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CONTENTSTABLEOF ON THE COVER BIG TIME RUSH24 08 JORDY 18 Nina Nesbitt 32 Alex Lahey 38 ROSIEGALLERIESFEATURES 04 flor 05 Still Woozy 06 Sum 41 07 Why Don’t We 12 Vance Joy 13 Keshi 14 Lollapalooza Music Festival 17 Aurora 22 Turnstile 23 Snow Tha Product 30 Sir Chloe 31 jxdn 36 Catie Turner 37 Jesse McCartney 42 Bleachers 43 BENEE 44 5 Seconds of Summer 45 Purity Ring ON THE COVER BIG TIME RUSH BTS 3
ALYSSA BUZZELLO - LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 2022
FLOR
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STILL WOOZY MAGGIE MONTGOMERY - NASHVILLE, TN - MAY 2022 BTS 5
CHELSEA GRESH - CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 2022
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SUM 41
WHY DON’T WE ALEXIS MARZO - NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 2022 BTS 7
PHOTOS BY CALLIE CRAIG | WORDS BY CAROLINE KLECKA
SHARING HUMAN EXPERIENCES WITH JORDY
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Those early years and the artists he drew inspiration from influence the pop anthems that we now associate JORDY with. He specifically recounts The Spice Girls, Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch and The Backstreet Boys as some of his influences to join pop. His own sound has influences from Lauv and Troye Sivan with
“euphoria” that the singer felt before performing seemed to be contagious. JORDY said he was equally excited to share this year’s lineup with some of his (and our) favorite names, from Dua Lipa to FLETCHER, Muna and Girl in Red.
JORDY has a natural stage presence, often asking the crowd how they’re doing, which is met with a symphony of cheers and fans attempting to get his Manyattention.festivalgoers
“Really good, really emotional, really grateful…I’ve been an attendee for years — since I was in high school,” he said. “To have it flipped now is just an actual dream come true. I’m just floored.”
“It doesn’t feel real, it’s just a number on a screen,” he said. “But then playing shows like Lolla I’m like, ‘Oh my god, the people are here!’ It’s translating and that’s super special.”
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has quite the following on his social media platforms, too. Music clips and occasionally other content is shared to more than 400,000 followers on TikTok, which he said changed his career.
performing for the internet during the peak-pandemic years to now. He said that the energy he gets from a live audience is why he loves performing “more than anything.” And you can tell that he meant it, as he sang his heart out while still moving about the stage for 40 Nevertheless,minutes.JORDY
who attended Lollapalooza Music Festival were not from the Chicago area, with some arriving from hundreds of miles away. Pop singersongwriter JORDY, however, was performing on his home stage. The home stage for the weekend happened to be the festival’s T-Mobile main stage, where around 100,000 attendees passed by each Theday.
A rainbow LED sign with a pink heart for the ‘O’ in JORDY is lit up behind the stage. The crowd smiles, dancing along as the singer runs across the stage and back for the whole set.
JORDY remarked on the stark contrast between
Though the festival crowd was a first for JORDY, performing and writing has been a lifelong passion. He explained that he entered the pop realm five years ago, when he began writing in Los Angeles. From theater to choir and acapella, performing has been in his blood from the beginning.
“Just Friends,” JORDY’s most successful song to date, serves as his “foundation of relatability and pop
Moving from Chicago to Los Angeles, however, was a pivotal part of the singer’s next steps in his career, he “Movingsaid.
“When I was a kid, I would have really loved to have a song like that, where I could hear a boy singing a boy’s name,” JORDY said. “I had all the name songs like ‘Stacy’s Mom’ that were so exciting for me but weren’t
to L.A., I needed to do that to create the music I wanted to create. Like I knew the people that I needed to collaborate with were there,” he said. “But I think having the Midwestern values is the reason I’m so comfortable having my heart on my sleeve.”
The music video features JORDY interviewing three hidden contestants on a bachelor dating show, which all turn out to be different versions of himself. He describes himself to contestants using his own lyrics.
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However, JORDY’s discography reaches beyond basic, bubbly pop. Even though he pokes fun at experiences with unrequited love, he said that he wants to be seen as human, just the same as everyone else listening to the
production” that he has always wanted in his sound. The single has earned over 15 million views.
