Meet Sydney Rose Through Her Debut EP ‘You Never Met Me’
Sydney Rose by Jen VerMeulen
“What if I never met you and you never met me?” 18-year-old singer-songwriter, Sydney Rose, asks. It’s an honest question, and one that she explores the intricacies of on “Cellophane,” the first track off her debut EP, ‘You Never Met Me.’ The idea of changing yourself or “wrapping your heart up in cellophane” as a disguise simply to get along with someone can lead to a sense of unfamiliarity, even in yourself, and it’s this very concept that Sydney Rose builds from on her new EP. From writing, recording, and exploring the idea of never actually meeting “the real you,” Rose re-discovers different parts of herself on her own, presenting her real self through a delicately honest six-song collection.
Released today via Public Consumption, ‘You Never Met Me’ weaves together acoustic guitars with a soft indie-pop sound, born out of a two-year creative journey where Rose spent much of her focus, effort, and time trying to figure out her own version of songwriting. Surrounded by music in her local church band and choir growing up, Rose found complete musical inspiration from artists like Dodie, Cavetown, and Conan Gray that she had discovered on YouTube, but it wasn’t until quarantine that she started making music on her own. “I’ve always been surrounded by music. I would always sing to calm myself down, but I never really did it by myself until quarantine. I had so much free time that I started a TikTok and sang a bunch of songs. People liked the songs and I never thought that I could make a career out of my own music.”
Recording acoustic videos of herself singing and playing guitar from her Georgia bedroom and posting them on YouTube and TikTok quickly led to a growth in Rose’s dedicated following - a community of over 200k followers who relate to the artist’s everyday challenges and internal struggles that she details through achingly truthful and beautiful lyrics. It’s from here that her song “Phoebe Told Me” garners attention from both curious music listeners and Phoebe Bridgers fans just like Rose.
“Phoebe is my favorite artist,” explains Rose about the song’s namesake. “I discovered Phoebe when I first was writing all my music, and I loved her lyrics and the way she sounded. She’s influenced so much of myself and my music, and I remember I was having a hard time being alone. I felt that some of my friends weren’t really treating me right so I wanted to self-love myself, and there’s this song by Phoebe called, ‘It’ll All Work Out’ so in my head, it was like ‘Phoebe told me it’s all gonna be fine.’ So I took things that I felt grounded me and made me feel good and I put it all on a song. ‘Phoebe told me not to worry about things,’ came from that and wanting to love myself.”
Spirited by breathy vocals and an acoustic flair, Rose creates an atmosphere that reflects a new perspective on the slowly crumbling, everyday moments that lead to heartbreak on her EP. Through tracks like “Cutting Corners,” “Things That Don’t Exist” ft. Zachary Knowles, and “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” the artist gets honest in her songwriting about all the fragile ways relationships and connections can fall apart.
Opposite to the stories of her songs, where Rose thrives, however, is through intimate connection in writing and storytelling. On the EP’s newly released single, “I’ll Never Get Over It,” Rose writes of a love story timeline that she’s never been through, but still created out of her own inspiration and eye for close connection. “When I first was writing this song, I challenged myself,” she explains. “It’s really funny because I’ve never been in a romantic relationship. I just picked the story of, ‘What if you were in a relationship with someone and you broke up, but you both still love each other and you’ll never get over it?’ So I went with that, and when I posted it on TikTok, it was really cool to see so many people relate to a song that I have never related to.”
Though TikTok for many artists can be a challenge, it’s been a way for Rose to rediscover and share her authentic self, just like her EP does. “When I first started on TikTok, I really just did it for myself and I think that because I was myself I was able to be more genuine. I didn’t do all the popular stuff and that’s what made me happier being online. I’ve had times where it makes me feel horrible, and sometimes it still does, but when I do it for myself and share songs that I want to and people come to me for what I wanted to make, it makes the whole experience so much better.”
Whether through a screen or onstage, Rose takes her ability for connection wherever she goes. At just seventeen, her first gig in front of an audience was opening up for Cavetown at a Lollapalooza stage. Last fall, she supported Chloe Moriondo on her headline tour and is now set to hit the road again beginning August 19 in Chicago, IL supporting Addison Grace. While new to touring, Rose is quickly learning the power of connecting music to people in real-time. “I’m always so horrified to go up on stage but when I’m up there, it’s so nice to sing a song, and have people react to it. That’s what I’m going to take with me – the idea that it’s not scary and that people are going to be there for you and for your music and it’s a chance to experience it together.”
Citing music as her form of therapy, Rose chronicles moments of heartbreak, sadness, loneliness, and the struggle to move forward on ‘You Never Met Me,’ and despite all of that, the EP centers a world where Rose, as a singer-songwriter, is able to present herself truthfully and shamelessly.
“When people listen to this EP, I just want them to feel like I’m a normal person, and that I’m someone who has emotions, feelings, daily struggles, friends, and family,” she says. “I want people to listen to my songs and be like, ‘I relate exactly to what she’s relating to right now.’”
Stream You Never Met Me by Sydney Rose here