Behind the Music: An Exclusive Interview with Singer Magdalene Rose

I had the opportunity to connect with musician Magdalene Rose, exploring her musical journey and personal passions. I believe you will find the conversation both informative and engaging.

AA: Where are you from? Please tell us your origin story.

MR: I am originally from Jacksonville, Florida! I lived in Jacksonville until just recently. I moved to Nashville, Tennessee this year because I got married!

AA: How did you first become interested in music, and when did you start playing your instrument or singing?

MR: My parents were big advocates of learning multiple skills as children. I first started taking piano lessons at 5 years old. If I hated it, they told me I could quit, but they wanted me to at least try new things out. I really liked being able to play songs (even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of practicing haha), so I stuck with piano until I turned 8. By that point, my two sisters had also been learning piano, but they were wanting to try different instruments. My dad thought it would be fun if we had our own cover band, so they asked me if I would learn how to play bass guitar. I juggled both for a little bit before fully transitioning to bass guitar. We all grew up singing for school and choir, and so that naturally transferred over to the band as well!

AA: What sparked your passion for embarking on your musical journey?

MR: When I was 11, my sisters and I played our very first real show that wasn’t at school or at an open mic night. Our parents had to drive us all the way to Georgia to a small venue with people we had never met, but I knew at that moment that I wanted to travel and do music for the rest of my life. I would later find out that that was called touring haha.

AA: What musical influences inspired you to pursue music?

MR: At the beginning, Skillet and We As Human were the bands I wanted to be. They were the first rock bands I listened to on my own, and my parents would take me to as many of their concerts as we could find. Then I found a band called Flyleaf, and that changed the game for me. I didn’t know that screaming could even be in music, and when I found out a girl could do it, I was even more shocked.

AA: What’s the story behind the name of your band or stage name?

MR: My artist name is Magdalene Rose, and it is actually just my real name!

AA: I'd love to hear about your creative process and where you find inspiration for writing lyrics.

MR: I write music about what I have been through in life. Sometimes my friends also give me permission to write about their struggles in life. I like giving people voices and being honest about what I’ve struggled with because it helps people know they aren’t alone. I want to let people know that healing is possible, and hope is real!

AA: Can you tell me more about your brand new song, "Teeth Eater," as well as your previous songs, "A Bad Residential" and "Shark Spray"? What inspired them, and what message are you trying to convey?

MR: I wrote “Teeth Eater” because a few years ago, I was struggling with an eating disorder called anorexia. Body dysmorphia was lying to me and telling me I needed to starve myself in order to be beautiful. I didn’t understand how serious it was until my dad helped me understand that I was literally killing myself. He wanted to understand what I was going through and help me get better, and so he worked with me to gain healthy weight back and fix my relationship with food. For a while though, I still hated what I saw in my reflection, and I realized I was missing the most important part of healing. I asked God to give me the want to heal because I was honestly scared of letting my disorder go. It had become my identity, and I was scared of what I would be and look like if I actually healed. But that’s when true healing happened, and I have Jesus to thank for that.

MR: “Shark Spray” was the first song I released as Magdalene Rose. At the time, my sisters and I had just decided to take a break from our band (GFM) because we all felt we were being called out of the band to do other things. I was dealing with a lot of confusion, and I was grieving the loss of what I thought was my forever job. I wasn’t seeing my family as often because I was now touring without them, and there was a lot of pain that came along with that. I was also scared that people wouldn’t like me outside of GFM. But I had gotten to a point where I wanted to be over being “broken” and letting that rule my life. So “Shark Spray” was kind of a statement to myself and to anyone who might speak down on me that I was here to stay, and that I wasn’t going to let their negativity, or my own negativity, have a say over what I did with my life.

