We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amelia Rose a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Amelia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I had recently gotten out of the hospital w/meningitis where I was crippled, had multiple seizures, and apparently died for a minute and resuscitated. I don’t remember much besides a few small details. I was 4 maybe 5, …and I was obsessed w/The Little Mermaid. I WAS Ariel!! In the bathtub, …or anywhere else possible. I learned to sing like a parrot and my mom found out I could sing when she discovered me singing in a room where she thought it was the movie playing. I had this deep passion for singing, and knew right away this was what I want meant to do with my life.
My music influences varied depending on which parent, grandparent, sibling, or situation I was in… from rock, Broadway, pop ballads, etc. I grew up listening and appreciating all types of music genres, and have always loved challenging my voice to follow suit.
At 15, I wrote my first original song for a friend who passed away. I’ve written many songs since and have developed my voice over the years through many genres.
My experiences singing and enjoying music from so many different styles and genres (along with the unique experiences I’ve encountered), have also helped me to connect with and relate with different types of people from all over, and I’m also grateful for that.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I grew up quite sheltered and poor. Conservatively homeschooled through elementary school, then graduated w/10 people from a k-12 public school in a town of 200 people. Middle girl of 6 kids, I grew up shy as it can be a competition just to hear your voice in my family, lol,
As an adult, I ventured out to pursue music and opportunities.
I’ve taken on unique experiences along my path – like working in wilderness rehab with teens, a nanny for an agency, massage therapy college, …I moved from one city/state to another more than once – just me and my little car.. Eventually I moved to Los Angeles – where the dream was sold to me, but really didn’t exist for someone working multiple jobs, sleeping in her car, and living in survival mode. My experiences made me tougher and wiser too, and I met some amazing and inspiring human beings along the way. After 4 years of grinding in LA, I moved to Vegas for the chance at doing more than survive. The grind continued, but I found myself in some amazing and unexpected opportunities- singing in the Funk Industry as a Teena Marie tribute artist, as well as singing lead and backups with Rick James original band members. At the end of the day, I’ve never been too great at fitting into boxes. Pandemic gave me time to develop my voice further with a lot of practice singing different songs from all genres, I discovered hula hoops and flow arts as another passion (and that’s a whole other story), but has also become a huge part of my identity as an artist. I’ve been working as a Gondolier at the Venetian Casino for the past few years between other gigs. Singing Italian opera has really challenged me to grow and fine tune as a vocalist, embracing opera more than I ever had since I was a kid singing along to Phantom of The Opera at my grandmas house to the track she would blast on her big stereo.
From soul to opera, my voice is more powerful, dynamic, and controlled than it ever has been!!! I’m excited that flow arts has become a part of some of my performances as well, and I’m only getting better with time. I go by Singing Hoops as a Flow Artist, and The Real Amelia Rose as a Music Artist. I hope one day soon to have a headliner show filled with undefined multi genre music and flow arts combined.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I used to be shy and intimidated to be on camera. . I would say half way through the pandemic, I started posting my hula hoop and flow arts progress on tiktok. Eventually i got more brave, and started posting videos of me singing. Over time, I connected with flowmies/flow artists and musicians from around the world.
I would say, combining niches the way I’ve done is not the fastest way to success with the algorithms that are much like Hollywood and corporate anything – they like to categorize people into boxes, ….and I’ve never been one to fit too well. But I’m thankful that I haven’t sold myself short. Yes, I’m a singer who sings everything from opera, soul, funk, pop, country, Celtic, originals, ….as well as an artist obsessed with the flow – hoops, fans, stars, staffs, … I have close to 10k followers now, I’m more confident in front of the camera than ever (in fact I just recorded with a whole documentary crew who followed me around for 5 days in Finland), I get to do fun influencer things like get free products to review, …I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, but some people love me for all that I am. Those are my people and I’m grateful for those amazing connections I’ve made through social media. I recommend expressing yourself online and letting your people find you. It’s a fulfilling way to build community and connection.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Something I never imagined myself getting into is competition. Especially as an Artist, peoples opinions can be very partial and it is a difficult thing for the ego to be judged based on your talent. But singing is also a skill, and the level I’ve worked to develop my voice is obvious in my more recent performances.
I competed at the Karaoke World Championships for the 4th time this year, . First try, I didn’t place anything, then 6th in the nation, 4th in the nation, then finally this year I took 1st place for the USA, which led to a paid trip overseas to compete at Worlds. The talent there was outstanding, the whole experience was one of the most memorable of my life, and I placed 8th in the world.
I would consider trying again, even though I’d like to focus more in my show and original music at this point… . Maybe next year. It’s impossible to not take time to reflect and see just how far I’ve come on my journey… as a vocalist, flow artist, performer, human being!!!
My advice: It takes time and hard work to become your best self. Dont let anyone tell you to give up at some point . Keep growing, keep developing, ….this is your path and your path only. Enjoy and learn, and keep believing in yourself🫶🥂
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.therealameliarose.com
- Instagram: @therealameliarose
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealameliarose
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/therealameliarose
- Other: Tiktok: @therealameliarose
Image Credits
First 2 photos: from KWC 2024 Turku, Finland. Credit: @vieltojarviphotography