“We’remusic. all one in the same at the end of the day,” he said.
JORDY’s music explores themes of rejection and loneliness through the lens of hope and empowerment, according to his Hewebsite.said that he loves singing about some very real themes people experience under the bubbly pop production, he said. Songs like “Trevor” exhibit storylines and experiences that he himself did not grow up with, but wishes he did.
The song encapsulates the feeling of balancing being an adult while still feeling young and naive. JORDY’s discography is full of the same young, bright energy — “like cotton candy” as a fan described to him.
“catchy melodies and unforgettable hooks,” he said. I’m a pop boy, always, through and through,” he said.
His newest single, “IDK SH!T” luckily appeared on TikTok a few times before its full release. It is one of JORDY’s most fun tracks, with detailed production that is perfect for “involvement with the listener,” with elements like clapping and shouting.
When asked if he had anything to share with his fans, JORDY said he wants them to know that he loves them.
Mind Games came out in 2021, which JORDY says was an accumulation of relationships from the industry, songs he always wanted to create and even songs created via Zoom during peak pandemic times. A brief North America tour followed the release.
“Lotsproject.of bops, and emotional ones, too,” he said.
“We’re all humans sharing experiences. Just thank you if you’ve been supporting, and listening to the music and I can’t wait to show you more.”
“Trevor, you’re everything I want but better. You’re making me feel like I don’t know me, I just wish somebody would love me like that,” the song states. The singer has shared different versions of the longing love song — part of his debut album Mind Games — on his Youtube channel.
With over a million streams on Spotify and a headline performance in the books, JORDY promised fans he has plenty of projects on the horizon, including new singles by the end of the year and a new album by early next year. Lollapalooza fans even got to hear a song from the new
necessarily the male perspective. I’m proud of ‘Trevor’ sonically, but more so I want every queer person who hears it to hear themselves.”
For new listeners, JORDY recommends “Long Distance,” “Trevor,” “Past Tense,” and “IDK SH!T”
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VANCE JOY
MARLOWE TEICHMAN - LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 2022
KESHI NICOLE SOLERO - ORLANDO, FL - MAY 2022 BTS 13
KING PRINCESS BTS 14
PHOTOS BY CALLIE CRAIG
MUSIC FESTIVAL
LOLLAPALOOZA
ALEXANDER 23 HOT MILK THE MARIAS BTS 15
ROSINKRANZGREENDAY BTS 16
SAM FENDER CLAIRE
AURORA JACOBS - - 2022
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DANA
MAY
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Nina Nesbitt: Understanding
The Meaning Of Alskar
PHOTOS BY CHELSEA GRESH | WORDS BY ARI VASQUEZ
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This album is not just defined by the romantic brand of love that fills radio stations. The track “Dinner Table” tells the story of Nesbitt’s relationship with her mother and grandmother. And while her lyrics on Alskar tell her story, she hopes all listeners find a way to connect to
“There’s a lot of reflecting on this album. I feel like I’ve finally made it out to the other side of growing up and the insanity of adolescence and my early-20s,” she said. “My perception of what love is has changed a lot. My relationships, whether they be romantic, friendships, family or with myself, have all shifted since hitting my mid-20s. So I just want to delve in, look at them and try to make sense of it all.”
“I tried to keep the lyrics open enough that people were able to hear it in a way that suited them,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of messages from people saying it’s helped them understand the grief they’re going through, which was really touching.”
How does one define love? How can it be understood?
Nesbitt does not only connect to her fans through deeply personal lyrics. While the lockdown represented a chance for reflection — which can be seen in the most recent album — it also was a chance to connect to new fans in new ways. Her TikTok account has recently taken off, allowing her to show folks new dimensions herself.
“Ithem.strive to make music that makes people feel something,” she said. “I’m hoping people can take the lyrics into their own life however they want — even though some of them are quite specific.”
The journey of understanding the meaning of love is confusing as it is universally understood. In her third studio album, Alskar, Nina Nesbitt takes listeners on this journey. From the first track to the last, Nesbitt shares her personal growth and deepening understanding of human connection through enchanting melodies and empathetic lyrics that get right to the heart of it all.
Nesbitt described “When You Lose Someone” as a “deeply personal” song to her.