MR: After a few months of touring as Magdalene Rose, I started to struggle with really awful night terrors. It wasn’t just bad dreams or nightmares because I’d had those, and this was different. I was seeing the most graphic, terrifying things in my sleep, and I would wake up out of breath, not knowing if what I just witnessed was real or not. It got so bad that I was scared to even go back to my bunk because I knew the second, I fell asleep, I would have a night terror. This lasted roughly 6 months, so I was becoming paranoid and sleep deprived, and it was wreaking havoc on my relationships. I was trying everything to get rid of them: listening to calming music, listening to rain sounds, listening to worship music. The only thing that would keep the night terrors away was when I would listen to church sermons, but I knew my headphones had died or when the sermon was over because I’d be woken up by a night terror. We were still touring throughout all of this, and at a show, I was approached by a lady who had been to several of my shows. She asked how I was, and I felt like I was supposed to let her in on how I had actually been doing. When she heard everything, she immediately asked if she could pray over me and prayed against demonic oppression and fear. That was the first night I was able to sleep, and I haven’t struggled with night terrors since. We wrote “A Bad Residential” about that time in my life and have been able to have so many awesome conversations with people who also struggle with night terrors from PTSD or other causes.

AA: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it?

MR: If you have ever heard of Paramore, picture that band with an additional vocalist who screams haha. We like to blend the heaviness of rock with the melodies of pop music!

AA: Do you prefer to have a unifying theme or concept when working on a new album or project?

MR: I don’t always do concept albums, but I do like my songs to have a cohesive idea running through them. Even if every song is about something different, I like for them to all fit together somehow!

AA: Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind your album artwork for Teeth Eater or any previous songs for which you've designed album art?

MR: When you struggle with anorexia, your body starts to shut down and eat itself to gain some sort of nutrients. The teeth are one of the first things to start rotting away, and you essentially become a “Teeth Eater.” We wanted the artwork to help convey that understanding, and that’s why teeth were such a big part of the promotion of the song as well.

AA: What advice would you give aspiring musicians looking to enter the music scene?

MR: Make valuable relationships! Don’t use people just to “climb up the ladder” because most people can see through that, and they won’t want to help or get to know you. Genuinely invest in people, and they will do the same for you.

AA: How do non-musical influences, like literature, film, or visual art, shape your work?

MR: I think it influences the performance more than anything! From my stage outfits to the LED wall visuals, to promotional content and merch, you can usually see a theme in my work. There’s a bit of the goth aesthetic, and I get told a lot that I look like either a Monster High doll or Wednesday Addams haha. We draw inspiration from anime and video games, and even tiktok trends make our stage performance what it is today!

AA: How do people perceive you when they discover you are a Christian and perform rock music?

MR: I do get a little bit of pushback from the Christian community because sometimes they don’t understand what I do. Thankfully, I work with a lot of great churches who are willing to support me and bring me in to play shows and defend me. I’m also able to do the crossover thing and play general market venues as well, and I’ve worked with a lot of super sweet people. Even if venues or bands don’t have the same beliefs I do, they never make me feel weird for talking about God, and they always are very respectful toward me. I think a lot of people tend to adopt me as a little sister when we go on tour, and so no matter their background, they want to make sure nobody is being mean to me haha.

AA: What is the meaning of life to you?

MR: As a Christian, I think life is a beautiful thing. By following God, the stress of the “American dream” is no longer necessary, and I am free to create and take care of a family and not worry about chasing fame or chasing money. It is my role to help people, to be selfless and to share with people who God is and what He’s done in my life in a way that doesn’t shove it down their throats.

AA: What does success mean to you?

MR: I would say someone is successful when they find themselves surrounded by people who truly love them; who will fight through the hard times and celebrate the good times no matter what.

AA: What's your definition of happiness?"

MR: Happiness again I think is tied to the support and people you have in your life. When you find your place in life, working doesn’t feel like working, and the hard times are worth fighting through.

AA: What travel opportunities have you had since you started your music career? And what are some of your favorite states to travel to or perform in?

MR: I have played in almost all 50 states in the U.S.! I’ve also played a couple of times in Germany and Canada, and I’m hoping I get to do a lot more international traveling soon.

It’s hard to pick a favorite place because each state/country/venue has something that makes them special!

AA: If you were allowed to perform on stage with any other artist, who would you want to perform with and why?"

MR: I think it would be so cool to perform on stage with a band called Bring Me The Horizon or with Flyleaf and Lacey Sturm. Those bands have influenced my songwriting, stage performance, and stage visuals, and it would be such a full circle moment for me to perform alongside them.

AA: What are some activities you really enjoy doing in your free time?

MR: Some things I like to do are reading, playing video games, and cooking! When we’re home, I don’t go out as much because it’s really nice to be able to stay in and be a homebody haha.

