Q&A: Heather LaRose On How A Hollywood Lesson Turned Into ‘Starlet’

The brilliant songwriter Paul Westerberg once wrote in the song “Things,” “Down the line someday you’ll be a song I sing/A thing I give away.” Rising star Heather LaRose was reminded recently that some lessons are meant only for your art, as a relationship gone bad turned into her recent single “Starlet.”

It was a rough life lesson, but as LaRose told me on a recent Zoom also a very fruitful one artistically. For the hardworking LaRose, who is constantly working to promote her music and burgeoning career, it might be a rough tradeoff, but at least she got art out of it.

I spoke with LaRose being a Christian in Hollywood, partying at Madonna’s house, songwriting and more.

Steve Baltin: What are you working on today?

Heather LaRose: Basically, I’m filming TikToks to promote music and all that stuff.

Baltin: What does that look like for you?

LaRose: I’m going to talk a little bit about “Starlet,” I was going to talk about the song in a little bit of a new way and then just sing the song.

Baltin: Do you like to give a lot of information about the song or let people interpret it on their own?

LaRose: I like giving people just enough to lay the scene, but then also using their own imagination on what it could be about. Every song is different, like I know we spoke a little bit about “Loser Behavior.” I feel like everybody has their own personal loser that they could just really fit into their own story. But for this, I am giving a little more context, a little more lore into what it’s like to live and love in Hollywood.

Baltin: That evolves all the time. When you’re a kid growing up, and you imagine what it is to be in Hollywood, how different has it been from what you expected?

LaRose: So incredibly different. Growing up on the East coast, then coming to Hollywood, a lot of people are playing pretend and a lot of people are saying who they are and it’s not necessarily adding up. It’s kind of like having to go through it and finding your people and sometimes that changes and it’s just taking off the rosy-colored glasses and trying to see people for who they actually are and not the facade that they’re presenting themselves as.

Baltin: Maneskin was telling me “Supermodel” was about the absurdity of Hollywood, and we started talking about the craziest party they’ve ever been to. So, first what is the craziest party you’ve been to in Hollywood?

LaRose: The craziest party that I’ve ever been to in Hollywood was at Madonna’s house and she has this giant pool with multiple slides. It was right after fashion week, and there were these two girls saying, “I wonder how drunk somebody has to be to go down on the water slide.” It was maybe like 10pm, I didn’t even have anything to drink it. I was like, “I’ll do it sober.” I went down the water slide with all of my clothes on into the pool. I was invited back to every party after that for a while because the people there liked the vibe.

Baltin: You’ve lived here five years now, so you’re used to Hollywood. Why did it inspire you more this time?

LaRose:Right now I’m in a place where I’m really happy with the level that I’mat in my career. So, I’m being invited to some of the more glamorous things whereit feels less like I’m faking it till I make it. It’s less pretend and I’mstepping into some real big moments for myself, which is great. But because ofthat too, I’m still meeting the types of people who are on the cusp of that,like fake it till you make it and also making it. It’s still a mystery. So I’m at the point in Hollywood where everything is still kind of like I’m Nancy Drew-ing my way through it. But it’s all glam, like it’s the Grammys, it’s playing Gibson’s pre -Oscar party. So it’s really fun, but there are still these questionable elements involved in all of it.

Baltin: What do you mean questionable?

LaRose: People who are in the industry who maybe love music, but they’re not doing things because they love music. They’re doing things to serve themselves. So, the questionable is the intentions of others and why they connect with others.

Baltin: How do you discern then who to associate with?

LaRose: I look for people who are excited to celebrate their friends. I think one of the biggest things for me in the industry is knowing when it’s your time to shine and knowing when it’s time to hype up somebody who you’re close with. So, I like to watch the way people interact with one another, how they interact with others. I think just kindness in Hollywood can be so appreciated that when I see elements of that, I gravitate toward it so fast.

Baltin: But “Starlet” is about a very different side of Hollywood.

LaRose: The reason why I was initially attracted to the person who “Starlet” is about, we were at this event, and they were late setting up the tables. I saw one of the girls who was a server or a host of the event struggling to set up the tables in a way that we needed to. Then all of a sudden, the subject matter of “Starlet” comes in and he tells me and the girl, “No, no, no, I’ve got it.” It was really interesting for me because somebody in that type of music industry role usually isn’t the one to roll up their sleeves and do that type of stuff on their own. They usually have people who do it for them. So, I was immediately attracted to that. Then of course, I let myself get swept off my feet by the idea of meeting the love of my life at the Grammys and he was very much someone who I thought was so kind and so considerate of others. But sometimes you learn something about someone 10 months in and you realize that that’s somebody that you could never be with ever again.

Baltin: Talk about the new things that have been inspiring you. We’re talking about “Starlet,” but that’s one experience. What are you writing now?

LaRose: Since it just all happened a couple of weeks ago, I’m still writing from that perspective of how somebody can just crush every dream you’ve ever had about being with them and how well can you really know a person, how well can you really know yourself. For me, I think since I started writing this idea of the sense of belonging has been something that has constantly flown through my songs. It’s still a lot of that of figuring out, okay, now that I realized that this, I was living in this fantasy, where do I belong now? And what is the right thing to do in a world where what I want to do isn’t necessarily the right thing but I am still a person who has to hold on to her moral integrity with a white-knuckle grip. A lot of that is questioning the idea of right and wrong, questioning like through a certain lens like could I be the villain of this story. What are still my redeeming qualities throughout all of this? But in the idea of manifest, like writing what you want to happen. I want it all. I want to have my cake and eat it too. I want to have a successful career. I want to have a happy and healthy relationship. I love the idea of having a family and all of that type of stuff too.

Baltin: How have your experiences in LA changed you?

LaRose: It made me very self -aware in everything that I do and with the people that I’ve been spending a lot of time with. You don’t want to have to question every Saturday night that you go out, but I really do find that people’s actions speak so much louder than anything they can say. So that’s what I try to hold the people who I keep in my close circle accountable for what they do rather than what they say about who they are. And as I do that and as I figure out like, “Okay, maybe I don’t personally jive with this person as well, it’s okay to take a step back and have a circle of friends or a circle of people in the industry but not necessarily have the closest confidants. I’m really involved in my church. I would say my church is where I go to for my foundational friend group, people who I can say some of my darkest thoughts to and still feel seen. It’s really interesting to be a Christian in Hollywood. I know a lot of times people just like to wear like a little cross and have it be part of their brand of who they are but I think it’s stronger when you live it out rather than just kind of embroidering it on a sweater.

Baltin: Let’s take this back to music. You’ve been able to surround yourself with better people. Do you find that it’s influenced your songwriting?

LaRose: I do find that that’s helped a lot because a lot of times growing up, I would have a fear of writing about a certain aspect, whether it is using a curse word or writing about sex. And when you look through the Bible, there’s a ton of course language, one of the most prolific songwriters is King David who wrote Psalms to God, but a lot of the Psalms are really dark. It’s talking about wanting to make a footstool out of his enemies and may like the kings that he was warring against me their generations be cursed throughout the decades. So, it’s really interesting to type kind of like hold yourself to an impossible standard growing up and then as you learn the humanity in all of it being okay with yourself being human and having those human moments and needing to get that out of your body so it’s out of your mind. For me writing is that vehicle to just get these thoughts out and honestly so many people relate to it like how you said when you’re being more vulnerable.