And many listeners have already made those profound connections. The album’s sixth track, “When You Lose Someone,” captures the pain and joy of reminiscing about someone deeply loved but unreachable. The lyrics — “Now I’m just trying to remember you in the best way. I go from feeling numb to feeling everything at once….” — portray cycles of grief that can feel so hard to put into words.
Alskar seamlessly combines the many complicated
Nesbitt went on to explain how the country feels like a second home to her and how she would visit twice a year to see family while growing up.
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The album’s title prompts the question: what makes Sweden so influential to a Scottish artist?
“It was a really fun way to connect with people in lockdown when I had all the time in the world!” she said. “Although my music is kinda sad, I’m actually quite a happy person. I can’t take anything seriously and have a very dry sense of humour, so I think you really see that side of me on my TikTok. I love making stupid videos in the hope that they’ll give people a Thislaugh.”fun-loving side of Nesbitt and her love for her fans was the catalyst for one of her favorite fan
stories of love all people carry, from loss in “Lose Somebody” to the rush of romance in “Colours of You” to resentment that can be felt when looking back on relationships with wisdom that comes with age. “Older Guys” is akin to Taylor Swift’s 10-minute version of “All Too Well” — both can feel they are speaking directly to the listener about an experience intensely personal. Nesbitt’s storytelling ability has been a constant throughout her career.
“I’ve delved into a lot of different production styles and genres, but I think the storytelling lyrics have always remained a constant,” she said.
“Iinteractions.metsome people on the last U.S. tour who were pilots, and they offered me to fly a plane in the morning,” she said. “My manager and I said, ‘Why not?’ so we went to fly a plane over Texas the next day. It was such an incredible experience!”
The joy of experiencing life and connection is as prevalent in this album as the pain and loss; all of it makes up Alskar, or love.
“Getting to write there for the first time on this album was a really special experience because I got to meet so many people my age who had shared similar
upbringings to me,” she said. “It made me wonder who I’d be if I’d grown up there.”
“There have been so many special moments, but that would be the most recent one.”
It is worth noting that the album’s first song is “Gaol,” the Scottish Gaelic translation of love, and it ends with “Alskar,” seemingly a metaphor for Nina’s journey through life and love.
Without a doubt, there will be many more memorable moments in the career of Nina Nesbitt. While her only true goal is creating incredible music like her albums Peroxide, The Sun Will Come Up, The Seasons Will Change or most recently Alskar, she hopes that her music will keep finding ways to connect with people all over the world, like Japan, South Korea or Brazil. And with so much dedication to music, storytelling and human connection, it seems like a Nina Nesbitt tour that touches many continents is a likely future.
When asked if there was anything exciting for fans to be looking for, Nesbitt said to “Keep an eye out for more music soon” a response that is exciting in light of the phenomenal album she just released.
artist, Nina Nesbitt’s future is exciting. Her talent has been noticed by many people already, reaching a billion streams on Spotify. Her music has also gotten her seen by some of the greats. Recently, she was handpicked by Coldplay’s Chris Martin to open for the band at Hampden Park in Scotland. During Coldplay’s set, Nesbitt was called up to perform “Let Somebody Go” with the band.
When asked about the experience, she said that it was such a surreal moment for her.
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One song on the album stands out as being about neither the past nor present but rather about wishes for future. “Heirlooms” seems to talk to Nesbitt’s future child, highlighting that her journey is far from Asover.an
Until then, everyone should do themselves a favor and listen to Alskar while basking in the wide range of emotions and experiences that make up the album and the journey of understanding the nature of love.
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TURNSTILE
CHELSEA GRESH - CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 2022
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
MAY 2022 BTS 23
SNOW THA PRODUCT JACOBS - -
DANA
PHOTOS BY JORDAN KELSEY KNIGHT AND CHELSEA GRESH WORDS BY ADDIE WHELAN
Known for the Nickelodeon television show and band with the same name, Big Time Rush became a global phenomenon that took the world by storm. From performances and nominations at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in multiple different countries to millions of followers across social media, the band’s most well-known track, “Boyfriend,” has more than 100 million streams on Spotify alone — even though the streaming service was not even a primary source for music listening when the track first debuted in 2010.
