Isabel LaRosa is an 18-year-old singer, songwriter and video director from Annapolis, Maryland. The alt-pop powerhouse has been making music with her brother and now-producer, Thomas, since she was a kid. However, she only recently released her first track in 2021, titled “16 Candles.” Since then, she has delivered a steady stream of singles.
In late 2022, she rose to fame on TikTok with the release of her hit song, “i’m yours.” The dark pop song went viral on the platform, becoming a popular background sound for videos.
Now, listeners who fell in love with her dreamy sound and style have something new to tune in to. LaRosa’s newest EP, “YOU FEAR THE GOD THAT LOVES YOU,” came out on March 24, 2023.
Though short, with only five songs to play in less than 13 minutes, the EP expounds on a precarious relationship LaRosa experienced while still in her youth. Catchy and poignant, each song holds its own while amounting to a tale of desire, jealousy and the Almighty.
LaRosa’s first song, “more than friends,” kicks off the EP with an intensity that becomes a theme throughout. Crying out in exasperation, LaRosa is desperate for something more than what she has. Listeners can feel she is at her wits’ end with her current romantic situation. She calls out the obvious: she and her partner are “more than friends.” This is something her love interest is avoiding as they continue to evade a label or official status.
LaRosa desires a serious label on their relationship so this love interest can become fully immersed into her life. It is obvious that LaRosa yearns for this person, continuously asserting that she wishes for them to transcend friendship. She stresses the issue, admitting, “My heart’s racin’ now, I just can’t take a breath.” As a result of her intense feelings toward this person, she finds it hard to breathe and speak her truth at the same time. The feeling of running out of breath persists for the duration of the EP. Needless to say, LaRosa’s tenacity is indicative of a tumultuous love affair.
Following suit, “butterflies” displays a breathlessness that confirms LaRosa can’t take anymore. This anxiety correlates perfectly to her message that “You give me butterflies,” reflecting the kind of nervous anticipation mixed with excitement that everyone wants to feel. However, LaRosa only feels this way because she’s in a secret and intimate situationship; the rush of the illicit affair fuels her flightful feelings. Maintaining continuity, LaRosa voices lines like “Just say you’re mine” and “Tell me that we’re more than just this,” further exposing her need for the relationship to become legitimate. She speaks to the hiding, though, with the words: “No one but you and me and God know.” Her first mention of God, the line opens up a series of questions that go back to the title of the EP. Why is God significant? What role does He have to play, and why is she mentioning Him?
Marking the middle of the EP, “without you” raises some more crucial questions and provides answers to previous ones. LaRosa reveals, “You know you make me hate my youth.” Has this relationship been forbidden for so long because of an age gap between LaRosa and her lover? Is that why God is involved? Does this person tell her that she is not mature enough to handle the potential of this relationship? Or is LaRosa talking about her youth in a more general sense, as if she hates this part of her life? A realm of possibilities rises to the surface. She further insinuates, “We both know you’re just scared to really date me.” Her lyric choice begs the question of the age difference between the two once more. Is this the issue?
Despite speculation from listeners, LaRosa uses the pet name “Darling” in this track, implying a sense of denial on LaRosa’s part. Such a pseudonym usually refers to someone who signifies something beyond a platonic relationship, which LaRosa’s situation seems to elude. Additionally, her inability to breathe has become a constant state of being. LaRosa discloses that if she “[tries] to speak, [she] knows [she’ll] choke.” The line recalls her emotional disarray raised in the first two songs and is similar to the pleading of “more than friends,” as well as the anxiety present in “butterflies.”
This song also brings jealousy to the table, as LaRosa owns up to “[watching them] put [their] lips on hers,” referring to her ex kissing another woman. Listeners may be quick to call out infidelity, but LaRosa herself confesses that they were never officially dating. Regardless, a sticky situation unfolds with every word LaRosa sings.
The following track, “i don’t forgive you,” speaks further on the woman her past lover left her for. LaRosa doubts the woman’s ability to satisfy her old romance, inquiring, “Is she really everything you need?” Clearly, LaRosa deems herself to be comparably superior. All-knowing, she asserts, “You’ll see that God’ll bring you back to me.” Repeatedly, LaRosa references God in the song. The answer as to why may be quite simple: God was the only one who knew about the relationship, and He is the only one who could bring the two back together. LaRosa’s unwavering faith in God may explain the EP’s title: Her ex-love is afraid of this higher influence, but as LaRosa sees it, bringing her back into their life would be an act of love.
LaRosa contrasts from other newer artists in that she decides to end the EP with a sped-up ballad. With the fastest beat yet of the release, “praying” has a center reminiscent of an EDM song. LaRosa invokes God in a way that makes the two seem like friends. She claims to know his intentions, with phrases like “God likes to sue, watch me unravel,” and “I don’t believe but Lord, I’ll try.” In LaRosa’s eyes, God holds grudges and is even petty. In this case, and based on her other songs, she is implying that God will sue her ex in the form of LaRosa playing out her devilish thoughts. In this mindset, she prays for the return of her love to her embrace as opposed to this new woman’s. While LaRosa’s situation is chaotic and confusing, it makes for an enticing story when put to music.
LaRosa tells quite the tale on this release. With a smoky voice speaking directly to her ex-situationship, LaRosa lures in a wave of listeners. Her style includes a relentless pattern of opening echoes that state the title of the song within the first 10 seconds. These echoes sound like shouts in an empty canyon, but they are a trademark of LaRosa’s sound. In addition, LaRosa implements simple lyrics that make for cinematic songs when paired with dramatic and intense background music. Her long, held-out notes give purpose to her lyrics while also supplying a sound that is one-of-a-kind. This approach makes it easy to believe that LaRosa’s EP and future music will attract many new fans.
