Exclusive Interview: Rose Betts Talks About the Release of White Orchids

Rose Betts has emerged as one of the industry’s most exciting up-and-coming singer-songwriter. This year, she released her debut album White Orchids, which finds her tapping into a new side of her artistry and vulnerability. Pop Culturalist caught up with Rose to talk about the release, her musical journey, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Rose: My family is very creative and artsy. We were all singing from a very young age. I remember watching this animated film called The Snowman. I remember there was a beautiful piano part in it. I was like, “I want to learn to do that.” This was when I was around six or seven, and I got my auntie to teach me. That’s when I started playing piano.

I have a twin sister and two younger siblings. Music became this escape for me because no one was interested in the piano room. I would go in, shut the door, and have my own little space. That’s where it began. [laughs] It’s probably because I wanted my own room and never had it. I never had all these things, and I thought that would make me happy, even though I love having a big family. I started playing around and taught myself piano.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Rose: That’s a big question. It probably started off with having such a musical family. That made a huge difference. My dad is also an actor. I was always surrounded by people who were working in the arts. From when I was very young, he was very honest with me about things. Sometimes it was hard to hear, but it was important. It was very influential in terms of how I conducted my life as a person and as a musician.

PC: You recently released your full-length debut album. What was the inspiration behind White Orchids?
Rose: There’s a lot behind it but mainly a particular relationship and time in my life. There was a time a few years ago when my friends and I lived in this mansion in north London that had been abandoned. We were there in the midst of someone buying it and looking after it.

It was this insane summer and bubble of time that felt golden. While I was there, I was like, “I’m so sad that this is going to pass.” I was nostalgic for the present. It was this incredible time that I never thought I’d ever experience. It’s the kind of thing that only exists in films. Then of course, like everything, it came to an end. It felt like a loss and my youth passing me and the end of a relationship. The album is very much about that and reconciling with the loss of youth.

It’s about me exploring loss because I don’t like losing things. I don’t like things passing. I don’t like time passing. That’s why I write songs: because it allows me to hold on to that time and space for a bit longer. It’s almost like a way of freezing time. You freeze your emotions from that person and you paint a picture. The album is definitely wrestling with all of that. I didn’t want to lose that time, but also, if it wasn’t for those moments, I wouldn’t have written any of these songs.

PC: There’s so much vulnerability on this album. Has it always been easy for you to tap into that?
Rose: No. It’s only been recently in the past five years that I’ve been able to be vulnerable in my music. I definitely thought that songwriting was a way of hiding. I used to think that it was a way that I could hide my emotions within something. It was almost like fake vulnerability in a way. But then I had this relationship, which was very chaotic and went very wrong. I sat down and wrote this song without really thinking about anything other than the fact that I was trying to process it. It’s called “Recovery,” and it’s a song on the album. I was open and vulnerable on it. Afterwards, I listened to the song, and I sat with it. I was like, “Wow, it’s amazing how much depth and vulnerability you can bring to art.” That moment onwards, I’ve explored vulnerability and continue to explore it, but it took a long time for me to find the confidence to do that.

PC: If you had to select the song off the album that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Rose: Probably “Recovery.” It’s just me and a piano. I love all the frills and different places where you can go with the song. But at the center of it all, it’s just me and piano trying to tell a story.

PC: As we look ahead to the rest of 2022, what’s on the horizon? What can fans expect from you?
Rose: More music. That for me is the goal. I have a whole load of things that I have not put out yet. I’ve been working with other people as a co-writer. So definitely more music. I’m living in the U.S. at the moment, so I’m going to do some little tours. But mainly I just want to put stuff out.

To keep up with Rose, follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music.