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Big Time Rush is Just Getting Started
For PenaVega, Maslow, Schmidt and Henderson, the reunion and resurfacing of the band wasn’t by accident. In multiple interviews, the band shared how much effort it took to decide to reunite, start releasing music and eventually, tour again. However, the reunion is different than most — for the band is now independent and operating under its own management.
After more than 10 years in the music business, you’d think that the members of Big Time Rush are exhausted from the spotlight. But for Carlos PenaVega, James Maslow, Kendall Schmidt and Logan Henderson, it’s almost exactly the opposite.
The band continued to push towards fame with global tours, hundreds of interviews, press opportunities and thousands of meet and greets until finally, it was time to take a breather and focus on family and friends. All four released solo projects — including both acting and music — and continued to stay in touch with fans through social media.
“[Being independent] is different in the sense that we do what we want, when we want it. I think that it has its pros and cons. And for us, the pros really outweigh the cons for us at the moment.
After an almost 10-year hiatus, Big Time Rush is back. Now traveling nationwide, the band is performing on the “Forever Tour,” hitting some of the country’s most iconic venues like Madison Square Garden before embarking on a trip to South America in early 2023. We spoke with the band before their show in Indianapolis, Indiana to chat musical inspirations, their new music and more.
“I think that the music has grown as we have,” Maslow said. “We’re doing what feels right and what feels current as we write and create
When asked about the single, Henderson explained that the band always tries to go into the studio with an open mind.
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Writing new music has even bridged into new territories for Big Time Rush, like Spanglish music and their latest single “Dale Pa’Ya,” in collaboration with hit producer Maffio. The track debuted at a sold-out Madison Square Garden show at the end of June, where they were joined on stage by Maffio himself.
Schmidttoday.”
that they’ve built, expectations were high for the band to write and record new music that felt like their older catalog. But instead, their newfound independence has given shape to exploring new styles and the opportunity to collaborate and even produce tracks in other languages.
agreed with that sentiment and said that the flexibility the band possesses is one of its best assets.
“We had a lot of different sounds. So now, we’re doing the same thing. We’re just trying stuff out and we have songs that we like and we say ‘Hey, let’s put it out. This is a good one,’” he said. “Or we have a collection of songs and we go, “Hey, let’s do an album or an EP.’ So it’s very much on the fly and fans are getting the real-time taste of the band.”
And we’re just enjoying being in the driver’s seat of this incredible brand that we’ve been part of for 15 years,” PenaVega said. “We’re the bosses now. It’s really strange. Someone the other day said, ‘Oh, there’s talent in the room’ and I made a joke that ‘No, your boss is in the room!’ It’s so weird. It’s our show! And you know, if we didn’t like something for the lights, we can ask for another pass at them or another version. Back in the day, it was like ‘Here are your lights, here’s your stage’ And we’d be like ‘Oh, we kind of like it,’ and they’d say With‘Great.’”thebrand
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“What I always thought made us so special is that we are four individuals. We all have different taste in music. We all have different people that inspire us. I truly believe that that’s why we were so successful back in the day,” PenaVega said. “So to many people, we were a worldwide family band. It wasn’t just one person [that they liked], it wasn’t just one daughter liking the band. If there were three daughters, they liked three of us. They loved a different member. They loved James, they loved Kendall, they loved Logan.”
“We’ve gotten in arguments and we do that still, but mostly, it’s a lot of fun and we’re just having a good time,” he said. “And I think that really translates to the music. And to our shows, I think people see that we are clearly having a good time. We’re good actors but we’re not that good at acting. We’re having a good time on stage and it’s very obvious.”
“There were things we do now that we didn’t do in the past. Even working with producers in Miami or writing Spanglish music,” he said. “I guess just trying to explore the studio a little more and find some different sounds that we had previously not done in the past.”
With a resounding laugh, Henderson joked, “They didn’t like Carlos, so I guess they have to have another Schmidt,daughter.”agreeing with PenaVega, said that he thinks the band’s biggest strength is that its comprised of four distinct personalities that have found a way to work really well together — primarily through humor.
“Iprocess.lovethat
aspect and I try to bring some of that to our writing where it’s a very grounded real story,” Maslow said. “You might have heard this concept a thousand times but this way of thinking about it feels unique and it feels fresh.”
