Rozee of NBC’s Songland | The Songwriter Behind Leona Lewis’ Hit Song “Somebody to Love”

Audio Transcription

On the show. Today we are interviewing Rozee from NBCs hit TV show songline. You see Rozee is the hit songwriter behind Leona Lewis’s new song, somebody to love this woman lost her father when she was just eight years old. She lost her mother when she was just 21 years old, but she never quit and she persevered and the world finally got to hear her on a worldwide stage on NBCs. Hit TV show song land. Listen in and take notes as you learn about the power of perseverance from singer songwriter Rozee.

Some shows don’t need a celebrity in the right hair to introduce the show, but this show does to may eight kids co-created by two different women, 13 moat time million dollar businesses. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome

To the thrive time show

[Inaudible] yes,

Yes, yes and yes nation. On today’s show we have a very special occasion because we are interviewing one of the superstars from the hit NBC show song land. Rozee, welcome onto the thrive time show. How are you ma’am?

Thank you so much. I am doing great. Even better now because it gets to interview with you guys.

Well, Hey, let’s, let’s start off. Maybe let’s, let’s start from the very beginning and then we’ll kind of work in kind of a semi linear fashion here to tell us about your love of music and where that came from.

My love for music came I guess mostly from my parents. They have both passed away, but my dad was a minister. Pennant, grew up in a Pentecostal, you know, very Christian, very strict home. But he was also a vocalist, very talented and well-known vocalist on my Island, st Croix. And my mom was also a self-taught pianist and organist. So from a very young age, I just, I was always around music and according to my mother, you know, I had to gab and I love to sing and I would always sing and make up my own little songs.

Well, you know, st Croix is, it’s such a beautiful area. Can you tell us about your childhood? I mean, did you live right there on the water? Did you live kind of inland? Just a little bit? Or where was your, where was your home?

So I lived more on the inland. The beach is about like a 10 minute drive away. Maybe give or take depending on where you go. But I a very like very, I guess middle class good upbringing, you know, that didn’t, nothing crazy until like my later teen years when I was a little bit rebellious, but very just simple, you know, Island life friends, family, that sort of thing. So it was definitely a very unique upbringing I would say.

No. Your and I’m sorry to bring this up, I just want to give the listeners some context. I believe that your dad passed away when you were just eight. Is that great?

That’s correct. That passed away when I was eight years old and that was during a, I don’t know if many of the state cideries rule. Remember hurricane Maryland. He died like literally during that tuning period. So it’s very hectic for my mom.

And I believe your mom passed away when you were 21. Is that correct?

Correct. Mom passed away. My second to last semester of college

And I only bring this up because it, I think it demonstrates your resilience, your resiliency, your mindset, because a lot of people would’ve quit and said, Hey, I’ve got, you know, these challenges. Talk to me about how that’s affected your music, writing those adversities you’ve gone through.

The things, I mean, I think most artists who have sort of been through the rough of life sometimes that makes for really amazing music. And I’m, I’m fortunately fortunate I, I’d say to have been through those things cause they make me who I am and they make my, my lyrical content. I feel a little bit deeper at times. So, you know, as unfortunate as some situations are, I’m still thankful to be the person that I am through those things.

Well, you know, we have one of our show sponsors on here with us today, a appall hood meet, miss Rozee. Rozee, how are you today?

Hey Paul. I’m great.

Awesome. So Paul is an accountant. You know, he likes to think about the numbers and helping entrepreneurs. And really as a songwriter, in my opinion, that’s what you are, you’re an entrepreneur and music is your, is your product. That’s what you do. It’s your passion. How have you been able to support yourself? I know Ryan was working at pottery barn while working for free at industrial light and magic before he hit it big w Ryan Tedder with his group, one Republic. How have you been able to support yourself? You have like a variety of jobs or have you been doing music related jobs or H how have you been able to make it?

So, let’s see. I’ll just back track a little bit, but before song land, I now live in D C I lived in LA for seven years before song land and I worked as a nanny. I will, I did do, if I did vocal lessons, I worked as a graphic designer, so I haven’t, I have known about before Sanya and came along. And so it has varied, but each of those things have made me who I am. I am a creative, I am a graphic. I do my own graphic design, I do my own accounting, like I do every, I’m very self proficient. So I’m grateful to all for all those opportunities.

So where are you typically located when you’re writing your songs? Do you have like a, a part of your, maybe an apartment or your house you go to? Are you, do you like to, you know, right when you’re outside while you’re driving? I mean, where do you sit down and, and, and writing songs?

A lot of times I’ll write, sometimes when I’m driving, like I’ll have an idea and I’ll put it in my voice memo and then I’ll get home and kinda hash it out. Or sometimes I have a basement that I go downstairs. I just, for the past four months have been teaching myself guitar. So that’s really come in handy and I’m, I’m super proud of myself. That is an accomplishment in itself. So it just, it varies usually at home or in the crime.

