Rose – 85
Image of Zach by Photographer Dylan Depaul
“Zach is one of the most genuine, musically talented, and gifted individuals I’ve gotten to meet. His eagerness, work ethic, and passion, for music is so inspiring,” says DePaul.
As a young boy growing up in Lynchburg, Virginia, Zach Sines would travel around with his father, a musician in the industry, to churches, assemblies, and shows, to open for him. His first time performing with his father was at a school assembly in the fifth grade.
“I was never the coolest guy in school,” says Sines. “But, after I started singing, things changed.”
On an average day in June of 2009, when he was eight years old, on his way back home from vacationing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Sines, and his family walked into a McDonalds. After walking in, Sine’s dad stopped and crossed his arms, in front of a television screen in the restaurant, to stare at a flashing news headline.
Growing up, Sines never had any ambitions to be a singer or a musician like his father, but he always mimicked his father’s behaviors.
“If he got a lawn mower and he was the mowing the grass, I would get a play lawn mower and I would act like I was mowing the grass,” says Sines. “If he would watch the news, I would watch the news. If he would eat steak, I would eat steak.”
When his father crossed his arms and looked up at the screen, he looked up at the television screen with his arms crossed.
The headline on the television screen read: “Michael Jackson, pop-star, found DEAD.” A name that Sines didn’t even know at the time.
After learning about Jackson from his father, he looked up Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” music video on YouTube and watched it for hours. He explains that this is the exact moment where his passion for music first developed.
Sines taught himself how to sing by studying and watching YouTube videos of singers such as Jackson and Whitney Houston. At the age of 15, he began working to discover his own personal identity as an artist and embarked on his own path of self-discovery.
Now, at 23 years old, he is still actively working to figure out who he is as a musician and who he wants to be an artist.
“I’m still trying to figure myself out as an artist, that’s been the trickiest part for me,” says Sines.
Sines has amassed nearly 12,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, a music streaming service, and has released numerous songs under his own name. He writes his own lyrics and produces his own music. In 2021, he was a contestant on the reality singing competition American Idol and made it close to the Top 40. Judge Lionel Richie said that he was even “Top Ten Material.”
From wedding bells and wedding planning, to moving boxes and moving back home, to new names and new beginnings, everything is changing this year.
“Everything in my life is changing right now,” says Sines.
In just a few days, he is moving back to his hometown of Lynchburg. Seven months ago, he moved nearly 3,000 miles away from home, to be with his fiancé, Jess, in Seattle, Washington. Sines works as a youth ministry pastor at a church, which allows him to also pursue music. He and his fiancé will be getting married in San Antonio, Texas, her hometown, at the beginning of June.
In January, one of the first changes of the year for Sines was when he announced in an Instagram post captioned “Welcome to the Garden” that he would be releasing music under the name, “ROSE.”
Instagram Post:
He explains the overall vision and concept behind ROSE. “Ever since I was in high school,” says Sines. “I always had an idea of releasing music under an artist’s name titled ROSE. One year after American Idol, I woke up one morning, and I was like “I think I’m ready to release music under the name ROSE.” When you give someone a rose, they tend to feel understood, seen, valued, and loved. My whole hope is that when people hear this new music from ROSE, that they will feel all those feelings you feel when you get roses.”
This is not the first time he has incorporated the theme of roses into his music. A line from his song, “In This Kitchen,” on his 2020 EP entitled “In My Head” mentions roses. The lyric reads “There’s nothing else I’d rather do than dancing in this kitchen with all of these roses of you.”
He explains that growing up he witnessed firsthand how the simple act of giving flowers and finding roses on the kitchen counter could make someone feel loved, valued, and understood.
“Growing up, my dad, every Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or Birthday, he would give my mother roses,” says Sines. “And you could see growing up, my mother always felt so loved at those times. And in the world, we live in today, it’s clear that anyone who accepts roses or anything floral in general just feels so loved.”
At the beginning of February, Sines released his first single as ROSE entitled “85.” In the song, he sings about adjusting to life in a new city with his fiancé, away from home and familiar surroundings.
Sines explains why he choose to release 85 as the first single for ROSE. “85 is one of the first songs that I ever wrote about Jess, my fiancé” says Sines. “And it was one of the first songs that I wrote for ROSE. This is the season I’m in. 85 is literally my life right now. I’m in love with this girl that I’m about to get married to and it’s been a challenging season.”
Whether it’s getting used to public transportation or “rainy weather”, the song discusses how living out West, in Seattle, has been an adjustment for the pair. During the zoom interview, he even pointed his camera outside of the window of his high-rise building to show me the rainy and cloudy Seattle skies. Downtown traffic in a big city like Seattle is no joke either as Sines was rushing through backed-up city traffic to get back to his apartment.
Zach and his fiancé, Jess, in Seattle, Washington
“The transition from Lynchburg to Seattle has been huge, for the first couple of months it was a struggle for us to find people and a community to connect with,” says Sines. He describes the transition of moving across the country in the opening lines of 85.
The Opening Lines:
“I see you now in your favorite sweater
I know you hate this rainy weather
and I know it’s new to the both of us
Got to make your way on the city bus”
“Here out West, it’s not the country
You’ve been so used to daddy’s money
He taught you how to take care of yourself
You never need anybody else”
Other lyrics in the song:
“You’re the reason this new city feels like home”
“You’ll never be alone, baby I’ll be your home.”
“I’ll be your home when we’re 85 and we’ve lost our minds. When we forget our names and lose track of time”
@songsbyrosee 85 OUT TOMORROW NIGHT #fyp #DuetDoWet #artist #foryoupage
The word home is mentioned in different lyrics throughout the song. Sines believes that “home” can carry two different meanings and interpretations.
“I think home can definitely be a place, right now, Seattle is my home. But I also think it can be the nostalgic feeling of going back to a place or a friend group that just feels safe,” says Sines. “I mean home is supposed to be the place where you feel safe and the place where you belong. I think a community, a relationship, or even a workplace can make you feel that way.”
After living away from “home” for seven months, he now has advice to offer others who may be struggling to adapt to new environment or surroundings. “My biggest advice would be whatever the new environment is. Whether it’s a workspace, moving all the way across the country, or adapting to a new school, I would say just remember two things:”
#1: Find community, community is important, we’re not meant to do life alone
#2: Real life only happens when you make big moves
Sines will be a making a “big move” back home, across the country, in only a few days. His white-walled apartment is currently filled with moving boxes.
“I’ve been grateful for our time here in Seattle,” says Sines. “But we’ve gotten to a place where we want to be close to family and our community again. Finding people that understand what you’re going through and dream big, that’s important. The people in Lynchburg, they’re dreamers. And that’s why we’re moving back.”
In Lynchburg, Sines will be giving “110%” of his time to ROSE. Sines reveals that we can expect to see more changes, as it’s a “new season” of life for him, and he is still blooming and dreaming big.
You can stream “85” by Rose and listen to the full song now on Spotify or Apple Music. The “85” music video is also available on YouTube (85 – ROSE (Official Music Video) – YouTube).
You can also follow Sines on Instagram (@songsbyrose) or on Tik Tok (@songsbyrosee) to stay updated when he releases any new music.