Situationships, diary entries and the significance of teddy bears - Amelie Roden discusses her latest single, ‘Collecting Dust’
Released on December 6th, Collecting Dust is the latest sad girl ballad by the rising singer-songwriter, Amelie Roden. Known for her soft vocals, detailed storytelling and guitar-strung melodies, Amelie is an upcoming artist from Kent who’s voice is sure to be heard.
Since releasing her debut single, rose-tinted glasses in 2023, Amelie has posted a collection of online covers, gained 3,000 monthly Spotify listeners for her original music and held BBC Introducing Kent’s ‘Record of the Week’ spot last November with Collecting Dust.
For fans of Gracie Abrams and Lizzy McAlpine, Amelie Roden’s music cuts right to the bone of every emotion she sings.
We had the chance to talk with Amelie about her latest single, and discussed everything from songwriting inspirations to her perspective on live performances and all the music she has on repeat right now.
When did you decide that music was something you wanted to pursue?
“I’ve been singing basically since I could talk, so literally my whole life! I think I was about seven when I went to this dance class and saw that my friend had a songwriting book and that made me really want to start writing songs. After that, I got my own songwriting book and starting writing ones myself. I think my first song was called ‘Off Like an Arrow’ and didn’t really make any sense, but it was a start!
I started learning piano when I was also about seven, and it really made me want to pursue music. I had a lot of music in my life because my dad and brother play guitar, and my mum’s always loved it as well. I’ve always been surrounded by music so when I was 13, I started a YouTube channel and put my music out there!”
How would you describe yourself and your music to people who don’t know you as an artist?
“I’d say my music is very sad and its the main way I express my emotions. If something’s bothering me, the first thing I’ll do is write about. I’ve always had a hard time vocally communicating my emotions, so I write about them and sing instead. I feel that’s the best way I can get it out, and if other people listen to my songs and relate to them - and feel like someone else understands them - that’s why I love doing it, really.
As a person, I have a strange sense of humour, a lot of the time am quite shy and I’m a libra!”
Moving into your latest single, how would you describe Collecting Dust to someone who hasn’t heard it?
“I’d say it’s THE situationship anthem, like it is very to the point and says exactly what you’re thinking when someone is stringing you along, and what you’d say to them if you felt free enough to say how you really feel. It is slightly unhinged, and has a sense of losing composure, especially towards the end during the “what do you want’s”.
The line where you sang “Guess you wanted nothing more than a round of applause for your Oscar-worthy lines” reminded us of Normal Thing by Gracie Abrams where she sings, “Are you special, or was this all scripted in his head?”
With that in mind, what album (by any artist) do you think Collecting Dust would best fit within?
“Honestly, I would’ve said The Secret Of Us by Gracie Abrams immediately. The song was originally very quiet and melancholic, just piano and vocals, but when I sent the demo over to Luke, my producer, he added a lot of synths and strings which really made the song come to life. It reminds me a lot of the production of I Love You, I’m Sorry.”
Are the bears on the Spotify visualiser of the song your own childhood teddies, and how did you decide on using that visual?
“They are actually my nana’s teddies! She has a pretty huge collection of vintage teddy bears and I admire them every time I visit. I love teddy bears myself, always have, and I was thinking about them sitting on the shelf collecting dust for all that time and how it relates to the song, waiting around for something to change but it never does.”
We’d love to hear about the inspirations behind Collecting Dust and what the songwriting process was like!
“I’ve certainly had some experiences myself which inspired this song, and writing it really helped me release the emotions I had been bottling up for a while. It almost felt like writing a letter and it was a huge relief to get all the words out. It was quite a simple songwriting process and took me about two days to write. I started with just the piano and the lyrics followed pretty instantly.”
We’re big on lyrics at VoiceNoted, so do you have any all-time favourites that you’ve written, and what do they mean to you?
“There’s this one song that I wrote called It’s Enough Just to Know You and in the third verse, I wrote: “I decode indecipherable signs, you feed my delusions don’t know how you do it. Something about the look in your eyes, does it make you feel proud that you’re dragging me down, does it get you high. I live for the danger, it’s boring when you don’t make me want to die.” I was quite proud of that verse!”
We then asked Amelie what music she’s been listening to lately, and collated the songs into a playlist for fans - PS… it’s our favourite one so far!
Then, it was time for some fun questions:
If you could live inside the cover of any album, which would you pick and why?