And so you how did they, how did it come about for you to get on the song land show? I mean, were you where did you apply for this? Did maybe someone refer you to it or how did, cause there’s so many, I mean, there’s thousands of songwriters that are really good. I, I’ve been to, you know, places like Nashville where it seems like the average waiter is a better than the Mo than most professional musicians. I mean, there’s just great talent everywhere. How did this come to be for you?

So I played a show with some friends at the hotel cafe in LA at it was an event and they were looking for performance. So after the show, someone came up to me and she was like, Hey, I do casting for the voice. And I do casting for some other shows. Can I get your contact and loved your sets? So I gave her my info and she emailed me about the voice and I wasn’t too interested in doing the voice at the time. And so she’s like, okay, we have some other shows coming up. I’ll email you. So she sent me the info for sanguine. I had to fill out the application and then I didn’t hear anything from her for about nine months,

Nine months.

Well, I guess that’s not really going anywhere. And after nine months, someone else reached out and they were like, Hey, we’d love to interview you. I mean, roofs off from there.

That is so cool. That is so cool. Paul, I know you have a hot question here for Rozee

I do. Rozee. Hey, I love, I, we, we have clients in about almost every state in the United States and we do a lot with businesses and, and deal with frustration and all of that. And the thing that I like to study about people in, in specifically, you know, people that are overcomers is, you know, you went through stuff like clay was saying, where did you find that motivation that you had a lot when when the average person would have just said, you know what, that’s ridiculous. Life is just too rough. And you know, and I just got to throw my hands up. Where did you find that motivation? That internal motivation just says, you know, it’s, it’s time to move on and push forward.

Actually there was a period of time where I did walk away from music. I moved from Miami to Los Angeles in 2013, early 2013 and when I moved to LA, I wasn’t originally like pursuing music as a career. But there was a moment in time where someone I met sort of recognize my talent and they were like, you would have to be absolutely insane if you let this talent go. And that sort of struck something in me. And from that day forward I just sort of started, started rebuilding myself musically and pursuing as a career. So there was a period of time in there where I was like, this is too political. I’m being disappointed every single step of the way. I don’t want to do this anymore. But I’m glad that I came out of that.

What was the, when you were on the show, you come up there and you performed your song. For the listeners out there that aren’t familiar with your performance, could you share the name of the song that you originally showed up on and performed on the, on the set?

Yes. So the original song I presented was called fighting for us and that was a ballad

Fighting for us. Now when I heard your song I was watching Ryan’s face and, and having been around him a little bit in college, you know, you can kind of see, he like it’s fully present all the time. Music is like his thing, you know, and I see these light bulbs going on and, and I, he started talking about your chord progression and he really latched onto that. Can you talk about what it was like working with Ryan on the crafting of a song? Cause it’s very different than how it started, but you can still feel elements of the song there. Could you just talk about what it’s like working with a songwriting genius like Ryan Tedder?

Sure. Brian, I was very observant. And I definitely took a lot away from my time with him. He was just, like you said, very present and in the moment, but you can see his brain kind of ticking away and he found the pieces that he felt would work best and sort of pull those out of the original song. So it was very interesting to just kind of get in the studio and see, you know, what we, what we would come up with. And I wasn’t expecting it to go the way it was. It did. But I definitely think what he did sort of taps a little bit more into my roots and it’s something fun and something that we don’t wanna lose, had never done before. So he was very, I don’t wanna say calculated, but he, he’s very intelligent in the choices that he made and the song that we made together.

What is it like working with him in the studio? Is he, is he intense? Is he funny? Is he, is he just won? Get a lot of our listeners would just love to be a fly on the wall and on that show you to see, you know, it’s edited obviously. So you get to see, you know, 30 seconds of that part, you know, 42 seconds of that part. Can you kind of explain what it’s like being in the room with him and maybe what you learned most from your experience?

He’s very excited in the studio. You know, you can tell that he’s excited about what he does, which is like amazing. And a lot of our session was just sort of kind of going back and forth and Corolla collaborating about what would work best and where the song would go, which when he took those chords, like I said, I don’t think anyone who’s watching the show could have imagined that it would have turned into what it turned out. So it was just very, it was a special moment to, to just be in the studio and watch his brain work.

What was fun watching you, you, you work, I mean, it’s fun to see the collaboration. I, it’s really crazy that here you were what nine months ago you had a card from somebody who said, Hey, maybe you should be on the voice to now. I mean, has your life changed a lot since this performance? Have you had some neat opportunities that maybe you’re working? I mean, I know you can’t make me share what they are exactly, but are you having some neat opportunities come about?

I’ve had some pretty neat opportunities and I’m just working, you know, as, as much as I can. And meeting as many people as I can. Networking is a big part of, you know, after the show because the show is there to be a good show. It’s not, you know, they’re not necessarily invested in me as an artist but, or the songwriter. But it’s a platform and I am so proud to have been a part of season one of the show and to be like sort of an originator. It’s just, it’s just been amazing. It’s been, it’s been a game changer for me.

Awesome. Paul, you had a question?

