The latest: We’re just halfway through the year, and B. Rose has already added plenty to her CV. The soul/R&B singer and songwriter, formerly known as Brittany Rose, performed at both 2022’s Grammys (backing Carrie Underwood) and Academy of Country Music Awards (as a member of Chris Stapleton’s choir). And in March, she dropped new EP Closer to Me.
Closer to her heart: “[Previous EP] Homegirl was very boss and confident and done up,” Rose says. But as the pandemic hit, “I went through a really bad breakup, and my mental health was just ugh. I felt like I needed to stop writing to make a hit. All of these people I knew were getting signed, and I was like, ‘ I need to write like this.’ But when I was isolated … I felt I just needed to write and not put any pressure behind it.”
The 27-year-old singer honored that commitment on the four-song Closer to Me, which was recorded at Downtown’s National Southwestern, tucked behind 11th Street Records. She stripped down production and put the power behind full-bodied vocals and unguarded admissions. “I’ve grown to be enough/Took the life out of me/ But I’m enough/I’ve grown to be in love/in love with me,” Rose sings on “Once Was Enough,” reflecting her new phase of acceptance and balance as an artist.
Finding fuel: Lately, that balance has had less to do with Rose’s own art. “I’m trying to do a lot that stimulates me musically,” she says. “I’m doing a lot of cover gigs in casinos, teaching and really trying to drive that, because that inspires me to write again.”
Rose, who studied vocal performance and music business at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, performs regularly at the Palms, Downtown Grand and the M, and teaches privately as a vocal instructor to keep her creativity flowing. Joining Stapleton onstage—and being invited to assistant-direct his choir’s ACM performance—has also helped “fuel my artistry,” she says. “Coming out of COVID, as an artist, I wasn’t inspired,” Rose explains. “I was even considering other avenues and not necessarily doing music.”
But refocusing on what drives her has motivated Rose not only to continue, but to explore new ventures, such as writing music for television.
B. Rose’s Current Rotation
“I’ve been listening to Kendrick’s new album nonstop. This is the most vulnerable album he’s made. As a singer, it’s nice to hear the syncopation that rappers use in their phrasing, and it gives me ideas on writing. … I really love Leon Bridges. SiR, he’s amazing. I love some Harry Styles. I love Lizzo, and Lucky Daye. I think he’s a really great artist, and his musicality is interesting.”
B. ROSE linktr.ee/brosemusic
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