'Pickleball and pasta' - touring with Dua Lipa

"It's so wild that I released my first song only two years ago and now I am touring in huge arenas across the world," says rising pop star Alessi Rose.

The 22-year-old says it has felt like a "whirlwind" since she created her first piece of music that was made in a makeshift bedroom studio, to now supporting the likes of Dua Lipa and Tate McRae for their upcoming world tours.

Rose said she was "excited" to travel across the UK, Europe and the US over the next few months.

"To go from just finishing my own tour to an arena tour in Madrid with Dua Lipa is quite the whiplash, but in the best way," she said.

Growing up in Derby, Rose's path to pop stardom wasn't always clear-cut, saying she never knew how to get into the industry.

"I don't have anyone who works in music or even plays an instrument in my family, so I didn't know how to meet people in music or people that can help you out," she said.

Knowing she always wanted to be a musician, the singer said having lots of time during the Covid pandemic was the catalyst to start making her own music.

"I remember being in my room whilst I was living at home in Littleover, where I had the weirdest music setup of my old keyboard and a 15 year-old MacBook that I was producing my songs on," said Rose.

"I had one set goal of producing music that I could send to BBC Introducing, then I knew that would be exposure."

After getting her tracks played on Dean Jackson's BBC Introducing programmes, Rose has gone on to to perform at Derbyshire's Ynot? festival, Reading and Leeds festival, as well as opening a show for American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan in August 2024.

"It feels like it's been a whirlwind, it doesn't feel like so long ago since my first session at Nottingham's Metronome," she said.

"There are loads of incredible artists from the East Midlands and I'm so happy for myself and for other people that there is a way into the music industry."

Since finishing her 2024 UK tour, Rose said she felt "comfortable" transitioning from performing at smaller venues to bigger stadiums.

"I have always joked about my own headline tour, because we had a lot of staging and effects, people said it felt like an arena show," she said.

"To now take my shows on to those actual incredibly-sized Dua Lipa stages, it's felt like a natural transition where I felt comfortable.

"Sometimes I've walked off stage and I said to myself why was I so calm, that was so huge and there were so many people out there."

"As I'm so happy and proud of what I get to do, the excitement overtakes all other feelings, I'm always so excited to be on stage."

Away from the excitement on stage, Rose and her band have been enjoying some unusual pleasures whilst touring the world.

Speaking from a hotel room in Lyon, France, she said: "Me and the band are going to eat pasta downstairs and we have gained an obsession with pickleball.

"It's pickleball tomorrow and pasta tonight, that is the really glam life on tour with Dua Lipa."

Rose said to tour with Dua Lipa and Tate McRae was "so wild and ridiculous".

"I've admired both of their music and their careers individually for so long," she said.

"I love Tate McRrae and I'm so grateful for her having me. It's an insane tour all across America. I can't believe that's a real sentence I'm saying.

"I have not met Dua Lipa yet, but we have spoken over Instagram messages. She is a delight and she is an incredible performer.

"It feels like so much has happened in such a short time, but I'm excited to see what the next couple of years will be like."

Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.