ELENA ROSE
Elena rose may be pen behind some the of Spanish-language pop’s biggest hits, but after two minutes of conversation, it’s easy to see that she is as authentic as they come. For one, her look is more laidback than you’d expect from a superstar songwriter: She dons a simple spaghetti strap tank top brandished with the words “I LOVE MEN,” but the letter “n” is scratched out, so it reads “I LOVE ME.” That level of self-comfort, confidence, and all-around grounded mindset also comes through in her work.
“Music was my refuge and my love language between my sisters and my mom,” she explains on a video call from Medellín last December. “It was our way of disconnecting from reality,” she continues. Every so often, she takes long drags from a cigarette as she narrates her tumultuous journey — one of dedicated hustle and resilience — in the music industry.
When she was 18, Rose moved to Miami with her then 16-year-old sister, leaving her mom and extended family behind in Caracas, Venezuela. She didn’t have the faintest idea how the music industry worked, but she was adamant about setting out on her own. To pay the $1,000 rent on her apartment — a small space that originally functioned as an o ce — she waitressed at a restaurant and worked at a crystal shop.
At night, Rose would perform at bars with some of the industry’s most in-demand touring musicians while they were taking a break from being on the road. One evening, a producer saw her singing at a bar and recruited her to sing on the demos he made for major label heavy hitters. Eventually, she asked the producer if she could shadow him during the songwriting process. It was in these sessions that she learned the basics of the business and trained to become a songwriter.
She embarked on a solo career in 2020, debuting with the singles “Sandunga,” “Fenomenal,” and “La Ducha.” More singles arrived in the last three years, but it’s only now that Rose is putting the final touches on her full-length debut. “I feel I’ve been writing this album my whole life,” she says. She’s composed over 60 songs for the LP, but it’s been a challenge to narrow down the selection. There is a little bit of everything: dancehall, pop, ballads— although not much reggaeton, she admits with an apology and a laugh. She sees the release as a document of her transformation as an artist — a snapshot of the “transparency” she’s brought to her life and creative practice.
Every producer, engineer, and songwriter she’s worked with has contributed to the project in some way. “You have a song that is produced by one of Drake’s biggest producers, but then you have another producer who I started out with,” she goes on. “I see it and I’m like, ‘Wow, this is di erent parts of me throughout the whole process.’”
Rose doesn’t fear vulnerability— perhaps because she’s cultivated a meaningful relationship to alternative spirituality, manifestation, and intuition over the course of her life. In conversation, she calls herself a student of the universe and speaks about music as a divine endeavor. “I really want to walk in with God,” she says of going into a writing session with another artist. “Because if not, I don’t feel safe.”
That desire for emotional sincerity and personal relatability is one of her secret weapons. Rose isn’t worried about being brutally honest—especially if it means building a fanbase rooted in trust and authenticity, rather than detached glamour. “I don’t want to be an unreachable artist,” she explains. “I want people to feel good. I want people to cry and feel safe that they can do it with me.”
“I don’t want to be an unreachable artist. I want people to feel good. I want people to cry and feel safe that they can do it with me.”