“Lover by Taylor Swift because I love the colours and feel like I could just frolic in the sky. It’s so pretty. with the sunset and I love pastel colours - they’re my favourite!”
What is your guilty-pleasure TV show? Bonus points if it’s binge-watchable…
“It’s between two: Friends and Gilmore Girls. I do love Friends and I binge-watch it a lot, and Gilmore Girls is my comfort show.
Are you a Dean, Logan or Jess girl?
“I’d say Dean, but specifically him in Season 1 as he just gets worse as the show goes along!”
Would you rather: have a pause or a rewind button in your life?
“Definitely a rewind button! I think about this all the time, because I’ll do something and think - why did I do that? If I could literally just go back to an hour of five minutes ago, then I could change the whole day.”
We saw you performed at the Omeara for their BBC Introducing event in October of last year. What was that opportunity like and how did it come about?
“Its this networking event that they do every year, so I got tickets with my mum and we went. Basically, it was first come, first serve to get an open mic slot and so we went there an 90 minutes early. We got to walk around and network with different people, and I saw Abbie McCarthy who does BBC Introducing in Kent.
There were some different talks about things like growing a fanbase, social media and how to get your music played on the radio. In the middle of the day, I got to do the open mic so I sang two original songs: Spring Cleaning and Matches, which isn’t yet released. It was such a cool experience and I made some great connections from it so it was a great opportunity!”
Are there any dream venues you’d like to play one day, or big goals you want to achieve?
“I’d love to play the massive ones some day like the O2, because I do have quite big goals. I’m hoping to release an EP and am working on that now with my producer, so for now I’d just love to grow my fanbase and find some more opportunities.
It would be a dream to go on tour as well and meet people, and one of the things I’d love is to hear my fans sing along with me. That’s just the goal!”
With live performances in mind, we’d love to get your thoughts on Lizzy McAlpine’s Older tour and how her performance in London shifted your perspective as an upcoming artist.
“I have a lot to say on this! I’ve always found it difficult to talk on stage and get the crowd excited. When I saw Lizzy perform and build the tour around herself in a way that she could feel so comfortable on stage sitting down wearing her headphones, you could see that she was being herself. That’s something that I struggle with, so making sure that I’m being my authentic self on stage is something that I really want to do.
I don’t know if it necessarily means doing what she does, but just to be comfortable and express myself in a way that doesn’t feel like I’m forcing it - especially when I sometimes feel like I’m forcing myself to be someone I’m not on stage - is something I’ve learnt from her. Lizzy explained that in the past she felt like she was doing what she had to do, and that’s exactly what it can feel like.
I definitely take a leaf out of Lizzy’s book because I saw myself in her that day and was like ‘yes, this is me, this is what I want to do.’ I’d like other people to hear that message as well, because you can change things, be more comfortable, and feel more like yourself.”
Do you have any shows of your own coming up you’d like to plug?
Have you got a vision for where you’d like your music to go next? Any stories you’d love to tell or themes you’d like to explore in your writing?
“I’m planning on releasing an EP at some point and some songs that I’ve written over last year, and I’d absolutely LOVE to do a music video at some point. In terms of themes, I usually take inspiration from experiences in my life, so we will see what 2025 brings!”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve heard as an upcoming artist that you’d like to share with others who are just starting out?
“If something is working, even if its not exactly what you planned, keep doing it because it might get you closer to where you want to be, and that’s always worth it. For example, I’ve been doing TikTok lives which I never pictured myself doing, but I cover other people’s songs and that’s really what’s been helping me grow. That’s something I’ve learnt at university because they say, ‘at the moment, you’re picturing yourself doing something very specific, but take every opportunity that comes.’”
And finally, do you have any advice for fans who relate to Collecting Dust?
“First of all, I see you and I’ve been there, but you deserve so much better. Like the song says, “you either love me or you don’t” - if they’re having to take that much time to decide whether they want to be with you or not, they’re not worth it. You need someone who doesn’t have to think twice about it and sees you as their world and number one priority.”
We can certainly second that advice, and can’t wait to see what this year brings for Amelie. One of the most promising songwriters we’ve met with a growing discography of vulnerable, honest and tear-jerking music, Amelie Roden is one independent artist to look out for this 2025.
As always, make sure to follow Amelie on Instagram and TikTok for the latest updates on her work, and you can find the rest of her music on Spotify:
