Five, six, seven, eight…
Nineteen-year-old Claire Rosinkranz said “Bye Bye Bye” to just singles and EPs with the release of her first full album, which dropped Oct. 6.
I had the incredible opportunity to fangirl over Rosinkranz in a press conference hosted by °1824 of Universal Music Group discussing this debut album. “Just Because” is a collection of 13 songs surrounding the transition from adolescence to adulthood, six of which have already been dropped as singles over the past 15 months.
“This whole entire album is very coming of age, carefree, growing up free spirit,” Rosinkranz said when asked to describe the overall energy of “Just Because.” “That’s kind of who I am, even right now.”
Though Rosinkranz has been writing music with her dad for over a decade, she didn’t publish her own songs until 2019 and didn’t release a full EP until the following June. This collection, “BeVerly Hills BoYfRiEnd,” quickly gained popularity as the fourth track, “Backyard Boy,” went viral on TikTok over the summer of 2020. Rosinkranz has had several other songs blow up across social media since then, including “don’t miss me” and “Hotel.”
Even with this admiration, Rosinkranz admitted to not being a big fan of the inevitable pressure associated with having an active social media presence.
“Getting stuff out and posting is especially difficult for me,” Rosinkranz said.
Despite this, Rosinkranz mentioned her gratitude to be able to connect authentically with others through her music.
“I think it’s special and sometimes rare to find people who are that connected to the things that they write about,” Rosinkranz said when asked about what set her apart from similar artists in the genre of indie pop. “I love to feel everything and I hope that people can feel a little bit of everything while listening to my music.”
When asked about her creative processes, Rosinkranz explained that making music is her way of coping with and expressing intense emotions.
“The album sounds very bright, but I used [it] to pull me out of the darker things that I was feeling,” Rosinkranz said. “It’s a very good timeline of everything I was going through.”
I first heard the name Claire Rosinkranz in 2020 through TikTok, but have since discovered dozens of incredibly relatable tunes tucked into both of her EPs along with other collaborations. I am fascinated by the fact that they have not all gotten millions of hits and cannot wait to see how viral this anticipated album becomes.
Rosinkranz also shared that of all the unreleased songs soon to be dropped, those titled “Swinging at the Stars” and “Banksy” best fit her own personality. She predicted “Swinging at the Stars” to be a fan favorite as well and explained her thoughts on the lyrics of this song best summing up the idea of the album as a whole.
“I want to experience everything and as much as I can before I am not on this earth anymore,” Rosinkranz said. “And so I wanna be tired when I get to my grave.”
Even just in the past four years, Rosinkranz recognized that her songs have evolved over time as she has.
“My music grows with me and is very very close to me,” Rosinkranz said.
Rosinkranz also confessed to not being too detail-oriented but spoke of her hope to have a couple more albums out in the coming years.
“I just wanna be able to do what I want to do,” Rosinkranz said when asked about her plans for the long-term future. “I can do literally anything with music.”
As an 18-year-old girl myself also amidst the transition from adolescence to adulthood, Rosinkranz has become an incredible inspiration. She has proven both reliable and relatable time and time again with her music serving as a fantastic representation of how complicated this time of life truly is. Her music is somehow able to portray how complicated this time of life can be in a way that few can, and I’m sure I fit among many other current Vanderbilt and other college students in the hopes that this full album is just the first of many to come.
