For most young adults, graduating from college is a whirlwind. A rush of emotions you haven’t even begun to comprehend takes over as you enter adulthood, or “the real world.” You’re forced to leave the people you’ve grown up with over the past four years in order to enter this new phase of life. With that comes fear, excitement and the need to live in the moment. Princeton University student and singer-songwriter Bella Rios is going through the motions in her senior year at the esteemed college. Five months after releasing her single “Options,” her newest single, “Right Now,” due out today (Feb. 21), sees her facing things head-on and staying in the “now,” reminiscing on her four years of college with her best friends right down the hall.
Rios sat down with Melodic Magazine to discuss the inspiration behind the latest single, how she balances her academics with her passion for music and teases her upcoming EP.
Well, thank you so much for taking the time. I know you released your EP Sincerely last year. So kind of, how does the new era of music, as you release a new EP soon, differ from what you were doing before?
I mean, I’d say my music, and I think most people, most artists, music evolves with them. So everything I release is a more recent representation of who I am, more honestly and openly at that moment in time. So the subject might be a little bit happier in this next batch of songs, just because I’ve processed a lot of the experiences and emotions I’ve gone through that inspired [my EP] Sincerely. Of course, there’s always new things coming up that write those sad songs about, but stylistically, it’s going to be similar in that it’s pop rock. It’s going to have some ballads mixed in with, you know, peppy, rocky bangers. But otherwise, I just say it’s a more recent representation of who I am today.
I know you were in Princeton and so kind of, it’s really about female friendship. So could you talk about what inspired this song and why you wanted to make it?
It had two points of inspiration. I wrote the first draft of this song when I was a junior in high school. I wrote the first verse and chorus. I just had a demo of it that I was flipping through, that I happened to come upon this past year, and I started it because I found out that I was going to need to move for my senior year of high school to Nashville from Chicago. That was a very disorienting, jarring experience that I did not want to have. The lyric that I wrote during about that experience really resonated with me today. The people and place and time that I’ve had at these schools was being taken away from me before I’m really ready to say goodbye. That’s when I decided I have to finish this. It was an emotion that I’m constantly experiencing, the struggle to live in the moment, but also reckon with the fact that my time here, is coming to an end.
You described it as a “love letter” to your college friends. Can you talk about that?
I think about why it’s going to be so difficult for me to leave the last four years and why they’ve been some of the happiest four years of my life, I’d say, honestly, is because I’ve never had friends that feel like home in the way that my friends here do. I have been so lucky to have almost all the same friends since the first week [of college], and hopefully, I’ll be friends with them for the rest of my lifetime. We intentionally [set up] our dorm[s] so we could all be in the same 30 feet [of] each other. It’s just gonna be tough to say bye…not have them down the hall whenever I have whatever ridiculous five-second crisis I have every hour of the day.
What was the experience of making the sound come together in the studio?
So usually, when I write, when I think about the production and vibe of the track, I usually have a reference in mind or a reference that I’ll pull up later. And for this particular song, maybe I shouldn’t say what it is, because it’s kind of similar thinking about it. But the reference song was “Black Jeep” by Marc E. Bassy, who I’m absolutely obsessed with. And that song, what I listened to it a lot my junior year of high school, when I was first writing it, because in my mind, it helped me get through a time. It helped me get through a time where I thought that I was experiencing a loss I couldn’t control. And the lyrics really resonated with me then. And so did the, you know, so did the soundscape too. It was very… I wanted it to be, I wanted it to feel like “Black Jeep” in that it was reflective, pensive, moody, but also had hope. And that’s what I think, that’s what I hope the production of this song has achieved, or at least the vibe definitely.
You mentioned that you started writing “Right Now” back in high school. Can you talk a little about the process of moving from high school to college and what your mindset was like then and looking back?
What remains from the first draft is really the chorus and a little bit of the first verse. When I first wrote it, my emotions were more of anger. I was frustrated because I felt like, frankly, I love my parents. This was a great decision for me in the end, but when they told me, you don’t have a choice, we’re up and going for your senior year, I really resented them, and so the lyrics had a lot more angst in them. And obviously, the situation is a little bit different in that, like, my time is just up. It’s no one’s fault. I can’t blame anyone. It’s just the way life goes, I guess. So I definitely, when I was editing it and finishing it, there was more of a bittersweet sentiment than anger in the vibe and in the lyrics. So I’d say that was definitely a shift in my mindset, and that was reflected in the song too.
College can be such a crazy time. How were you able to manage making new music, a new EP, especially as you graduate?
There was definitely a learning curve. My first year, I focused on getting oriented with academics and social life, and music took a backseat. I felt that loss over time, realizing that music was a big part of my fulfillment. Even though everything else was going well — friends, school — I wasn’t feeling 100% because I wasn’t playing music daily anymore. Once I realized how much I missed it, I made it a priority again. I started scheduling it like any other class or homework, fitting it into my day. Right now, I had class from 10 [a.m.] to 4:30 [p.m.], and now I’m in the practice rooms doing homework until dinner. I just keep it nearby and make time for it because it’s what I love. I can’t let go of it.
Can you tell us anything about the upcoming EP? Is there anything you can share that you haven’t yet?
I mean, just that it’s coming. I don’t know the exact date yet, so there’s nothing I’m hiding there. I do know that the songs are peppier, which my mom is happy about because she thinks I’m happier now. But I’m really excited to share it as usual!
Do you have any advice or message for young women going through a big transition like this?
I’m obviously figuring it out myself and having some difficulty doing so, so don’t hold me to that! But I’d say that what’s keeping me sane and excited about new beginnings, instead of scared of them, is reminding myself to be patient and continuously re-evaluate. I make sure I’m prioritizing the things that make me happy and bring me fulfillment. If you’re guiding your intentions toward those things, then I think you can’t go wrong. Your happiness and satisfaction are what matter most.
Keep up with Bella Rios: Instagram // Spotify // X // Facebook // Website
