Q&A: Isabel LaRosa Rises to Alt-Pop Stardom with Debut Album ‘Raven’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY JOY VILLANUEVA ☆
Photo By Sam Monendo
Isabel LaRosa is one of the most exciting young stars in alt-pop, with her meteoric rise making waves across the music industry. At just 20 years old, she has already amassed an impressive 11.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Her infectious, hard-to-look-away-from, and emotionally raw music has earned her recognition as a 2025 PEOPLE “Emerging Artist” and InStyle “Best New Musician.” With her debut album Raven set to drop on April 18, LaRosa is poised to take over the live music scene, with performances at major festivals like Lollapalooza and Governor’s Ball on the horizon. Her journey reflects a fearless authenticity and a dedication to evolving her artistry.
Read below for Luna's interview with LaRosa on her path to becoming an alt-pop powerhouse, the making of Raven, and what’s next for the 20-year-old rising star.
Photo By Sam Monendo
LUNA: The title Raven feels so bold and mysterious—what inspired you to choose that name for the album, and what does it represent to you personally or thematically?
LAROSA: I grew up homeschooled, and I listened to a bunch of these audiobooks about crows and ravens and birds with my mom. That was a big part of my childhood. I was obsessed with crows and ravens, and I really love what they represent in folklore—they represent death and rebirth, and they can be signs for change and growth. They can represent bad omens, but I feel that also represents part of the album.
I knew in my gut that it was right. I wanted to do something with a raven for so long—years. We had a whole other title and a whole other concept, and I said, “No, this is what I have to do. This is right.”
LUNA: Raven is such a personal and raw album, blending dark and moody vibes with emotional depth. How did you channel your experiences growing up into the sound and themes of this record?
LAROSA: I think—especially in “Home”—it’s very much about my childhood, my family, and the fear of growing up and letting go of things. I think that song specifically is really about that change element of the concept.
A lot of the songs—”Burning,” “Hope It Hurts,” and “Cry For You”—are about a situation that I spent a lot of time in, and I wasn’t able to express how I truly felt for a really long time. After I got out of it, I felt all of the things I wasn’t allowed to feel for the past couple of years. Those were some recent songs, so they’re very much about that—that chapter that ended in my life recently.
LUNA: The album includes a reimagined version of the classic "You Don't Own Me." What was the inspiration behind choosing that song, and how did you make it your own?
LAROSA: I’ve always loved that song so much. I just think it’s such a timeless song, so powerful, and I really related to it at the time we chose to reimagine it.
I really wanted to keep it as close to the original as I could, because I’m so in love with that version. The song and what it’s about resonated deeply with me. It felt close to my life at the time—and honestly, it still does.
I just love the power of it, and it felt like the perfect song for me to take my shot at. Not that anything could ever be the original—not in a million years. We were never trying to replace it, just trying to add another cool version.
LUNA: Songs like "Cry For You" and "Home" showcase your ability to connect deeply with your audience through themes of love and heartbreak. What do you hope listeners will take away from these tracks?
LAROSA: I just hope they can find something in it. Hopefully, it’s not directly applicable to people’s lives, but I feel like most people—if not all—go through that. I think they can take it as an outlet for their emotions, and also find comfort in knowing that someone else has gone through the exact same things.
I think that’s really helpful when you’re listening to music. It’s like, Oh, someone else has experienced this too, and I’m not the only one that feels it. That’s really important to me, and I hope it can connect with people in that way.
LUNA: Your brother, Thomas, co-wrote some of the tracks on Raven. How does working with him influence your creative process, and what’s it like to collaborate with him on such a personal project?
LAROSA: I mean, to be honest, Thomas and I write everything together. He’s my closest collaborator—he’s the only person I’ve worked with my entire life and the only person I’ve written with. Recently, we’ve started doing some outside sessions, and there are some really incredible outside writers and producers on the album. But up until now, it’s really just been Thomas and me.
It’s so cool working with him. Thomas deserves so much credit—he’s a massive part of everything. In my mind, we operate as a duo, and I wouldn’t be here without him. He knows me so well and knows my life so well, so it’s easy to write with him—especially on something like “Home,” where we were writing about our younger sister. It was so funny—we were both trying not to cry during the session.
He’s just so close to me. I always say he’s the other half of my brain. He’s the easiest person to write this kind of stuff with, just because he knows me so well.
LUNA: The album also features collaborations with some incredible songwriters and producers. How did working with people like Amy Allen and Ian Kirkpatrick shape the overall sound of Raven?
