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Beloved alt-pop songstress Isabel LaRosa has amassed worldwide success and a global fanbase, all at only 20 years old. In her debut album, Raven, she explores her evolving sound and pens raw emotion in songs that are sure to strengthen the already tight-knit connection with her listeners. We chatted with the rising star about the exciting and daunting task of making her first record, working creatively with her brother Thomas, and how personal the Raven symbolism is to her. 

OnesToWatch: It’s almost been a year since “Favorite” came out, what's changed since then? Did you know that song would be on your debut album?

Isabel LaRosa: When I released “Favorite” as a single, the idea of an album was so farfetched to me. I would not have thought that this would necessarily be what I'm doing right now, but I'm so happy that I am. We've put out “Pretty Boy”, “Muse”, “Home” and “Cry For You”, which are some really fun ones. I've been wanting to give people the fan favorites and the songs that they really want. The album is very much for them. Obviously, when you drop an album you want it to be massive, but it's really for the people that have been waiting for this and who have cared throughout the years. It's very much for my fans. 

I saw that you’re performing some of the unreleased songs live, I'm sure everyone's so excited to hear them! I'm a tracklisting nerd so I'd love to hear how you chose the album order.

I wanted to start it off positive, darker and sexier. As the album progresses, the songs get deeper and more personal. Towards the end, it becomes a concentration of those songs. Ending with “Burning” feels like the perfect ending for the sentiment of the album. I also wanted it to flow with some other things that I'm going to put out, maybe some music videos…

I wanted it to flow like a relationship that goes bad. It starts off really positive, with super high highs and the rush of everything. Then at the end, it's the worst. I wanted the album to be a progression of how that feels. 


That was exactly the experience I had listening to it. Let’s talk about “Famous”. Starting with this track is such a bold choice, tell me about the decision to make it the intro to your debut album. 

Honestly, most of the time I go based on my initial gut instinct on things. Obviously I have my own reason for it, but if something feels right, I'll just do it. “Famous” is one of my favorite songs on the album and I'm just so excited about it. It feels like such a distinct opening, to start my debut album with a song called “Famous”, you know what I mean? It felt like the perfect mix of a new sound for me while also kind of keeping it in my world. 

You're so right, even just the word evokes a visceral response. For me, “Good Girl” is an instant hit. I love that song. 

Oh! I feel like no one ever talks about that song, but thank you.

That was one of my favorites for sure.
I would love to hear about the making of it. 

We wrote “Good Girl” almost a year ago at this point. We've been playing it live for a bit now, which has been so much fun.”Good Girl” was one of those ideas that we just thought sounded so cool and we wanted to do something that was a little bit more pop. After “Favorite”, we were in a point of experimenting with sounds. So many of these songs came after “Favorite”, and they sound so different to each other. So with “Good Girl” we were just like, “What else can we try that would be fun for us to make?” We wanted to go more pop with it, so we did. 

We have to talk about the interpolation in “Girl Of Your Dreams," tell us about pulling in such an iconic reference. 

It's so weird for me to hear it as “Girl Of Your Dreams" because I've been thinking about it as “You Don’t Own Me” for so long. We recently changed the title! I've just always loved that song so much. It's so timeless and forever holds up as a powerful anthem. I love the feel of it, it has a darker edge which I love. I'm obsessed with older songs and it felt like a perfect one for me to interpolate. How could you ever beat the original?

I love how you kept so much of the original essence of it. 


I wanted to keep it really similar, because I love the feel of it and I wouldn't want to take away the elements that I love so much. It was a song that felt accurate to the point of my life that I was in. It felt really natural.

It's so crazy to think about how brave she [Lesley Gore] was to release that song. 


Yeah, it's crazy. I can't even imagine, I have so much respect for her and that piece of music. I wanted to do it in a way that didn't feel too far from the original. 

Tell us about the beautiful “See You Again," because it’s definitely sonically different than most of the album. 

I really love that song. It's about a loved one passing away. My great uncle, who I grew up with, passed away a couple months ago and although we wrote the song beforehand, it has taken on a different meaning. The album talks about death and rebirth, knowing that even if you aren't with a person right now, that you'll see them again at some point. This song is about having faith that you will. It’s about the belief that, even if I cannot see you right now, I will one day.

Out of the new songs on the album, which ones do you think will be fan favorites? Which ones are you most excited for them to hear? 

There's one that I'm really excited for fans to hear, it's called “Destroy Myself For You”. I've loved that song for so long, so I'm very curious to see how they will react to it.
I'm also curious to see how they’ll react to “Famous”. I mean, there are so many, especially the more personal ones. 

It seems like you have a close relationship with your fans, so I'm sure it's exciting for you too. 


I talk to them all the time, I swear. They're the sweetest people ever and it's so cool to know that there's a whole group of people waiting to hear this music.

Let's talk about Raven as your album title and concept. The cover art is so striking and beautiful, how did you land on the concept and what does the Raven mean to you? 

It's interesting, because I have wanted to do visuals with a raven for a year or more now. I grew up homeschooled and would listen to audiobooks with my mom, because I was obsessed with nature. We would listen to audiobooks about crows and ravens. I was just so obsessed with them, about how smart they are and how aware they are of people. Then also, funny enough, not that I care about sports, but the Baltimore Ravens are my hometown football team. The album is very much about home, but also change. Ravens represent life and death in folklore, so it felt right. We actually had a different album title over the summer, it was fully going to be a different thing. When we sat back and reevaluated, I was like, “It should just be called Raven.” I was so glad that I made that decision because it feels so real to me, in so many different ways.

It’s so important to listen to your gut, especially with your debut album. What do you want listeners to take away from this record? After they listen to it for the first time, what do you think the main emotions or feelings will be? 

The album goes through a lot of different emotions, there are so many different themes and feelings. I just want it to make people feel seen, you know? I want people to feel understood. I really wanted to show the highs and lows of any relationship, it could even be a friendship. So, hopefully people feel that and apply it to their own lives. That's all I can hope for, that people feel like they can look at their life through this lens. It's hard to say what I want people to take away from it, because everybody's going to take away their own individual things and that's all I can hope for. 

Tell us about collaborating with your brother on your debut album, especially one that pulls inspiration from your childhood. How meaningful has that been and how has it played into the making of this record? 

Thomas is the best, obviously.
We’ve worked together literally our entire lives. We've written together since we were little kids, so it’s just what I know. I would not be here without Thomas in many ways. Because he's behind the scenes, I feel like he often doesn't get the credit that he deserves but he's truly the most talented person I know.
It’s always the most incredible thing to write with him and be able to finally talk about things I couldn't talk about before, because I was not in a good situation. It was very therapeutic to write it with him because it was about things that he knew that were going on in my life. He just understands me so well that it's so easy to write with him. I always say he's the other half of my brain. 

It makes me think about one of the lyrics on the album about needing to talk to your brother. It's just so beautiful to know that he can support you creatively and in life, that really shines in the music. Which songs are you most excited to play on tour?

I'm very, very excited to play “Famous”, I feel like it's going to sound so good live. I have some moments on stage that I'm really excited about. There’s also a cover…I'm not going to say what it is yet but I'm so excited about it. Hopefully people will love it, I've been wanting to do it as a cover for so long. “Cry For You” is going to be so fun to play live. I'm really excited to be able to sing that to a crowd of people.

Who are your OnesToWatch? Who are you listening to? 

Julia Wolf and Jessie Murph are so amazing. sombr is obviously crushing it. Also, Wisp!

I'm so excited for this album to be out, thanks so much for chatting about it with us.

Of course. Thank you so much for having me!