AA: Can you tell us a little bit about your personal experience with mental health and how it has impacted your life?

MR: I’ve battled with major depressive disorder and anxiety for a long time. I was medicated for a few years, but I can thankfully say that I no longer have to take it. I think struggling with my mental health has helped me be empathetic with people who are also struggling, and I think it’s part of the reason I want to help others so much. I don’t want anyone to have to experience what I have, and if I can offer any advice that can save them from those experiences or lower the effects of those experiences, I want to do so. I also was able to get my master's degree in crisis counseling because I wanted to understand other disorders better, and I wanted to have more skills to help.

AA: When it comes to movies, what are some of your all-time favorites? What is it about these particular movies that resonate with you? Is it the storytelling, the characters, the cinematography, or something else?

MR: I’m kind of all over the place when it comes to movies haha! I love superhero movies because of how “bigger than life” they are, but I also really love movies like Alien and A Quiet Place because I’m a sci-fi nerd, and I like monsters haha. Another kind of random one is the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, and I love this movie because it’s such a heartwarming rom-com. I relate a lot to the main character, and the whole movie has such a genuine feel to it.

AA: As for TV shows, which ones do you find yourself eagerly tuning in to? What about these shows captivates you—could it be the plot twists, character development, or the overall production quality?

MR: I try to keep up with as many of the Marvel shows I can because I like learning how the stories from the shows tie into the comics. But I also love shows like The Vampire Diaries because it combines drama and sci-fi into one show. The characters annoy you to death, but you love them, so you keep coming back to the show even if they’ve done something incredibly stupid in the last episode hahaha!

AA: Regarding books, which ones are at the top of your list? What makes these books stand out to you? Is it the writing style, the themes, or the emotions they evoke?

MR: My all-time favorite book series are The Remnant Chronicles/Dance of Thieves Duology by Mary E Pearson and The Folk of the Air by Holly Black. I love my books to be set in fantasy worlds where people have to fight monsters and bad guys with swords and dragons. The stakes are high, the characters are intense, and those worlds are so distant from the modern world we live in, so the story pulls me in!

AA: What bands or artists do you love listening to? I would also love to know about your favorite concert experience!

MR: I like listening to all of the bands listed above, as well as bands like Neck Deep and Stand Atlantic! My music taste is a little bit all over the place, so there’s honestly not much I won’t listen to haha! My husband and I listen to a lot of music together with his brothers, so we’re always finding new artists!

MR: My favorite concert had to be when I saw A Day To Remember in 2018. They came to Florida, and my mom took me and my sisters to see them. I knew all the words, and they shot off confetti, they TP’d the crowd, they had filmed a bunch of other band members singing their songs on the LED wall, and kept the crowd involved the entire night. It was so cool.

AA: I am interested in learning about your experiences with video games. Do you currently play video games? If so, I would love to know which video game system you currently play on or grew up with. Additionally, I'm curious to hear about your favorite genres of video games to play. If you were given the opportunity to live in a video game world for 1 year, I would like to know which one you would choose and the reasons behind your choice.

MR: I do play video games! I grew up playing them with my dad, my sisters, and my cousins, and now I play them with my husband and his brothers too! We grew up playing on Xbox consoles, and now I play on both Xbox and Playstation, and I even got a laptop and am learning how to play on PC haha. Zombie games for sure have to be my favorite genre of video games, whether it’s a campaign-based zombie game or a round-based zombie game.

MR: I definitely would not want to live in a zombie world because I know that would be bad haha. Overwatch might be a fun world to live in because everyone has their own special abilities and can regenerate their lives! Minecraft might also be fun because you get to be an adventurer and an inventor too!

AA: "If you had the world's attention for five minutes, what message would you share with everyone?"

MR: Jesus is real, and He loves you. Your life is worth living, and healing is possible.

AA: Magdalene Rose, I appreciate you sharing a lot about yourself and your musical journey! I wish you the best of luck in all your future pursuits!

Magdalene Rose - Musician

To access all information about musician Magdalene Rose, please visit the link provided below:

https://linktr.ee/officialmagdalenerose

*** All photos and videos by Magdalene Rose, unless otherwise noted **