Lily Rose stopped by The Bobby Bones Show to perform a new song, talk about her journey to Nashville, how going viral on TikTok changed her life and more!
Rose is currently on Sam Hunt’s Summer On The Outskirts Tour and she is the first of three acts to go on, so she expected to play to a somewhat empty crowd but has been surprised to see fans showing up for her set. Her first song that went viral on TikTok, “Villian” got 13 million listens in one week and helped her break out. Many labels came calling once the song went viral, but she only picked up the phone for the person who believed in her early and gave her a chance before everyone else.
Rose is from Dunwoody, Georgia, which is located right outside of Atlanta, so she felt like she grew up in the city. Ryan Seacrest was from her neighborhood, but his family moved away when she was young and one of her best friends moved into his old house. Before making the move to Nashville, she lived in Athens for five years and played the bars in town there, but always knew she wanted to try and make it in music in Nashville. In 2017, she made that move and Meghan Trainor was one of the artists who inspired her because she always loved her ability to write country songs in Nashville but still chase her pop career.
When she got to Nashville, she had never co-written with anyone before. Being a songwriting with no connections in town made it feel almost impossible for her. At first, she felt like she had no place in country music. She recalled a few years prior when she was watching the ACM Awards with her dad, and he told her that she was not going to change into Maren Morris in one year. She thought he was wrong but when she came to Nashville and saw how many people had connections, she realized how hard it was going to be. Her most recent song is a collab with Diplo called “Sad in the Summer.” The CEO of her record label, Big Loud, asked her to put her vocals on a song of his. Then nine months went by without her hearing anything, and he came to DJ their Christmas party, and they met at a Titans game and almost a year later they released the song. It was a crazy full circle moment, and she loves how the fans have connected with the song.
Rose still has a lot of development she needs to do and is still trying to figure out how to be really confident in what she does and who she is. She fights with imposter syndrome every day and has a hard time not having a chip on her shoulder because it fuels the fire in her. She is trying to give her energy to people who believe in her, while she still works hard to prove others wrong. Her dad, mom and wife are the biggest supporters in her life she said. Before Rose’s song went viral, she had many different jobs. When she first moved to Nashville she was working at a mall, tennis center and delivering groceries with Instacart to pay the bills. She also used to be a referee for high school varsity basketball games. In the Spring of 2017, she got invited to the NCAA camps, but she stuck with her plan to move to Nashville and chase her music dreams.
While in studio, Rose played a never before heard song that she said means the world to her called “Two Flowers.” She said it’s kind of like her mom had a crystal ball when she was naming her back in 1993, because she named her after two flowers. It took her parents three weeks after she was born to realize it. You can watch her performance here!
Rose is working on new music that will be out soon. She is opening for Bobby Bones Comedically Inspirational Show in November in Louisville. Tickets are on sale now!