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Photo by Samantha Monendo

Last time we chatted with dark-pop extraordinaire Isabel LaRosa, she was gearing up to release her debut album Raven at only 20 years old. After touring the world and reflecting on the experience of being signed to a record label throughout her formative years, LaRosa felt as fragile as porcelain. Pouring those feelings into her work resulted in the Promising Young Woman EP, 6 tracks that infuse light through the cracks of being a young, female artist. We spoke about saving songs and concepts for the right moment, her tight knit fandom relationship and impressive manifestation skills: 

OnesToWatch: How was opening for Madison Beer’s Locket Tour? 

Isabel LaRosa: It was genuinely so incredible. Her fans are so sweet and dedicated. They ride for her, which translates to my experience because some fans don't really care. Madison’s actually ride for her openers. You don't really know what you're getting into half of the time [as an opener]. 

Is there a city that stands out in your mind? 

Definitely Paris. Paris, I don't know what is in your water but it's just crazy. An arena of people singing your song...it’s really wild. Your brain doesn't process how many people are there.

Any songs from Madison’s set that you particularly loved hearing live? 

I love her music so much in general, but every night I loved “Selfish” and “you’re still everything.” That song makes me actually bawl my eyes out.

We chatted about Raven around this time last year. What did you learn from making your debut album that you took to the process of making the Promising Young Woman EP? 

So much. Raven was my 1st and I'm so proud of the album. I learned how to write for a project instead of just writing for singles, learning how to create more of a narrative.

How did the title Promising Young Woman come to you?

I had it for a while. I almost named Raven that instead, but it just wasn’t right. This project touches a lot on self-imposed pressure, feeling like you're living up to your own potential. Issues with self-esteem and the way it plays out in relationships. The name is almost comical to me. 

Is it also about being perceived, especially as a female musician?  

Definitely. Being told you have potential is not necessarily bad, but I’ve been signed since I was 17. I’ve always tried to fulfill that potential. 

Even if you have the most supportive label and team, it’s impossible to not feel like a product sometimes. 

It can be a self-imposed thing, too. I want to live up to that for everybody else and prove that I can do it, in whatever way that is. It doesn't mean that everyone else is saying those things. I just feel it inherently, you know? 

I love the cover art. We work with Sam, the photographer, here at OTW. She’s so talented. 

Sam is the best. The cover came out so amazing. 

What was the shoot like? 

They built 2 walls around me and we decorated it with the dollhouse furniture. I’ve worked with Sam for so long and she's one of my best friends, so she really understands what I want.

It's such a good partnership to have because visuals are so important. 

I love visuals so much and she really gets it. I wanted it to feel like a distinct switch from Raven. I still wanted it to be alternative, but the vision was a mixture of Alice in Wonderland and Donnie Darko. Those are the two vibes I was going for. 

I love “The Things That I Would Do To Be Enough For You” as the opener of this project. Why put this one first? 

I just loved the sonic world so much. What's interesting to me is that, lyrically, a lot of these songs feel like the darkest lyrics that I've written. But, sonically, whether it be strings or vocoder, it brightens up the music. Which I think is kind of funny, the difference between the two. This one felt representative of what I wanted to talk about in the project. It felt like a beautiful intro to the world. 

The phrase flows off the tongue so well. 

Bring back long titles! People are scared to do it, but I love a long title. A title I can’t remember. 

“Hallucination” was also an introduction, since it was the first single you released from this EP. What made you want to present it first? 

“Hallucination” was really fun [to make]. A lot of times, it’s just gut instinct. I played the songs for everybody and that one in particular was getting a great response. I wanted to save the other ones. I don't know why. But, this one merges the other sounds on the EP pretty well into one song, so it felt representative of what was to come. 

Do you ever tease songs with fans to see what they think? I know you have a close relationship with them.

Definitely. They will bully the shit out of me if they like a song enough. I genuinely cannot escape their wrath. But, that's not a bad thing! I'm happy that they care enough to bully the shit out of me. [Laughs]

“Hate Myself For Loving You” felt sonically different from the other ones. I love how pop it is. 

That was so fun to make. I made it with, obviously, my brother Thomas, and Zhone produced on it. I wrote it with Sasha Alex Sloan, who I love so much. I have so much respect for her writing. I was ranting about the situation that I was in and I was just like, “I'm not even sad. I'm just fucking mad about it now.” I felt like my emotions were amplified. The production happened so fast. I breathed and it was done. 

You mentioned vocoder. It’s so perfect in “Every Life,” tell me about placing it there.  

Totally. My brother really wanted to do one song with a strong vocoder chorus. I never really had the opportunity to do it in a way that felt right for me.The lyric and the vocoder, I felt they matched up very well. There's some lyrics that wouldn't make sense, but this one felt grand enough to do it. 

I’ve been dying to talk about “Porcelain.” How does it feel to put that song out? 

Honestly, the topic has been something that's been in my life for as long as I can remember. I wanted to write a song about it because I don't think I've met a girl who hasn't dealt with those issues. I wanted to do it in a way that didn’t have false confidence. Not that that's a bad thing, but that's not what it feels like for me. It’s such a sensitive topic that I didn't know how to talk about it. Putting it in the context of a metaphor felt like a good way to get it out. I wrote that one with K. Flay and Tommy English produced it. 

You worked with such incredible people on this project. 

Dude, it's so crazy. I've gotten to work with so many artists that I genuinely love. 

Have there been any fan reactions to that song specifically? 

Oh definitely. I’ve gotten the most reactions to “Porcelain,” both sad and happy. It makes me really sad that there's so many people that can relate to it. But, happy that anybody can resonate with it. That makes me feel like I'm not alone.

I'm sure there are songs that you love by artists that do that for you. 

Sasha’s “House With No Mirrors,” that song…I literally can't listen to it because it makes me feel so much, but it's beautiful. 

“Claw Marks” is a great way to end the EP, how did you know it would close it all out? 

I feel so bad because I teased it so long ago, but for whatever reason it never felt like a single. Some songs live in a project as opposed to standing alone. So, I just let it sit for a while and they [my fans], again, bullied the shit out of me for it. So I was like, “Okay fine. I'll finish the song.” I knew that I wanted it on the EP and it feels like such an ending. The last line being “Don’t think I love you / if I’m being honest,” I didn’t even do that intentionally. 

I love how honest it is. It felt like letting go. 

The lyrics on that song are very close to my chest. It feels good to get it out.

How does it feel when you finally find a place for a song like that? 

I was so happy about it just because I wanted to get it out there and didn’t know how. It fits so perfectly into the concept and the whole world. 

Last year when we talked you said your OnesToWatch were Julia Wolf, Jessie Murph, sombr, and Wisp. 

And was I not right? Get me in the A&R department right now! 

Who are you going to say today?

I would say Florence Road, CeCe Natalie, Chxrry, and Mckayla Twiggs.

Those are amazing. A year from now, we’ll check back. 

My manifestation skills are working. I should just say me, Isabel LaRosa! 

Listen to Promising Young Woman below: