Alessi Rose's 'for your validation': A mirror to girlhood's insecurities and relationships
- blondevibrations
- Jan 26
- 5 min read
Alessi Rose released her sophomore EP 'for your validation' last week, continuing her stream of painfully relatable narratives that put our insecurities and the behaviours that come from that up against a mirror. Following on from Alessi's debut EP, 'rumination as ritual', released last year, it feels like 'for your validation' has expanded her lyrical landscape, building a commentary on how it feels to be young and navigating all sorts of relationships from romantic to platonic.
There is no way that you haven't heard the lead single of this project - 'oh my'. Categorised by Alessi and her fans as 'the head song' after teasing the song ahead of its release, this tune absolutely took social media by storm. The acoustic, stripped back introductory lines of 'He saves me for last, cause he knows that I'll wait' places Alessi vulnerable and centre stage. This first verse feels like it prepares us to be fully exposed to the inner workings of Alessi's mind and emotions; notoriously, Alessi has an incredible way of writing songs heavily emotive but also relatable. The song's chorus of 'I've been loving him to pass the time / He gives me head while I've been losin' mine' is a witty, tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of wanting someone regardless of full reciprocity, and the attempt to retain some control in such an imbalanced relationship.
In this project, Alessi truly presents what it feels like to get fully intoxicated by a person and the potential of a happy relationship. After the bridge of 'oh my' shares Alessi's desperation of 'I just wanna be the thing you choose / Somebody you're afraid to lose' (we've all been there), then the next track, 'start all over', takes this from another angle. While 'oh my' considers the pain of not feeling completely secure in a relationship, 'start all over' highlights the awkward space of beginning to like someone, but remaining in a stalemate for who will make the first move. In both her songwriting and the visual media surrounding her discography, Alessi often pairs extreme emotions with violence to truly highlight the intensity of romance, and this is absolutely the case in the chorus of 'There won't be a first move unless you're making it / I'm so "Go with the flow," but I'ma cut my hands off unless you're taken 'em'. Following these lines with 'Know I look stupid / My head's all ruined' , if you see yourself in this song, like we do, you can't help but painfully chuckle. Alessi beautifully and accurately captures how it feels to be young and in love, and shamelessly places it for all to observe.
'ikyk' is an explosive combination of a ballad with a catchy banger, which feels like it could be placed on a new edition of Olivia Rodrigo's 'GUTS' (2023). With the heavy drum beat of the chorus, 'I know you know you're pretty and everybody wants you / I know you know, I'm part of that crowd', you can even picture Alessi on stage performing this song with high energy, this festival season. Her crowds (known for singing extremely loudly, much like that of Gracie Abrams) are bound to love the opportunity to singalong to 'La-la-la-la / Kiss me won't you make it better / Promise you'll be mine forever.' This is a song that needs to be on your getting ready playlists; it's bound to guarantee a strong attitude before you head out in the evening, with perhaps a bit of lip-syncing in your mirror.
In a project like 'for your validation', it's hard to pick a favourite track... However, a strong contender for that top spot is definitely 'imsochillandcool'. This may say more about me than I think I would like to share on the internet, but if Alessi can do it so can we! The bridge feels like a sneak peek through the front being put on: 'Didn't wanna say it, but I think she's kinda lame / Call me mean, I'm not a saint, I'm just so pretty and blasé.' It's refreshing to see an artist being so unapologetically honest about their feelings, as while jealousy is not typically a feeling you want to admit to, it's something that we all do feel -- especially when someone else moves on first. The project as a whole is a consistent battle between appearing one way ('cool and blasé', some may say) but your emotions saying another, and what happens when the emotions overpower the outward appearance. This common thread between the track-list really comes to a head in this song.
Deemed the 'anti-imposter syndrome anthem' by Alessi herself in an interview with Dork, 'pretty world' has to be one of the most interesting moments within the collection of tracks, both contextually and sonically. Reflecting on her journey and almost paying a tribute to her former self, this track feels perfectly placed on the EP that is propelling Alessi into the mainstream pop scene. We are experiencing Alessi's voice in an unexpected way during the chorus, and the almost The Last Dinner Party feel to the track make it a captivating listen. I hope she continues to embrace this style even more in the future, as it will only make her discography even more compelling.
Drawing the EP to a close, 'don't ask questions' acts as loop round to the beginning of the project but also as a closure of the Alessi Rose door until her next release. The first verse reflects upon the emotions and situations detailed in the previous tracks: 'I am dealing with the repercussions / I'm thinking everything and doing nothing [...] Walked a triple train and can't undo it / The thread that's holding me started to loosen / It's hard when every thought feels so intrusive / But everything I love, I wanna ruin.' This is one of my favourite verses that Alessi has written, it has this feeling of things beginning to crumble after being held under such pressure, and the verse structure even imitates this. The track takes a step in this personal development journey, with the argument of not asking questions to protect one's self, as opposed to previous tracks showing pushing a relationship in the hopes of success. The final line of the EP is the song title, suggesting that while the project comes to an end, Alessi closes the book and doesn't want any response from anything mentioned in the body of work. A powerful stance to take after being so vulnerable in her lyricism.
Despite quite a short turnaround between her debut EP and 'for your validation', Alessi has demonstrated some serious growth in her songwriting ability. 'rumination as ritual' is an iconic project and will remain in many fans' rotation for many years to come, but in this new expansion of her discography, Alessi stands her ground firmly. The new EP feels like a true exploration of validation, almost like a social study, with highlighting true and organic emotions that we've all felt. It's a brilliant project, and you can't help but finish listening to the 20 minute track-list without yearning for a full-length LP...
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