The Rose Song

Beginning in 2019, American singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo starred in Disney+ series High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (HSMTMTS). During this time, she wrote and performed "All I Want", which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.[1] In October 2019, HSMTMTS was renewed for a second season, for which producer Tim Federle revealed she had written a "pretty extraordinary" song. He stated: "This was an opportunity to showcase what is the most extraordinary thing about [the show's cast], which is, like, all Olivia needs is a piano."[2]

Rodrigo wrote the first version chords of "The Rose Song" in 20 minutes after being asked to by Federle.[3] She stated she was given the prompt of a "feminist song from the perspective of a rose".[4] The song was written in 2020, approximately six or seven months before the release of her debut single "Drivers License" in January 2021.[5] Rodrigo thought the experience of writing for her character—instead of her music career—was unique and enjoyable. She commented that it was an amazing challenge for her as a songwriter to work inside a prompt and have limitations on her creativity; this contrasted from her own music, where she could write about anything she wanted.[3] For the songs she writes for HSMTMTS, Rodrigo regularly tries to incorporate both her personal experience and her distinctive songwriting voices.[4] "The Rose Song" was released on June 18, 2021, as part of the soundtrack album High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Soundtrack: Season 2.[6]

"The Rose Song" was written solely by Olivia Rodrigo.

"The Rose Song" is an emotional piano ballad.[7][8] USA Today described it as "sweet [and] uplifting".[3] The song is written solely by Rodrigo.[9] Composed in the key of F major, it has a moderate tempo of 142 beats per minute.[10][11] During "The Rose Song", Rodrigo's vocal range spans from the low note of G₃ to the high note of G₅.[11] The song starts gentle and controlled before a swelling second verse.[12]

In HSMTMTS, "The Rose Song" appears in the second season's "Yes, And" episode, which follows Nini (Rodrigo) as she goes through a writer's block.[4] She is cast as the Rose in her school's production of Beauty and the Beast,[1] and struggles to write a duet between the Rose and the Beast; Nini later ends up writing a solo for her character.[3] During the song, Nini sings about learning she is not what others perceive her to be, growing more independent, and discovering her individuality,[4] singing during the chorus: "'Cause I am more than what I am to you / You say I'm perfect / But I've got thorns with my petals, too / And I won't be confined to your point of view / I'm breakin' through the glass you put me in / 'Cause my beauty's from within."[7][1][13] Of writing the song's message, Rodrigo stated:

I think all of us can feel restricted whether it's by outside forces or by other people's opinions. And I also think it's super cool, because it also ties it to the rose thing, because the roses kept under a glass, and you're breaking through the glass so it could be a glass ceiling thing, too.[4]

"The Rose Song" has received positive reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly ranked it Rodrigo's second-best song on HSMTMTS, with praise for her emotion and vocals.[12] Comic Book Resources considered it one of the show's best musical moments as well as Rodrigo's swan song on the series.[8] At the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards, "The Rose Song" was nominated for Best Musical Moment.[14]

In December 2022, American singer Pink's daughter sang "The Rose Song" at a recital. Several other singers, such as Mandy Moore and Chrissy Metz, complimented her performance.[16][17] Rodrigo later commented: "I'm crying!!!!! what a special girl".[18]