LAROSA: Amy Allen wrote on “Piece of My Life,” and Ian was on “Home.” It’s interesting because, especially with “Piece of My Life,” that’s such a different song for me. It was so cool—Amy’s incredibly talented and on top of the world. It was amazing to see what her gut instinct for me was; to have an outside opinion.
I would never have started the thought to write that song myself, but she was in the room, and it happened. I think it’s so cool being in a room with people who are just so good at what they do. You end up with a completely different product than you would’ve gotten on your own, but it still feels like me—it still feels so honest to who I am.
We also worked with Delacey on the writing side, and Ojivolta on the production side. So many people—a lot of very cool, very, very talented people.
LUNA: You've had a meteoric rise, especially with your huge TikTok following. "I'm Yours" went viral on the platform. What do you think it is about the song that resonated so strongly with TikTok users, and how has that viral moment shaped your career moving forward?
LAROSA: Yeah, it’s interesting. I remember working on “I’m Yours,” and it’s a song I’ve always felt drawn to—even before I teased it on TikTok, I couldn’t really tell why. I hoped it would do well, but I had no idea.
“I’m Yours” just has this feeling of honesty, especially when it comes to the early stages of falling for someone or liking someone. I can’t claim credit for the success of it—sometimes
things just turn out the way they do, and it’s hard to predict. It feels like the vulnerability of falling in love, at least that’s what it felt like to me.
I think people resonated with that on TikTok, which was very cool. I had never had anything like that happen to me before—certainly not to the extent “I’m Yours” did. It was a wild experience to watch it happen. That song will always have a very special place in my heart.
LUNA: Raven is described as an exploration of the turbulence of growing up. Do any specific events or experiences from your life stand out as key inspirations for the album?
LAROSA: Honestly, going through my first real, truly bad heartbreak taught me so much. I’m still growing and learning every day. I feel like my frontal lobe is developing more and more each day.
That relationship was such a massive part of my life for so long. It was everything. And coming out of that, I had to relearn how to process my emotions just for myself, not for someone else. It’s very much about that.
It’s also about growing up and getting older, watching my siblings grow up more from afar, and my family moving away from my hometown. Just the classic growing-up things—but they’re very real and very difficult.
LUNA: You’ve already sold out tours across Europe, the UK, and Australia. How has the international reception of your music influenced your approach to your North American tour, PSYCHOPOMP, especially with Raven?
LAROSA: It’s so interesting. It’s wild to see how passionate people can be, like, across the world. We recently played Lollapalooza India, and they gave us a plaque. I think it was “I’m Yours” at five times platinum, “Favorite” at two times platinum, and “eyes don’t lie” at gold or something. I was like, What?
It’s crazy to see which countries feel the most passionately about certain songs because I didn’t know that that success existed.
If I think too much about catering to everyone, it freaks me out. I just have to go with my gut instinct. But it’s wild to see which places are more passionate, and what places sell more tickets and things like that. I really have no idea why it happens, but it’s very cool to witness.
LUNA: What can fans expect differently from your tour this time around?
LAROSA: I’m excited! I literally try to “up” it every time I go on tour. I think it’s going to be so fun to play these songs I’ve never played live before, and they’ll actually be out, which is exciting. I’ve definitely got some fun surprises planned, and we’re going to have more elements on stage with me, which I’m really looking forward to. It’s going to be fun to make it as big as possible.
LUNA: After hitting over 2 billion streams discography-wide, your music has clearly struck a chord with listeners. How do you balance staying true to your artistic vision while keeping up with the expectations of such a massive fanbase?
LAROSA: I think it can honestly be hard sometimes to make sure I’m not just doing something because I want it to do well. Of course, that’s the goal—to have it do well. But if you don’t evolve and push yourself, you have to remember to do things that scare you a little. As things get bigger, the pressure gets more intense, and the pressure to always be getting bigger can be paralyzing if you don’t make decisions. We combat that by always writing, teasing, and looking for the next thing, the next evolution.
Right now, I’m really making an effort to write about things that feel personal, things that are close to me and my experiences. It can be difficult, but you just have to follow your gut instinct. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not right.
LUNA: Is there anything else you’d like to share with Luna?
LAROSA: The album—though I always want everything to be massive, because that’s the hope—really is for my fan base and the people who have been around for such a long time. I think that, especially right now, I’m really trying to find every way possible to deliver for those fans.
I just hope that it resonates with them.