I do. Rozee. I, I, I know clay gets into this a lot, but I know we, we find that a lot of most successful people kind of have an unusual reverence for time and how they spend their time is that you do, you just kind of get up, you know, and just, are you just a natural talent? And then clay, I want to know is, is have people started coming up to you, Rozee and say you’re an overnight sensation. You know, when in fact it’s taken a while.

Hmm. Yeah. I mean, I shared my story quite a bit, so people who may or may not have known me, they’re like, Oh my gosh, she just came out of nowhere. And like, no, like you said, I’ve been doing this for a while. You know, it’s a different day at time and age now where it’s not necessarily all about talent because you have to be the creative, the business, the everything in one. You have to have that full package. So I definitely, I think I’m a natural talent myself. It comes naturally to me, but everything else, you know, it’s something that I’ve, things that I’ve had to work on over the years.

Now you your song was ultimately selected by Leona Lewis to be a, a hit or a single for her. The song ended up being named solo key arrow somebody to love. What did it feel like to have your songs selected?

It, it really if you want to show like, I was pretty much in shock.

Yeah. Yeah.

I, I walked off the stage crying. I like didn’t know what to say. They ha they interviewed me afterwards and I was like, I just don’t even know what to say because for me it had been a long time coming. No, just, just something, an opportunity like this. And I was just extremely grateful. So I was just in awe and thankful at the same time. So I’ve just shout out to you in a Louis, you know, my fellow Island girl is just amazing. An amazing opportunity.

Now, Leona Lewis, for the listeners out there that don’t know, do you know what Island Leona Lewis was raised in or grew up on?

So she’s from the UK, but her dad is from Guyana. He’s [inaudible].

Okay. Yeah. And

Yeah, so funny enough Guyanese people have a similar accent to Virgin islands people.

And by the way, I know you live there, but you the Island that you were raised. And that is a small, I mean it’s small cause you’re, you’re East of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico is not that big. I mean that you, you are surrounded by a lot of water.

Yes. I Island is a 80 square miles.

Wow. Wow. Well,

It’s about maybe an hour to get around there, maybe.

Well, what I wanted to do was to give you an opportunity to we have about a half a million listeners per month to this podcast and we’re, we’re blessed to have a great audience of people that want to improve and want to get better, many of which are in the end of the songwriting community. And so I had two final questions for you. One for the people out there that are on a tight budget, tight budget and they’re in the music game and they want to get a nice home studio, you know, and they’re on a tight budget. Okay. We’ve got let’s say $3,000 or less total to invest in something. Do you have a certain microphone you might recommend? Or you might say, Hey, you know, get yourself a Mac laptop and get this or get that. Could you maybe explain maybe some of the bare minimum basics that you’ve used to record your ideas over the years when you were just getting started or, you know what I mean? Just give some people some practical direction there.

Hmm. I would say, okay. I’m definitely a Mac person. Like I’ve had a knock for probably the past eight, nine years, so I’m definitely all about log blah. If you can’t afford them, get you can afford. Great tool that I have discovered sometimes when I’m traveling, if I don’t have like a set up GarageBand on your iPhone, great tool, you can record really clean, clear vocals and depending on what type of song it is, you can send that over to send the stems over to your producer and have them, you know, produce a track around it or just maybe get like $100 microphone just to start, just to get your ideas. You know, you can always go to the studio and like, once you have a song down, perfected at home, just go in two hours credit, get out, spend however much for those two hours. So yeah, those are my kind of two tips I guess.

Well, I mean, we’re now down at a time and an age where everyone could on if you really want to, I mean, you can get a second job or a third job and afford to do this. I mean, GarageBand comes with the Mac computers. You said $100 a Mike and, and somebody can get at least get in the game.

Yeah.

Now what, what is the website you would encourage all of our listeners to learn more about you ad or, or what’s the YouTube channel you want to direct them to? Where would you direct our listeners to go to find out more about you and maybe the new projects you’re working on?

They can go to my website that’s Rozeemusic, R O Z double E music.com or my Instagram, which is Rozee official, R O. Z. w. E official. Yeah, I’m releasing a new remix on October 18th. It’s super fun, very Latin flavored, very Caribbean. So I’m kind of playing off of the show a little bit, but it’s a very exciting remake for me and it’s being released by a label out of Germany

And called rosy music. Rozee music.com R O Z E E music.com. Anything else you want to share with our listeners cause I know they want to learn more about you and the music that you are currently making.

Yeah, just feel free to reach out. DM me on Instagram or contact me via my contact page on the website. I’m always open to collaboration. I’m always open to learning about other people. And yeah, that’s about it for me.

Well, Rozee, I appreciate you so much for taking time to, to join us today. I know Paul and I both appreciate you and I hope that this show can be just another, a catalyst to help you continue doing that massive networking that you need. But what we, we believe in you and great job on the show.

Thank you so much. You guys are mean

Much like you. Rozee had every reason to quit, but we only know her name because she didn’t quit. She persevered. She pushed through even when success did not seem near. Ladies and gentlemen, that’s the kind of perseverance and tenacity that you and I need to have if we want to achieve super success. Great job, Rozee. Thank you for being on the show. And we’d like to end each and every show with a boom three, two, one, boom.