Inside Rosabell’s In Bloom: Comparison, Confidence and Finding Your Own Voice
Punk Head: You describe In Bloom as a story of becoming. Who were you when you started making this EP, and who did you realize you were becoming?
Rosabell: I was definitely still a beginner artist, trying to figure out how I fit in as a pop star within such an R&B-heavy music climate and a genre that hasn’t always been the most accepting of Black women. I’m still figuring out what that means for me, but what I do know is that there’s no need to morph myself into something I’m not when I actually want to stand out.
I realized I was blooming into a version of myself that welcomed unique sounds and niche interests—someone who stopped looking for acceptance from others and instead learned to value validation from within.
Punk Head: There’s a striking honesty in admitting envy on What I Want. Why was it important to put that feeling in the music rather than disguise it?
Rosabell: It was so important for me to blatantly say“I’m envious” because I grew up hearing how bad it was to think or feel that way. You’d automatically be labelled a hater or a loser for seeming unsupportive of others, when that couldn’t be further from what I was actually feeling or thinking.
I’m fully aware that jealousy and comparison can be the thief of joy, but two things can be true at once. I can acknowledge that while also recognizing that this is genuinely how I’m feeling in the moment—and that it’s okay. What matters is how I work through that emotion and shift my mentality, rather than shying away from something I’m genuinely feeling or pretending isn’t there.
Especially as a Black woman in the pop space, it’s impossible for me to say I’ve never felt like I needed to change or contort myself into something else because I saw someone doing something that opened a door I desperately wanted to walk through too. Being honest with yourself means being truthful about those feelings and asking what they’re trying to tell you. From there, you can choose to transform that “negative” emotion into something productive, inspiring, and ultimately positive and my positive was putting those emotions into lyrics.
Punk Head: Is comparison something you experience more as an artist, as a person, or have you found that the two are impossible to separate?
Rosabell: I think they definitely bleed into one another. It’s easy to fall into the trap of comparison—sometimes it happens without me even realizing it’s happening. Personally as an artist, when you see someone light-years ahead of you, it feels more like a goal I’d one day like to achieve. But when your peers are accomplishing things you wish you had the same opportunities for, comparison can sneak in and have you asking, “Why hasn’t this happened for me?”
Furthermore, simply being a woman in today’s age of social media means constantly seeing these lavish snippets into other people’s lives while also navigating the double standards women face in the artist space. We so often forget that we’re not seeing the full picture. I’m trying my best to teach myself mindfulness and develop habits that help me break this line of thinking every day because it’s so easy to get zeroed in on the things you’re seeing.
Artistry is also unfortunately tied to being a business and a brand, so it’s really important for me to protect the distinction between Rosabell the singer and Rosabell as a day-to-day individual. Ultimately, I’m on my own path as both an artist and a person. And although comparison has a way of creeping in, I think it’s important to remember that no two lives are the same. My version of success is going to look completely different from the success I’m comparing myself to, and that doesn’t make it any less valuable.
Punk Head: The phrase “carving out space” is especially loaded when you’re talking about being a Black woman in pop. What does taking up space actually look like for you?
Rosabell: It looks like not having to feel as though I’ve forced myself into somewhere I’m not welcomed. In pop specifically, Black women are often shunned from the genre and ushered toward R&B, as though there’s a predetermined place for us in music. There shouldn’t be a fight over whether or not someone belongs somewhere. If your heart genuinely belongs to a community and you’re entering it in good faith, you should be welcomed into it with open arms.
I think rather than “taking up space,” I’d love to enter a space without there ever being a question of, “How could she possibly be here?” To me, true representation is when my presence doesn’t have to be explained or defended. I just get to exist there.
Punk Head: There’s something almost deliberately uncomplicated about the title In Bloom. Do you see blooming as a beautiful process, a messy one, or both?
Rosabell: Blooming is definitely both—beautiful and messy as hell. I think everyone is in a constant state of blooming. As people, we’re always growing, learning, and becoming, and that process can be incredible to look back on—to see where someone started and where they are now. But it’s also important to acknowledge that the steps it took to get there probably weren’t easy.
Being an artist makes that process even more complicated because of all the messy moments, especially the bad and ugly ones that can make you question everything and feel like you should give up altogether. There are so many moments where you’re unsure of yourself or wondering if all the work is actually going to lead somewhere.
But once you reach that beautiful state of bloom, all the craziness that came before it starts to feel worthwhile.
