This week’s Swag Spotlight artist is someone you may already know and if you don’t, you will. Lily Rose is an absolute force in the country music industry right now. She first burst on to the scene just a year ago, and has already won the hearts of millions of country fans everywhere. Learn more about her artistry, her new EP Stronger Than I Am, and her journey below.
A Georgia-native, Rose grew up with a supportive and music loving family. “I grew up in a household where music was always playing,” she shared. “My parents did not play instruments, but there was always music playing.” Although she did not grow up around musicians, her parents noticed a knack for music and rhythm in Rose at just nine years old. Her parents bought her a drum set and subsequently a guitar, which she taught herself.
She credits her parents for her early musical influences, as well as their unconditional support in her and her interests. “My parents would take me to concerts when I was just eleven years old. And they let me stay and watch the guys in Mexican restaurants sing ‘one more song’,” she laughs. “They always fed into whatever my passions were and I think it’s really important for parents to do that outside of sports and academics.”
More specifically, Rose’s father introduced her to the likes of artists like Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, and The Beach Boys. According to the singer, “My biggest songwriting and country influence is really Bruce Springsteen. […] I think he’s the best songwriter of all time.” The songstress also found inspiration in Taylor Swift, when she was a freshman in high school, due to her relatable storytelling.
“She really was the encouragement and the push over the edge to start writing songs. How do I write something that my friends feel relatable with,” shared Rose of Swift. “ I kind of just explored that without any seriousness all through high school.”
At fifteen years old, Rose started songwriting and cultivating her own musical interests. “I’m really thankful that I didn’t try to hone in to one genre. I’m super influenced by different artists like NEEDTOBREATHE, Ben Rector, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift, while also loving country music. I just continue to make music even through my move to Nashville that just felt like me,” exclaimed the singer-songwriter.
The Turning Point:
Although some would say that moving to Nashville and joining TikTok was the biggest turning point in her career, Rose reflects on a specific turning point much earlier on. The songstress discovered country music for herself when she turned sixteen and had her own radio. “It was “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” and “Dirt Road Anthem”. I never turned back. Country is what I was listening to the most,” shared the singer of truly falling for the genre. With that being said, Rose’s music is still heavily influenced by the likes of John Mayer, Maroon Five, the pop-rock scene, and of course, rappers like Kendrick Lamar and J Cole.
After beginning to play open mic nights in college, Rose realized that music was exactly what she wanted to do for a living. She found herself moving to Nashville soon after. When she arrived and started to co-write with other artists on the scene, Rose recalls thinking, “This is the music I’ve been trying to make over the last eight years.”
Soon after in October 2020, Rose downloaded TikTok, and the era of “Villain,”, her viral hit was born. “To put it into perspective, 365 days ago I did not have TikTok,” she declares. “It’s insane what’s happened in the last 9.5 months, let alone, the last year.”
Today:
Today, the singer gets to officially celebrate all the success culminating with the release of her new EP Stronger Than Me.The seven-song project was crafted thoughtfully over the last several months by Rose and her team. “The project as a whole has one theme that I look at on all seven of these songs, it’s what made “Villain,” which is relatability.” Adding later, “All of them have a really cool way of saying ‘I’m heartbroken’ or ‘I need to get over you’ or ‘I haven’t gotten over you,’ just so many ways in country music that this is topic is done over and over again. We found titles and hooks or we wrote titles and hooks in ways that have never been done before in country music.”
The EP is a unique collection of songs that Rose has penned, as well as songs that she selected in order to fill out her setlist. Interestingly, the singer has gotten to sing all these songs at her live shows over the past few months. “It’s really special that all of these songs I’ve been playing live and if you’ve been to a show, people have heard these already. So what I’m excited about is to see the growth of the song and see people sing them back.”
Every song is special in its own right, but the title track is the song that speaks to Rose the most. “I feel like the “Villain” chapter of the last ten months is turning into the “Stronger Than I Am” chapter,” she begins, “There’s a reason that, that song is the title track, that song stands above the others. I think it’s really one of the best written country songs that I’ve heard in a long time.”
Fans can catch Rose on tour with Chris Lane this concert season. Find tickets for the show at lilyrosemusic.net. Also make sure you give the EP a listen to below!
Lily Rose’s debut project, ‘Stronger Than I Am’ is out now
