Rozes

Pennsylvania pop singer and songwriter Rozes scored an early breakthrough through her collaboration with the electronic dance duo the Chainsmokers, after which she issued her first EP under her own name. Their 2015 single, titled “Roses,” achieved worldwide success and earned more than thirty-times platinum status. She unveiled the debut EP Burn Wild in 2016, then followed it with I Don't Know Where I'm Going, But I'm on My Way in 2018 and Crazy in 2020.

Born Elizabeth Mencel on April 14, 1993, into a household devoted to jazz, she spent her childhood in the Philadelphia suburb of Montgomeryville. Drawn to music from a young age, she started piano lessons at six and developed into a multi-instrumentalist skilled on clarinet, saxophone, guitar, violin, flute, and trumpet, while also establishing herself as a capable vocalist.

Mencel spent one year at a Philadelphia college before leaving to focus on music professionally. Her initial recorded credit arrived in 2014, when she supplied vocals for Australian electronic producer Just a Gent’s track “Limelight,” which later surpassed 2.5 million streams. Pleased by the response, she was surprised to discover that the New York EDM pair the Chainsmokers had begun following her on social media; they soon reached out to express admiration for her voice and propose a collaboration. That partnership produced “Roses,” which she co-wrote and performed as lead vocalist; the song climbed to number six on the Billboard Hot 100, led the U.S. Electronic chart, and brought her widespread recognition at age twenty-one. The recording ultimately secured platinum certification in numerous countries.

In 2015 Mencel issued her first solo single under the Rozes moniker, “R U Mine.” Determined to establish an independent artistic identity, she distinguished herself with a distinctive style of lush, ethereal electronic pop incorporating house, EDM, synth pop, electro, and broken beat, paired with candid lyrics addressing youthful romantic uncertainties and delivered through a mature, sultry vocal laced with a unique accent and heavy effects processing. Two additional singles appeared next—“Fragile,” a hazy offering, and the brisk “In & Out”—both of which featured on her self-released debut EP Burn Wild, which arrived in February 2016. The following year she joined Cash Cash on the single “Matches,” which reached the upper half of the Billboard electronic chart.

After signing with Photo Finish Records in 2017, Rozes released the solo tracks “Canyons” and “Famous,” then teamed with Nicky Romero for “Where Would We Be” in 2018; all three songs later appeared on that year’s EP I Don't Know Where I'm Going, But I'm on My Way. She also put out the seasonal single A Very ROZES Christmas. In January of the next year, “Halfway There” was adopted as the official anthem for the 2019 Women’s March, while the mental-health-themed “Call Me” followed in June. Later that year she collaborated with Mat Kearney on “Walls,” which was included on her third EP, Crazy, released in 2020. During 2021 she issued several singles, among them “Deep Water,” along with another holiday collection, A Very Rozes Christmas, Vol. 2. Rozes began 2022 by releasing “Best They Ever Had.”