Never The 1

Album: 20mg Of Happiness (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • On her debut EP, 20mg Of Happiness, ROSIE (Rosaileen Scher) takes us on a journey through the five stages of grief - a concept introduced by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death And Dying - after the demise of her relationship. "Never The 1" represents the final stage, acceptance, as the singer-songwriter finally realizes the romance is over. Counting backwards from 10 ("I could write 10 songs about the nine ways you f--ked me over"), she concludes that she was "never the 1" for him.
  • ROSIE found overnight success on TikTok when she posted this in September 2020. After nearly giving up on her music career, she took her brother/manager's suggestion to try out TikTok and created a song-a-day challenge on the platform to boost her confidence. On the fifth day, she remembered a catchy little breakup song she wrote and recorded a quick video in her college apartment (featuring an accidental cameo from her roommate). After posting the video, she went for a walk and came home a star. It was a chaotic scene - she was locked out of her apartment with a dead phone and a mostly dead computer as friends tried to clue her in to her sudden fame.

    She told the Songfacts Podcast in 2023: "I opened my computer on the stairs outside with 1% and I texted my roommates, 'Guys, I locked myself out. I realize I don't have a key yet. Can you let me in?' And they're like, 'Yes, we got you.' And suddenly like 30 texts flood in - 'ROSIE, you have to check TikTok.' I was like, 'I'm just trying to fend for my life here. What do you mean check TikTok?'"

    When she finally got back on the platform an hour and a half from posting the video, it had 996,000 views.

    "It was really in that moment, I was like, 'Oh, something's happening,'" she continued. "So we stayed up and we watched the numbers. A million, 2 million, 3 million... went to bed, woke up, and it was 8 million, 9 million. And it kept climbing. I'm a firm believer in the universe, I'm a firm believer in hard work, I'm a firm believer that me and [her brother] Matteo and everyone - we put the work in to get here. But that was a sign, I was like, 'Okay, this is my sign to take advantage of this opportunity I'm getting.'

    I'd say within 12 to 24 hours, 10 labels reached out - publishers, lawyers - you name it, and it was all because of this one song. Since then I have not questioned once that this is what I love and I was given this opportunity. I just try to make the best of it."
  • ROSIE believes the song caught on because of the catchiness of the numbers combined with the theme of loss.

    "I don't know a single person that didn't go through some type of loss during the pandemic. I mean, the entire world was going through a loss," she said.

    "I think the reason any of my music has resonated in the last couple of years is because we've experienced a lot of trauma and a lot of loss, and a lot of scary things in the last couple of years, and in our lifetimes, and I just am not afraid to write about it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.