Songland: All About Rozee, Who Wrote Leona Lewis's Latest Hit

From Oprah Magazine

• Following Old Dominion's episode on NBC's Songland, Grammy nominee Leona Lewis came looking for a song that would pass her "goosebumps test" on Wednesday.

• The songwriters—Olivia Lane, Annabel Lee, Rafferty, and Rozee—tried their best, but it was Rozee's "Solo Quiero (Somebody To Love)" that knocked it out of the park.

On this week's episode of Songland, Grammy nominee Leona Lewis came looking for a song that would shake her.

"I'm looking for song that gives me goosebumps. That speaks to my soul," Lewis said during the episode. "If I get goosebumps, I know it's the right song for me."

The four writers—Olivia Lane, Annabel Lee, Rafferty, and Rozee—wrote some heartfelt songs, but it was Rozee's "Solo Quiero (Somebody To Love)" that felt different from anything that's reached Lewis's soul.

"Rozee's song—it really spoke to my Caribbean roots. We’d have parties in my house on a Sunday and this is the kind of vibe I would hear around me a lot," she said during the episode. "I want a song that has an international appeal and also a song that I could just jump on with another artist. The song really married the two worlds very beautifully."

In the episode, Rozee says she wrote the song after breaking up with a longtime partner.

"I was going through the end of a two-and-a-half year relationship. I wanted to fight for the relationship but whatever I did would never be enough," she said. "But letting go of that relationship lit a fire under me."

After working with judge Ryan Tedder, the song changed and went into a more Latin pop direction. The lyrics to the chorus became: "All I want is somebody to love/somebody to love/all I need is something to love/I don't know you but deep inside I really, really want to/because all we want is somebody love."

Rozee and Tedder worked together to transform her original ballad into a feature that Lewis could sing on with a Spanish rapper or artist.

"It just excites me as a feature. It's just sick!" Lewis said right after hearing the song for the first time.

Although Tedder—who wrote and produced Lewis's "Bleeding Love"—went in a totally different direction, Rozee loved it because the new song was in tune with her roots too.

Rozee—who's real name is Rosalyn Lockhart—was born on St. Croix and grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to The Virgin Island Consortium. She moved to the U.S. to pursue a career as a makeup artist but ended up following her dream of becoming a singer-songwriter.

Before appearing on Songland, Rozee released her debut EP Retrospect in May— it's currently available on all major music platforms.

"The project is a retrospective journey through love, relationships, and female empowerment," her bio says.

The daughter of a minister, music has always been close to her heart—especially considering she's a self-taught pianist and organist, too.

"I had always written poetry growing up. Always made my own songs," she said during the episode. "My mom would say I came out the womb singing."

When Rozee isn't recording or singing all around the country, she loves posting A+ selfies.

There's no doubt in our minds that Rozee winning Songland was cosmic! Both her and Lewis have Caribbean roots and both were open to doing something new and different.

And that's exactly what fans got with "Solo Quiero (Somebody to Love)," which is now available on Apple Music, Spotify, and other streaming platforms.

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