On top of their individual personalities, Big Time Rush members shared how unique their own individual music tastes are and how those individual tastes lend themselves to what they create in return.
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PenaVega, on the other hand, is a big fan of musicals
Another thing he said he loves about the genre is that very few other genres have the same storytelling abilities that country artists do. That is something he takes as an inspiration for his own songwriting
But what has worked in the past and continues to work well is Big Time Rush’s chemistry on and off stage, where humor, family and their own individual tastes allow them to explore interests and be themselves.
“Between the four of us, we’re probably listening to every genre. My girlfriend’s from Oklahoma, so I’ve gotten into country in the last few years. She takes over my Spotify and I get in my car and it turns on. Honestly, I’ve become a fan,” Maslow said.
“In the very beginning, whenever we made ‘Call It Like I See It’ and ‘Never Giving You Up,’ I was listening to a lot of the Beach Boys and Bee Gees and some of their older stuff,” he said. “And now that we go on tour, I’ll find something and gravitate to that sound. And luckily Spotify and Apple Music kind of give you those recommendations, so I’ll just go down a black hole of all down artists and genres.”
Some of the people vibing with the new music might not have even listened to the older tracks by the band, Henderson said. The earlier stuff has also gone through a transformation of its own, too, while being reporoduced for the current tour.
and worship music — something very different from the rest of the band.
Henderson said that he usually goes through phases where he ends up listening to entire catalogs of artists before pivoting to a different style altogether.
Schmidt admitted to mostly listening to the same kind music all the time.
“I dive into some new stuff but I’m kind of a creature of habit,” he said. “Anything that’s new that’s coming out that I’m part of writing is coming from places I’ve always loved.”
With different individual music tastes has come brand new music that has gained more traction than
“I think tour is also where we really excel, that is our bread and butter,” he said. “Whenever the four of us are together on stage, performing live for people, it
“That’s kind of my world,” he said.
the band had initially planned for. With five singles already released post-hiatus, Big Time Rush is back and bigger than ever. And to make their sound even bigger, the band’s performing across the country on the “Forever Tour” where they’re singing the songs live to thousands of people a night.
“Truthfully, the audience seems pretty keen on [the new songs]. They’re probably loudest for our older songs. We have a whole bit where it’s super throwback songs from album one, but they’re equally excited, especially some of the older fans, for our newer stuff,” Maslow said. “Which for us is a major win. Because we didn’t know what the reception would be like, so seeing our fans singing them only a couple of days after they were released is amazing. Like ‘Honey,’ they were singing so quickly after it came out. It’s encouraging for us to want to put more music out.”
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“We lost the trampolines, but we didn’t lose the jumping up and down,” he said. “But now we basically don’t have anything that breaks our fall. We basically removed the one cushiony part of our entire show and now it’s pure concrete and grit.”
That pure grit does result in one thing: extremely loyal Acrossfans.social media, Big Time Rush’s mentions are constantly filled with love and support from fans who’ve traveled across the country to multiple shows. They’ve saved hundreds of dollars, skipped weddings, met their internet friends and more just to see PenaVega, Maslow, Schmidt and Henderson perform live.
Is Big Time Rush going to last forever? They’re Just Getting Started.
As the band shared about the changes to their live performances, Schmidt shared one big change that fans may have noticed this year.
is the most fun time and all of your worries kind of go out the door.”
For Big Time Rush, the people are easily the most important part of why they are on stage and they continue to make sure fans feel included, loved and special at every moment. Not only does the band continually engage on social media, but despite a global pandemic and concerns about safety, the band’s set features a quick surprise in the middle — the members out in the audience, singing some of the fans’ most requested songs.
“I think especially after COVID-19 and being locked down for two years, being able to go out into the audience and get face to face with people, high fives and hugs, it’s just a special interaction that most people don’t think they’re going to get,” PenaVega said. “Which for us, we know it’s going to happen. We know there are two songs where we’re planning to go out into the audience, but they don’t know. But for us, going out there and seeing these girls just ‘Oh my god” and dudes being like ‘Oh you were my childhood.’ is so rewarding.”
