“To say I’m excited and humbled to be a part of the Big Loud/Republic family is an understatement. You move to Nashville to sign deals like this, make music videos like these, and write the best songs possible,” says Rose. “Hell, we’re just getting started.”
A native of Atlanta, Ga., Rose has been pursuing a career in music for more than thirteen years, while working a handful of flexible part-time jobs to remain focused to write and record music. For the past eight years, she has been routing her own tours in packed bars throughout the Southeast, while also selling out shows in major markets like Atlanta, New York and Nashville.
On Dec. 1, 2020, Rose posted a clip of “Villain,” a song she wrote with Mackenzie Carpenter and Kyle Clark (produced by Matt Morrissey) about a break-up she believed ended cordially, only to find out she’d been painted as the ‘bad guy’ through social media. Lily channeled that universal feeling of betrayal into a vibey ballad over haunting production that pulls influences from modern trap to classic country. The song connected significantly with fans, and two weeks later Rose independently released “Villain” on Dec. 15. The single immediately rocketed to the top of the iTunes all-genre chart, where it held steady at No.1 above Taylor Swift’s latest releases for several days and has remained in the iTunes Top 30 for five consecutive weeks.
Since its release, “Villain” has amassed over 7M on-demand streams, 78K in consumption and more than 300K monthly listeners on Spotify. Rose gained early support from SiriusXM’s The Highway, launching “Villain” into full rotation just days after its release and landed a spot on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs (No.43), Emerging Artists (No.5), Country Digital Sales (No.2) and Digital Sales (No.8) charts.
“The Country music business is on fire right now, and artists are breaking independently faster than ever before. Big Loud couldn’t be more excited to work with Lily Rose, who’s emerging from this pack of newcomers. Her voice becomes familiar after just one listen, and to pair that with her catalog of amazing unreleased songs, we believe she’s an artist who will be around for years to come. Lily is a voice that Country music has needed for some time, and 'Villain' is just the reactive hit to get her started. Welcome to the Big Loud family, Lily.” – Big Loud Partners (Seth England, Joey Moi, and Craig Wiseman)
“I couldn’t be more thankful to be a part of the partnership between Big Loud & Republic Records and continue to work alongside Lily Rose. Lily is an artist with a unique voice and bright career that will shift the country genre. She is building an amazing team around her to start the journey and tell her story.” – Rakiyah Marshall, Back Blocks Music
“We’ve had the good fortune of working with Seth England and the Big Loud team for many years. This alliance continues to grow with the extraordinary new signing of Lily Rose and represents the latest evolution of our partnership, all on the heels of the historic Morgan Wallen release. Furthermore, as we prepare to launch the global campaign for Lily in the forthcoming months, we’re thrilled to work with Republic alumnus Rakiyah Marshall and her dynamic new company Back Blocks Music.” – Monte Lipman, Founder and CEO Republic Records
ABOUT BIG LOUD RECORDS:
Big Loud Records’ head-turning success story continues to unfold since first launching in 2015, as an expansion of innovative music company Big Loud. With multiple GOLD and PLATINUM certifications, plus 10 #1 U.S. airplay and 15 #1 Canadian airplay hits, the Big Loud Records artist family includes Morgan Wallen, Jake Owen, Chris Lane, HARDY, Mason Ramsey, MacKenzie Porter, ERNEST, Ben Burgess, Ashland Craft, Larry Fleet, Sean Stemaly, and Blame My Youth. Further establishing its cutting-edge reputation, Big Loud Records partnered with ACM Award-winning songwriter Nicolle Galyon to create female-driven label Songs & Daughters – launching the career of flagship artist Madison Kozak and teaming up with critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter Hailey Whitters, the label also expanded in signing newcomer Tiera to its Publishing arm [in partnership with Big Loud Publishing / Warner Chappell Music]. Big Loud’s growing roster has accounted for more than 6 BILLION global streams to date. Stacking 2020 accolades, Seth England (Partner/CEO) and Patch Culbertson (VP of A&R) were named among Billboard's Indie Power Players, with England, Craig Wiseman (Partner), Austen Adams (COO), and Candice Watkins (VP of Marketing) listed as Billboard's Country Power Players. Further garnering industry recognition, Stacy Blythe (VP of Promotion) was awarded the top honor for SVP/VP at the 2019 CRS/Country Aircheck Awards.
ABOUT BACK BLOCKS MUSIC:
Back Blocks Music is a Nashville-based artist development and publishing company founded in 2020 by Billboard Power Player Rakiyah Marshall. Following her tenure at Republic Records and BMG Publishing, Marshall launched Back Blocks Music to bring a new approach to artist development. Just two months after its inception, the company is already seeing notable success with on-the-rise artist Lily Rose’s debut release “Villain,” which earned Rose a label joint venture with Back Blocks Music, Republic Records and Big Loud Records. Back Blocks Music is also home to singer/songwriter and entrepreneur Ashley Cooke. Founder of the TikTok creator studio, 615 House, Cooke will be releasing new music throughout 2021 produced by Jimmy Robbins. The roster is rounded out with writer Blake Pendergrass, who earned his first major cut with Morgan Wallen’s “865.” An early fan-favorite from Wallen’s recent double album Dangerous: The Double Album, “865” marks Pendergrass as the only unsigned writer on the 30 song project. Pendergrass looks forward to upcoming cuts from Chris Lane and Ashley Cooke in the coming months. For more information on Back Blocks Music, follow @BackBlocksMusic.
ABOUT REPUBLIC RECORDS:
A division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company, Republic Records is home to an all-star roster of multi-platinum, award-winning legends and superstar artists such as Ariana Grande, Black Thought, Drake, Florence + the Machine, Greta Van Fleet, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack Johnson, James Blake, James Bay, Jessie J, John Mellencamp, Jonas Brothers, Julia Michaels, Kid Cudi, Lil Wayne, Lorde, Metro Boomin, Morgan Wallen, NAV, Nicki Minaj, Of Monsters and Men, Pearl Jam, Post Malone, Seth MacFarlane, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and more. Founded by brothers and chief executives Monte and Avery Lipman, it is also comprised of innovative business ventures, including American Recordings, Boominati Worldwide, Brushfire, Casablanca Records, Cash Money, Lava Records, XO, Young Money, among others. Republic also maintains a long-standing strategic alliance with Universal Music Latin Entertainment (J Balvin and Karol G). In addition, Republic has expanded to release high-profile soundtracks for Universal Pictures (Fifty Shades of Grey), Sony Pictures (Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse) and NBC TV (The Voice), as well as other notable film and television franchises. Extending further into the worlds of film, television, and content, Republic launched Federal Films in order to produce movies and series powered by the label's catalog and artists. Its first production was the Jonas Brothers documentary Chasing Happiness for Amazon Prime Video.
