ROSIE isn’t afraid to show who she really is in the public eye.
Known for being transparent in all aspects of her life, the 24-year-old first made waves in the world of music when she began posting a mixture of covers and originals on TikTok. A then student at the esteemed Berklee College of Music, ROSIE knew she wanted to pursue music as a career, as she tells us that she was able to “put an explanation to everything [she] was feeling for so long.”
“During the week, I would be in class; and then on the weekends — or when I had a break — I would go into New York City and I would record songs,” ROSIE recalls. “The agreement always was that as long as I could handle both, then I could do it. I loved doing both.”
But when the pandemic hit, ROSIE found herself like many others, as she was taking to social media to not only share her original music, but also spread awareness to normalize authenticity and mental health. Achieving every songwriter’s dream, the emo-pop artist’s breakout single “Never the 1” reached nearly 18 million views and the attention of Sony’s Arista Records, who signed her shortly thereafter.
But it wasn’t always easy for the buzzworthy artist. Vowing to not wear makeup and always post who she is completely filter-free, ROSIE says she received “major pushback” after figuring out who she wanted to be in the public eye.
“I always knew that makeup was something that wasn’t for me. It was just hard for me, I was never really good at it,” she explains. “When I got on Instagram, I started seeing people in makeup and using all these filters, and it played a huge toll on my mental health growing up. I realized that everything felt fake and as a little girl it really destroyed my confidence.”
Recapping to us the day that she decided to go filter-free, ROSIE says, “I remember telling my brother, Mateo, who is also my manager, that I didn’t want to wear any makeup or use filters. I just want to be really honest and open about mental health. And that’s when I started finding this brand, myself and my sound, you know, too, being super honest and with the instruments I use and being super raw with the lyrics I choose.”
“We got immense pushback pushback in the beginning because people said I’d never get signed to a major label if [I] don’t look the part. And I was like, no, that’s why I’m going to get signed. Then I found Arista, my record label, and they were like, we love this about you. We think it’s so incredible.”
Creating seven songs that feature a wide range of folk, pop and indie sounds, the New York native is entering a new chapter of her career by giving the world a glimpse of her everyday emotions through her new EP titled What Scares Me The Most.
Released on November 1st via Arista Records, the project is both cathartic and candid as ROSIE tells Celeb Secrets that it’s all about “facing, confronting and overcoming” her fears from the past 15 months.
“My biggest realization I had from this project was that being scared together is a lot better than being scared alone,” ROSIE reveals to us in an exclusive interview. “Each song represents a different fear — a very real fear in my life — and I just knew that was going to be the theme of the project since the beginning. It’s been hard but also really liberating.”
Covering everything from the fear of being loved and being left to the fear of death and even driving, ROSIE says that while she knew she wanted to be as open and honest as she possibly could, she “let the magic happen” when choosing which topic would be addressed in each song.
“I always say creating music is like 50 percent math and 50 percent magic, and I feel like this was the magic part. I don’t think I intentionally went into sessions knowing that I wanted to tap into this fear. I would go into sessions and be like, ‘I have this hook that I really like; I have this chorus that I really like; and I was fleshing it out, that’s when it became apparent,” she recalls.
Despite a title that you think would leave you in your most emotional state after listening to it, What Scares Me The Most is actually a project that was made to give the listener an overwhelming sense of hard-earned comfort and strength. While this theme is evident in all of the songs, the one that has been resonating the most with fans is “Break a Promise,” which features none other than her “soul friend” Caleb Hearn.
The pair first teamed up on the heartfelt “Little Bit Better” back in February, which wound up garnering over 16M streams in two months. Knowing how well they worked together — and how much the fans loved their duet — ROSIE and Caleb knew they had to jump back into the recording studio to continue telling their story, resulting in “Break a Promise.”
“‘Little Bit Better’ just blew up in a way that I don’t think either of us could have predicted. And from that moment — honestly, probably before that — we knew we wanted to collaborate again, just because we became such tight friends. I think it’s really rare to meet a great musician who’s also a really great person and he’s definitely one of those. He’s become like a ‘soul friend’ and someone that I think I’m going to have in my life forever,” ROSIE says of their friendship.
“We already knew we wanted to write another duet, but it happened to line up as I was releasing this project. So I had a conversation with my label, and they thought this project should be focused around this song [with Caleb] and it worked out.”
What Scares Me The Most is the follow up to her sophomore EP Songs For Healing, which also showcases her an unpolished, human authenticity. As for what’s to come in 2025, ROSIE tells Celeb Secrets exclusively that she’s almost finished writing her upcoming project and will be taking the next step to get it recorded and out sooner rather than later.
“I’m actually almost done with the next project, but my A&Rs don’t know that… no one knows that, so it’s quite literally a Celeb Secret,” ROSIE laughs.
“I’m just about wrapping it up. I have a little bit more to do and then I will show my label. It’s very much in a similar vein. I’m continuing to write from a place of vulnerability. I’m continuing to be honest. I’m continuing to be open, like that’ll never change. And as for kind of like the theme and the concept, I can’t give away too much yet, but it’s very much in the same vein,” she concludes with a smile.
For more on ROSIE’s music, make sure to watch our full interview below — and don’t forget to let us know what you think of What Scares Me the Most by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
You can connect with ROSIE on Instagram and TikTok at @rosiemusicc.
LISTEN TO “WHAT SCARES ME THE MOST” HERE:
