’s what I can tell you.