OCD can eat you alive; ruminating, obsessing, freezing you in time as you feel the world slipping by around you – it’s a feeling rising British popstar Alessi Rose knows all too well. In her debut EP, rumination as ritual, Rose tackled the complexities of the disorder, offering more introspection than her follow-up EP, Voyeur, of last fall, which offered a more playful vibe (and launched her into stardom). Now, Rose is returning to her roots with her latest single, “Skin.”
After an action-packed 2025, which saw Rose opening for the likes on Dua Lipa and Tate McRae in arenas and stadiums across the world, the singer was finally able to catch her breath at the start of the new year. “This song was written in a period that felt very different for me I have been lucky enough to be locked away in the studio burrowing into the many feelings I have simmering under the surface, many of them remnants of a crazy last year, and I hadn’t realized how much of my OCD-ridden brain was so dependent on the validation of others — people telling me I was doing good and it was all going to be okay,” said Rose in a recent press release.
And when you stop touring the world, the roar of fans in stadiums suddenly turning into the quiet hums of hometown neighborhoods and suburban scenery, where does the mind wander? Suddenly, she wasn’t a popstar; she was simply back to being Alessi, a girl in a studio who was chasing a dream – and dealing with the fears that walk alongside it. “‘Skin’ was the realization that the more you try to be everything that everyone else wants, the less you feel like yourself. Sometimes my skin feels uncomfortable, but I’m learning to exist in it honestly anyway,” said Rose.
It’s art like this that first landed Alessi Rose on the map. Honest, vulnerable, and ridiculously real about a disorder that, much like the title of a track on her first EP, can eat you alive, Rose is proving that pop doesn’t have to be pretty.
FOLLOW ALESSI ROSE: Website | TikTok | Instagram | X | YouTube
Featured Photo Credit: Phoebe Lettice Thompson
Nicole Speros holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications & Media Studies and is currently diving deeper into the industry at Berklee College of Music, where she’s studying Music Business. A passionate storyteller with an eye for what’s next, Nicole brings a sharp, curious voice to her work as a music journalist. She covers emerging artists, shifting trends, and the ever-evolving intersection of music and media—with a focus on authenticity, accessibility, and the songs that connect us all.
She’s an active member of GRAMMY U/The Recording Academy and Women in Music, always looking for ways to support and amplify voices in the industry. When she’s not in class or writing, you’ll probably find her stage-side at a local Boston show or hopping on a plane for her next adventure.