Photo Credit: Mitchell Zaic (@mitchell_zaic)
By Alissa Arunarsirakul // July 8, 2020
New York’s Carly Rose has been performing for quite some time, but it wasn’t until last year that she released her first official single. Between her genuine lyricism and irresistible indie pop soundscape, Rose is destined for immeasurable success. Shortly after her 21st birthday, Rose is delivering her dark new single, “twentyone.”
On “twentyone,” Carly Rose reflected,
“I went into the session with Dan Farber and Sweater Beats, who both worked on the song with me, with this concept in mind because Juice WRLD had just passed away the day or so before. It really just hit me hard because I just felt like he was on the verge of next-level success and he never got the chance to fully realize that. On top of that, at the time I was writing the song, he was my exact age, 20 years old. So I just felt an intense connection to him and the situation, especially after recently seeing Lil Peep, another artist I really admired, die at the same age for the same reason.”
An homage to Lil Peep and Juice WRLD, both of whom died shortly after their 21st birthdays, “twentyone” dives deep into the toxicity that is fame. Aside from the eerie message, “twentyone” is drizzled with bouncy bass lines and Rose’s comforting vocals. After one listen of this bold track, we’re very glad Rose is still making music past her 21st birthday.
“These two were the main inspirations of the song because of their ages, but this idea of losing our icons so young to the same general issue has always been something I have been deeply affected by. Whether it be Mac Miller, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, etc. This is unfortunately not a new story and because of that, I feel like we have all become too desensitized to the matter. That’s what I hope I can shed a little light on in this song in hopes of challenging people to fight against that.”
The Hidden Hits 