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JOE HERNANDEZ - SAN FRANCISCO, CA -
MAY 2022 BTS 30
SIR CHLOE
JXDN MARLOWE TEICHMAN - LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 2022 BTS 31
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The Social, Personal and Sacred Return of Alex Lahey
PHOTOS BY BLAKE CHARLES | WORDS BY BEN PAGANI
thing? That’s the setting I believe music was meant to be Withoutin.”
different situations put live performances on pause for Lahey this summer, it wasn’t too long ago that COVID-19 washed upon Australia’s shores.
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The nation faced political turmoils and had some of the strictest lockdown policies of any major country on the planet. It was a world defined by serious social distancing — a world unlike the one Lahey loved being in.
“It became easy to forget that music is a social, personal and sacred experience,” Lahey said. “This beautiful union of people rocking out to the same
With no more shows booked in America, Lahey decided to spend time in California before heading back down under. It was a situation she had known too well. ‘It’ being that sensational itch to play live music for a crowd.
“Ugh,” she said. “Australia and the defamation of our industry. The feeling of 2020 and the pandemic. Massive bushfires in Australia. Yeah, it was a lot.”
Both Lahey and The Regrettes reunited in August to play some of those previously canceled west coast Andshows.as
“People being withheld their income and all sorts of stuff. I sadly saw my peers falling behind,” she said. “Even today it feels like there’s a constant state of turmoil. Housing and affordability is something we struggle with in Australia and there’s a permanent stain of living on stolen indigenous land. We are in the thick of these situations. We can’t be in the shit all the time as individuals.”
Lahey sighed at the thought of that time.
In the last decade, Australian artists have produced some of the world’s most important and rawly powerful music-making splashes on the airwaves and streaming services today.
The Regrettes’ vocalist Lydia Night had emergency surgery to remove her appendix after a show in Toronto, effectively ending the tour.
The world, however, decided it had other plans and put several of those tour dates on hold.
that union, Lahey struggled to pick up instruments in her home and took one of her mostprolonged pauses from songwriting.
The music industry in Australia generates a lot for the country, Lahey said. And the pandemic kind of left her and other artists feeling like they were left behind.
That may not sound like the hardest thing a person could have done in lockdown, but it is when you understand how close Lahey had become with her fellow Australian musicians.
It was May 2022 and Australian rocker Alex Lahey found herself rejuvenated, being 90% finished with a new record and in the final stretch of a U.S. tour supporting The Regrettes.
“It’d been so good to tell crowds, ‘My new record only has a few weeks to go!’ It allowed me to get my fix in,” Lahey said. “Despite it finishing abruptly, being out with The Regrettes was so fun and so good.”
Courtney Barnett, Camp Cope, Gang of Youths, Tame Impala, Amyl and the Sniffers plus King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard are among those Lahey stands beside. Each one has something unique to offer.
Perhaps she even learned a lesson from the uncomfortability she faced in the past few years.
Through the constant thickness of Australian life and an unprecedented pandemic, Lahey did what she is known to do best: be an Australian-based musician — and a damn good one at that.
Lahey is proud that the result was a jar filled with every emotion and experience she wanted to represent in music.It’s more than the quality upbeat sound she’s already distributed.
“I had moments of ‘I haven’t written a song by myself in months,’” Lahey said. “‘Oh shit, can I still even do it?’ Then you do try and the muscle memory is still there. That was a great feeling.”
“It was the longest I’ve spent on a record,” Lahey said. “Obviously because of the luxury of time that came with COVID. It is not as ‘snapshotty’ this go-around. There was a lot of time to think about what is going on and how I’m putting things together. I’ve pushed myself more. I’m a big picture person and by no means a perfectionist and don’t love to spend more time on things but I was able to enjoy how this could Laheyhappen.”said that she even had co-writers on the album and yet it managed to feel more authentic than ever “Thebefore.sound feels the most ‘me’ despite bringing in all other sorts of people to help,” she said.
said she felt her personality was shadowed by her desire to write songs that matter. She’s outspoken about several things. She hates homophobes and racists. She thinks boys suck. She’s glad Scott Morrison lost the 2022 Australian Federal Election. But the personal side of what makes her human had rarely explicitly shined through.
“There are some songs that are fun, some that are a bit sad,” she said. “You see, tour is fun and it’s a good way to escape facts, but it was good for me to sit back and think about why I do things, life and the way I do stuff. Then I wrote about it, haha.”
Classic Lahey is still there, just in a more mature way. Not that she wasn’t before. But even she agrees that she has transformed and experienced growth as a Herhuman.songs will still enchant listeners, making them feel like they just walked into an amusement park with a pack of pals set for the best day of the year.
It also talks about her gripes and appreciation for her home country, not unlike the track “Perth Traumatic Stress Disorder” from her debut 2017 LP I Love You Like a Brother.
Lahey was on a mission to discover as much about herself and the music she could write. The game plan was to leave no stone unturned.
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“Melbourne is a big character in the record, Lahey said. “This time, though, it’s in a more outward-looking way than I had written in the past.”
A great feeling that Lahey hasn’t had the chance to properly display since her 2019 album The Best of Luck Club.
Between then, 2020 and the lingering days since, she powered through to write a record different from those she had before.
Lahey is even bold enough to peel back a curtain and reveal her Surprisingly,life.she
While writing her new record, she said she finally
Her previously-showcased ability to write with brutal honesty, charm and wit is on a collision course with openness and maturity while keeping the best of both Thereworlds.isno reason to speculate what Lahey’s new record will sound like. She’s already told the world. And it better buckle up for a social, personal and sacred experience.
“It’s exciting,” she said. “This moment feels like a gem. It’s quite crystallized.”
understood that she could reveal herself more. But only because the last few years allowed her to discover more information about herself.
“One thing that continuously comes up on this record is social anxiety,” Lahey said. “In the past, I would write songs one way and bounce around topics. Now that I know more about myself, the more I kept writing, I realized ‘Oh shoot, I was trying to say ‘this.’’ ‘This’ was serious pressure and anxiety. I’m glad I’ve been able to get that out through a platform I love.”
Lahey still hasn’t officially announced her new record. She released the full, polished and very real-sounding song titled “Congratulations” on Aug. 30.
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CATIE TURNER
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ROSIE: Embracing the Light and the Darkness
PHOTOS BY CALLIE CRAIG | WORDS BY CLAUDIA CORTEZ
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Hermore.latest
“I am a firm believer in writing about what scares me, and this song was particularly terrifying to put into the world because it really touches on some of my deepest insecurities,” ROSIE said.
After blowing up on TikTok in 2020 with her song “Never the 1”, signing to Arista Records and releasing her debut EP 20mg of Happiness, ROSIE is ready for
Asit.”
days, it’s important for ROSIE to be able to ground herself through activities like meditation, journaling or going for a walk. Whether it’s a heavy
Uniquely herself, ROSIE encapsulates authenticity, honesty and no filters to show the world that she is who she is. By channeling her raw emotions into her songwriting, ROSIE is able to welcome both the good and the bad days.
“So when I finally put it out — I had no plan to [initially] — but as soon as I saw that there were definitely some people in the world who would relate, I put it out. As soon as I did, I just cried and cried because it was such
We caught the singer-songwriter for a moment at Lollapalooza in Chicago to chat about how she uses songwriting as therapy, what the future holds for her career and the importance of just being yourself.
“I truly do it because it’s healing for me. I don’t put myself through any type of pain intentionally ever,” ROSIE said. “I have always been a very deeply healing person, and I’ve always had a hard time being 100% honest when having conversations about how I’m feeling because I like to center things. I don’t want anyone to worry about me.”
She said that she figured out from a young age that she could channel her feelings in the most unfiltered way through her songs. “I write songs regardless of anything that’s going on outside of myself, because for me, it’s just a form of coping and it’s super cathartic,” she Evensaid.onrelease
an advocate for mental health awareness, ROSIE is heavily inspired by her true emotions to hopefully spread the message that it’s okay to not be okay. With the help of songwriting, she finds the ability to express herself in a healthy way.
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a relief. It was such a cathartic experience because it wasn’t easy, but I felt that it was important to put it out not for me, [but] for anyone else who needed to hear
single “Something I Hate” is an incredibly vulnerable song and falls in line with the kind of music in which ROSIE is known.
