“You will love… You will love, again.”
“Love Again,” a recent single released by Celine Dion for the upcoming film of the same name, tells the story of a woman looking to move forward. Looking to get back on her feet and, somehow, allow herself the opportunity to meet someone new after suffering the loss of a beloved companion. This song perfectly captures the essence of the generation-defining star, who is etched in history with a catalog only a handful of today’s biggest artists may even come close to.
The song was written by Dan Wilson, lead singer of the band Semisonic, and Rosaileen Scher, better known as ROSIE. ROSIE was just 22 years old when she teamed up with Wilson to write and formulate the tune, a tune she knew was headed over to Dion for approval. Dion, of course, cut the track, and the rest is history.
“Dan and I were sent, in a brief, explaining… this song that was about loss, and finding love after loss,” said ROSIE, on how the song came to be. “I believe there were words in there similar to ‘love again.’ Her wanting to find love again. So, Dan and I sat down on Zoom and there was some kind of magic. I remember knowing, and feeling, like the song was really special, but never could I have imagined that this is where it would end up.”
ROSIE admitted to cutting a demo of the track, but, for now, says it will stay in the vault. She also stated there are talks of “covering” the song on her upcoming tour, but, in the most respectful and admirable of ways, views the song as solely Dion’s and does not want to infringe on the legend’s work.
Growing and Changing
Beyond such a unique and powerful moment in the life of a young artist, ROSIE’s persona and catalog as a solo act are developing quickly. She is a multi-instrumentalist who grew up playing classical violin and draws inspiration from some of the all-time greats such as Carole King and Randy Newman as well as names of today like Conan Gray and Kacey Musgraves (she even has a “Slow Burn” tattoo, in reference to the latter). New songs such as “Someone You Once Had” and “Startover” are out now.
These new songs, along with collaborations such as “ilym” with John. K and “How Are You?” with Dylan Brady, have shown significant artistic growth from some of ROSIE’s earlier work. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot,” she said. “How my sound has been growing and changing. My look, my aesthetic, and my overall energy. A lot of it has to do with my relationship to myself. My confidence, my self-love journey, and my self-healing journey. That’s the theme of everything right now… healing.”
She also affirms her musical growth just comes down to growing up. “When I started putting music out, I was REALLY sad,” she said. “I was really not confident in who I was, and I had a lot of work to do. I like to that this progression, and this change, is really just me growing and finding myself. It feels natural to me. Healing isn’t linear, but it feels like, as I grow more confident, the music is becoming louder, and more upbeat, and I’m more sure in what I’m saying, and less apologetic. I’m more open, and just lighter. I like to think there’s a lot more light in me.”
All Natural
The look and aesthetic she touched on are a major part of her artistic persona. She is dubbed as “no filters, no Facetune, no VSCO, no makeup, no bullshit,” and proudly stands by that moniker. “Social media is a highlight reel that only shows the best parts of you,” she said. “Seeing this made me want to do the opposite. With time I just persisted. Now, three years in, it has been incredible because so many people have said to me, ‘Hey, you’re the reason I stopped putting coverup under my eyes,’ or ‘You’re the reason I stopped putting filters on my Instagram posts.’ Hopefully, when people see my photos, they see that this is how I look, and this is who I am. That is super important to me.”
Musically, ROSIE is quickly establishing herself within the ranks of the growing list of authentic and truthful female pop vocalists such as Sabrina Carpenter, Griff, Gracie Abrams, and Olivia Rodrigo. “There’s so much emotion and you can hear it in their voices,” she said. “This emotional wave of pop is coming through because we’re really looking to feel something. I think it’s very much in alignment with this period of us as a civilization coming back to a life around other people, and with other people.”
New Music
“Startover,” released back in February, gives off a vibe similar to “The Middle” by Zedd and Maren Morris. The more up-tempo dance-leaning track highlights ROSIE’s growing emotional maturity as she comes to terms with the negative effects of a relationship: “Can we start over? / Maybe letting go is how we get closer / And if ending us is how we get closure… let’s say goodbye and maybe start over.” This track, along with “Good For Me,” are vocal standouts within her discography.
“Someone You Once Had,” a driving pop track with a thumping beat in the chorus, is about loving herself enough to cut ties with a disengaged partner: “If you have to leave me to see you care / Move on to find that you want me there / If you have to go, then you should know when you come back… I’ll just be someone you once had.”
Both songs tell coming-of-age stories of ROSIE not allowing her head to get clouded by her heart. The older she gets, she is steadfast in her decisions. However, she credits the songwriting/producer duo Afterhrs for helping change her perspective. “I walked in the room and said, ‘Hey guys, I want to feel sorry for myself,’ she said, on the session that would lead to “Someone You Once Had.” “Their response was, ‘OK… or what if we wrote about how much better off you are without this person and how you know who you are, what you need, and what you want?’ They were able to pull that out of me, and they’re a huge reason of why I was able to communicate that in my song.”
While it may have taken a long time to get to this point, ROSIE is committed to continuing this healing journey, with the new EP 5 Songs for Healing set for release on June 23rd. The new song “Potential,” to be included on the EP, is a perfect bookend for the project musically and thematically. It is one of her most dynamic and musically cohesive yet: “I just wanted you to be special / But I fell for your potential.”
She will also embark on “The Healing Tour” starting in June. “All of these songs focus on different ways of growing,” she said. “This entire EP is just navigating growing, and the ups and downs that come with growing and healing. There is a lot of ebbs and flows, and I really tried to capture that on this project.”
Stream “Potential,” “Someone You Once Had,” and the rest of ROSIE’s discography: