We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ariel Rose a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ariel, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to earn a full-time living from performing. But it wasn’t always easy! I have been singing in front of audiences since I was six years old and I was doing it for free up until I turned 18 years old. During the summer between high school and college, my parents told me that I had to get a job so that I had some income coming in. I decided to get a job working at a store in my local mall. It was my very first (and last) “real” job! I got all dressed up for the interview and walked into the store, where they asked me about my worst day at work and how I handled it, which I oddly had to say was when I was singing the National Anthem for the Miami Dolphins and it started pouring as soon as I sang the first note. I was hired on the spot! But it was only a matter of days before I started to question everything I was doing. I wasn’t a huge fan of the job and felt like I was cheating myself. I had a talent and for my entire life, had only known what it was like to be a performer. What in the world was I doing not using my talents? After two weeks, I decided to quit working at the store. I decided that if I was going to take my passion seriously, turning it into a career, then I had to really work for it. I went to every single restaurant and hotel in my area that I knew had live music, and I met with every manager, giving them my card and showing them footage of me singing.
I got turned down from every single place I visited.
There was one upscale Chinese restaurant that was very close to my house where I really wanted to work. It was the perfect place, had a wonderful ambience and the food was spectacular! I walked up to the manager, who told me that they were not interested because they already had live music on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I was upset, but said “okay” and left the restaurant. A couple of days later, I decided to go back. But this time, I spoke with the owner. She told me the same thing again, that they are not interested in hiring more entertainers and unfortunately they have to turn me down. In that moment, I said to the owner, “Why don’t I come in for an hour and bring all of my equipment and sing for you for free?” It was at that point where she looked surprised and said, “Do you know what? Let’s just try you out and see. Come this Thursday at 5:00pm sharp and be ready to sing.” I was so excited! I decided to go home and get all of my music tracks together. When Thursday finally approached, I set up my speaker in the restaurant and the owner said, “Sing a Frank Sinatra song.” I knew just one. Then she said, “Sing a song in Spanish.” I knew one- “Besame Mucho.” Lastly, she said, “Can you sing a song in French? We have a lot of Canadians that visit the restaurant in the winter time.” I, luckily, knew just one song in French and it was the standard “L’amour Est Bleu” or “Love is Blue.” I decided to sing one last song of my choice, a powerful Celine Dion ballad, and everyone in the restaurant came up to me to tell me how much they enjoyed my performance. In that moment, the owner of the restaurant said “I will add music on Thursdays and I’d love for you to sing here every Thursday.” I was overjoyed! It was my very first job making money doing what I love!
I have had many other obstacles like that in my career path, such as singing for the Florida Panthers Hockey Team and touring with Cirque Dreams “Holidaze” as a lead vocalist in their Holiday production. Both times I was turned down at least once. But ultimately, I have been one of the Official Anthem Singers for the Florida Panthers for 10 years and I ended up going on a National Tour, performing with Cirque.
I don’t think anything could have sped up the process, as the timing had to be right for many of these things, but I do feel an important take away is to never give up and just because someone says “no” doesn’t mean it’s going to be a “no” forever.
Ariel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Ariel Rose. I am a singer based in Miami, Florida. I grew up in a very musical family, as my father is a classically trained pianist and my grandfathers were both musicians as well. I am very lucky to have such a supportive family who has always encouraged my to go for my dreams. I started singing in front of audiences when I was six. I began by singing patriotic songs such as “America, the Beautiful” and our National Anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.” My parents enrolled me in singing classes and I later joined a group called the Stage Kids, and we would put on productions, performing locally. As I got older, I joined a group called The Musical Miracles at Actor’s Playhouse at the Miracle Theater, where we put on many shows and also performed all around town. When I was 15 years old, I came out with my first album called, “Rhythms of Life” that I co-wrote with the Latin Grammy nominated Producer, Juan Vicente Zambrano. During that time, I really started to gain more confidence in my songwriting abilities. I ended up going to college for music and graduating from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, where I studied opera and music business. When I graduated, I went on the National Tour of Cirque Dreams “Holidaze” where I played the lead vocalist, the Ice Queen. That was an amazing experience that gave me the opportunity to perform in a bunch of beautiful and historic theaters. I have sung the National Anthem for every major sports team in Florida including the Miami Heat, the Miami Dolphins, the Miami Marlins, and have been an Official Anthem Singer for the Florida Panthers Hockey Team for 10 years. I have performed around the country for various events & galas, and I released my original single & music video, “Somebody Loves You,” in May 2020, where I partnered with the United Way to raise funds for its Miami Pandemic Response Fund. “Somebody Loves You” is an inspirational pop ballad featuring uplifting lyrics & powerful vocals that conveys the universal message of love and hope. More recently, I was the featured vocalist on a Suncoast Emmy-winning project, called “River of the Last Valley” in the musical composition & arrangement category.
I am super excited to say that I also released my new Spanglish Tropical Visual EP, “In Paraíso,” in May 2022, along with four music videos directed by Jose Alejandro Gonzalez of JAG Productions. The EP took over a year and a half to complete and is a fusion of Latin genres all inspired by my hometown, Miami, and my love for Latin music. “In Paraíso” features original songs produced by the Latin Grammy nominated duo Mike Munoz & Gio Fernandez, who have written songs for Luis Fonsi, Pedro Capo, & Prince Royce, and it also features “Let Me Go” produced by the Grammy nominated/Latin Grammy winning Producer of the Year, Tony Succar, who has collaborated with Latin music giants Luis Enrique, La India, Gente de Zona, Tito Nieves and Sheila E. “Let Me Go” features Kenyi and Dominican rapper LORS. My new EP features my first original salsa song,”Atrapada” written with Tony Succar and the Latin Grammy winning songwriter and producer, Jorge Luis Piloto.
Performing is something I absolutely enjoy, as there is nothing quite like the feeling of being on stage and transporting people through the creativity and power of music. I am very proud of everything I have been able to accomplish, although it definitely hasn’t been easy. Everything has taken a lot of thought, a lot of practice, and a lot of work. There is still a lot I want to do, but I believe if you love something and don’t give up, you will be successful!
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
When I was 15 years old, my voice coach, Luis Manuel Diaz, handed me a book and it was called, “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. That book changed my life. It opened up my mind to the power of thoughts and the law of attraction. That book really showed me that if you have a goal and want to achieve it, you have to visualize it and work for it. I still read it from time to time when I feel like I need that extra push of inspiration to keep moving forward. You don’t have to follow everything that it says, but I highly recommend that book just to get in the right mindset. I believe being in the right mindset is one of the most important parts of beginning a new project.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn a couple of lessons, but the main one was to stop trying to be perfect. I had this view that I always had to be perfect and do everything perfectly. Growing up as a performer, we were taught to wear makeup at a young age and to stay active, and many aspects of life in the entertainment industry can be very surface level and “shallow.” There is a lot of pressure to always look your best, sound your best, and do your best. But we are not machines. We are human beings. We all have good days and bad days. I started to find beauty in the flaws and imperfections and realized as humans, we connect through our imperfections. I still struggle sometimes with being a perfectionist, but as long as I put my all into everything I do when I have the ability to, I learned that that’s all anyone can do, and there’s no reason to put so much pressure on myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://arielroseofficial.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamarielrose/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IamArielRose/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamarielrose
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/iamarielrosemusic
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2OMbZnOi0LbXtK1OsZaj9D?si=MGsQ3BxASiiy2NE9cKnDIA Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamarielrose
Image Credits
upper left photo with pink background and main photo in green dress photographer: Kike San Martin.