Starting from writing her music in her bedroom to now where she has access to the newest technology in studio sessions, ROSIE likes to maintain her younger mentality to channel her deepest feelings in her “Isongwriting.wouldsay
song about dark fears or something lighter, ROSIE said that it is important for her to remain centered, especially on those days because she’s essentially putting a very vulnerable part of herself out into the
millions of streams across her discography, there’s plenty of people out in the world who can relate to the personal messages that she’s putting out there. After her first time touring as an opener for Chelsea Cutler’s 2022 North American tour earlier this year, she also played her first festival in June at the Middle Waves Music Festival in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
humbling and I always say [that] being a songwriter is the most selfless job you can possibly have because you’re quite literally creating something for a higher purpose and for the greater good,” she Withsaid.
At just 22 years old, this New York-based artist has managed to go from writing bedroom songs to being the voice of a generation that is constantly surrounded by the damaging mental health effects of social media and society itself. With no plans on changing
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“It’sworld.incredibly
that physically, there’s a big difference [between writing in the studio versus my room] because now I can afford better equipment and can afford going into the studios,” she said. “But emotionally and mentally, I am still that 12-year-old. Up until 2021, when we were finally able to go back out into the world, I was still writing songs every single day in my room, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Even if I’m writing with a bigger artist, or even if I’m recording in a super fancy studio, that 12-year-old younger self is always in there [and] always just excited to write.”
“It’s like whenever I forget why I’m doing this [and] why I put myself through what I do and the hours I put in, I go back to these wild moments of being on stage and seeing people cry or seeing people sing the words back,” ROSIE said.
She describes her “why” moments as those when she’s on stage and can see people in the audience physically resonating with her music.
Hertrust.”brother-turned-manager
her songwriting methods, ROSIE does have serious aspirations about the future of her career.
Despite getting pushback from people who felt that without filters, a bunch of makeup and changing her outside appearance ROSIE would get nowhere, she understood that branding herself as purely herself would put her in the position that she needs to be in order to become a successful singer-songwriter. Her family of creatives has helped inspire her broad music taste and support her dreams. In fact, her older brother, Matteo Scher, plays a key role in her day-today life as her manager.
also has helped cowrite some of the songs from her debut EP 20mg of Happiness. The theme is inspired by a longing for “Inhappiness.myfreshman
“He and I always say that the position of a good manager is quite similar to the criteria [of] being a good brother. It’s all about being protective of your client, looking out for their best interest, knowing when to take a break and when is a good time to have fun and let loose,” she said. “Truthfully, I think he’s been an amazing brother my whole life, so transitioning to manager was pretty seamless. It’s really just about
With brighter ideas ahead, there’s no telling what’s in store for ROSIE. However, no matter what heights she reaches, she knows exactly how to ground herself and remind others of the importance of being sincere. The message she wishes to leave with the world encapsulates her feelings perfectly.
“I’m really trying to take everything and just step it up [by] bringing the tempo and energy up, and stepping up my lyric game and melody game,” she said. “Still staying honest and always taking a singer-songwriter roll, but I’m ready to dance to it and take it to the next level. That’s where I find myself, [with] more pop, more percussion, more jump.”
“I want to be spreading mental health awareness through music on a global level. What that means more logistically is, I want to be playing arenas,” ROSIE said. “I basically want to get to the biggest platform that I possibly can and just raise this awareness as loudly as I can and just normalize being a human being. I think all these celebrities and artists are really deified, people look up to them and I want to be that artist.”
“I hope that everyone — anyone who reads this interview — feels validated and that whatever they’re experiencing, it’s because they’re a human being. We’re all human beings. Nothing separates us from that, so whatever it is that they’re going through in this moment, whether they’re feeling happy, sad [or] anything in between, I want them to remember that it’s real.”
Now that ROSIE is an expert in writing the perfect songs to help us on our bad days, she hopes to switch up her sound in the future. Although most of her tracks lean on a ballad type of structure, there’s room for more upbeat tunes.
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year of college, I started an antidepressant, 20 milligrams. So, when I was writing the song ‘Sad, Sad, Sad’, which has the line ‘20 milligrams of happiness,’ which I actually wrote with Matteo, my manager, and [Dominic Florio], I was trying to figure out [a way to say], ‘Okay, I’m medicated. I should be happy, but I’m not,’” she said. “That’s how I came up with 20mg of Happiness because it’s this idea of doing everything you literally can be to be happy. At the end of the day, human beings weren’t created to be happy all the time.”
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CLAIRO | PHOTO BY DANA JACOBS
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