Ariana & the Rose Singer Chats with Sweety High!
Ariana DiLorenzo is the lead singer and songwriter in an alternative-synth-pop group called Ariana & the Rose. Later this month, Ariana & the Rose will be heading out on tour to open for Heffron Drive!
In a recent interview, we chatted with Ariana about her musical background, what makes her band unique, and future plans!
Ariana DiLorenzo didn't come from a musical background, although sometimes she wishes she had.
"It's really funny that I ended up going into music because my dad is a terrible singer but always sang," Ariana said. "He would joke and wish that one of his kids could have a great signing voice."
His dream didn't come true until Ariana began to sing professionally in college. Still, she had performed in musical theater from a young age and always knew that she wanted to be a performer.
"Writing music was always a release," Ariana said. "I was acting my whole life, but it wasn't until I was in college writing for different producers for fun that I realized it was something that I wanted to pursue as a long-term career."
When Ariana first started her career as a musician, she assumed she would be a solo performer.
"But when I started performing live, I knew I wanted a band," she said.
In college, she assembled a group, and knew she wanted a classic band name in the format "Ariana & the" something. But what?
"I had a bunch of really bad, cheesy names that I came up, and my friends would say, 'You can't do that, that's embarrassing,'" Ariana said.
It was then that a friend suggested the name "Ariana & the Rose."
"My middle name is Rose, and my grandmother's name is Rose," Ariana explained. "I come from a really big Italian family so everyone has the same middle name, and I thought that it would be a great tribute to my family and where I come from."
Now that she had a band name in order, she had to determine her new group's sound.
"I wanted to merge two different things," Ariana said. "I play the piano, and I grew up loving singers like Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. I really loved that singer-songwriter appeal."
But Ariana's eclectic tastes wouldn't let her stop there.
"On the other hand, I love electro music like Goldfrapp and Kylie Minogue, with that really cool, dark synth sound," she said. "I wanted to find a way to merge that."
For a while, Ariana worked on making music that blended these two styles. She finally landed on what she wanted with the release of Ariana & the Rose's debut EP, Love Me, Love Me Not.
That sound translates brilliantly to the live stage, as well.
"The band plays the record, including all the synth sounds, live," Ariana said.
Recently, Ariana appeared in the music video for former Beatle, Paul McCartney's, latest single, "Queenie Eye."
"It was exactly what anyone would think. It blows my mind," Ariana said. "Even being in a room with him was insane."
The video also featured big celebrities including Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Meryl Streep, and more.
"Everybody was starstruck and in awe of him," Ariana said. "He was so humble, and to be able to spend 30 minutes talking to him, let alone a couple of hours, was unbelievable."
Ariana & the Rose's upcoming single, "Heartbeat," releases on November 18th in the U.K. and November 19th in the United States.
"The song actually started as a really sweet love song," Ariana explained.
She wrote the chorus months before she finished the rest of the song, based on the romantic idea of falling asleep to the sound of someone else's heartbeat.
Later, during a writing session in England, Ariana shared her ideas with the song's cowriter.
"I played it for him and told him that I had some ideas for the verse, but I wasn't sure if it was working as a total love song," she said. "I felt like maybe we should do something else."
But Ariana and the other writer stuck with it, making some changes in key to drastically change the feel of the song.
"Everything was in a very major place, and he put it in a minor place," she said. "It changed the whole song, and gave it this dark synth sound. I think that was what I really wanted for it. There's a very sweet chorus in a song that actually tells a story of something that's falling apart."
Ariana has also had the chance to perform at Fashion Week in New York, London and Paris. She felt like she fit right in because her parents make swimwear, and she has been going to Fashion Week in New York with her mother for years.
"Fashion was a natural place and a really great fit," she said. "I think that people sort of see the fashion community as a closed off place, but for me it's always been where I've grown up."
Ariana has always been a lover of clothes and fashion, and getting to perform onstage was a huge honor for her.
"It was an amazing platform for me," she said. "It felt really comfortable but exciting. I'm used to being at shows but I'm not used to being a performer at shows. It was new and exciting but it also felt like home at the same time."
Ariana & the Rose have a 4-song EP called Head Vs. Heart releasing in February. Ariana has been traveling from Los Angeles to England to Sweden for writing sessions and to begin recording a full record to follow her EP.
In November, Ariana & the Rose will also head out on tour in support of Heffron Drive, alongside up-and-comer Eric Dash. We absolutely can't wait to see them all on tour!
Love Ariana & the Rose? Join us at Sweety High and tell us all about your favorite up-and-coming artists. We might just interview them!
Also be sure to follow the band's social pages!