𝖡𝖸 𝖢𝖠𝖱𝖮𝖫𝖨𝖭𝖤 𝖶𝖠𝖳𝖳𝖲
𝖩𝖴𝖭𝖤 19𝖳𝖧, 2019
It's hard to scroll on the internet or turn on the radio in your car and not come across America's Newest Sweetheart, Celina Roselle, or known mononymously as, Celina. I had the pleasure of sitting down with the starlet two months after the release of her debut album, 'The Art Of Closure' that is currently the biggest debut of the year and has spent a total of six weeks atop the Billboard 200 Chart.
It's safe to say that this star's fame grew over night, but many don't realize that she's always been here just waiting for her turn to stand under the spotlight.
The smell of fresh charcoal filled my nose as I walked to the entrance of the very grand Los Angeles mansion Celina shared with her model—and chef-in-training—boyfriend, Brooklyn Beckham. The sound of music that I wasn't familiar with could be heard as I knocked on the tall white door, alerting the residents inside that I was here. Within seconds, the music grew quiet and a vibrant Celina cracked open the door with the brightest smile I'd ever seen.
"I'm so happy to see you!" The blonde beauty announced as she pulled me into a warm hug.
The smell of citrus now became dominant – a fragrance I was sure was much more expensive than my entire outfit today. After a few seconds, the hug came to an end and Celina was dragging me through the front door with enthusiasm, almost making me forget to close it behind me.
As I entered the residence I was enamored by the beautiful interior. A huge chandelier hung centerpiece over a gorgeous stone table lined with many different decorations, a picture of Celina smiling wide with the Beckham's sat amongst them.
"You all look really happy here!" I mentioned.
Celina was confused for a split second before I pointed at the photo, "Oh, yes! that was taken when I met Brooklyn's family for the first time." She spoke nonchalantly as if the family in question weren't David and Victoria Beckham, "It was a really fun day."
She laughed when she saw my shocked expression but didn't say a word, rather motioning for me to follow her through the house as we made it to the backyard where Brooklyn was grilling some steaks – revealing where the wonderful smell was coming from. Celina did a small jog over to him, leaving a sweet kiss on his cheek which then turned into a full kiss that, if I weren't use to PDA by now, would've made me want to curl up and hide.
"This is Caroline—the interviewer from British Vogue that I told you was coming over today." The sweet girl spoke to Brooklyn as she held onto his arm. He smiled, placing the tongs he was holding on a table nearby then closing the grill lid. He wiped his hands on the towel thrown over his shoulders then stuck out one hand for me to shake and I gratefully did.
"It's nice to meet you! Celina has been talking about this interview for the past two weeks so I'm excited and relieved that you are finally here." The three of us laughed at Brooklyn's subtle jab before we both dropped our hands back to our sides.
"It's good to be here! You both have been very welcoming."
The couple shook their heads and waved me off, "No need to thank us for having good manners." Brooklyn spoke for the both of them.
I agreed silently, noting that the pair were obviously raised well despite their privileged background, not only that, but I also noticed the huge diamond ring on Celina's finger.
Brooklyn looked over at the grill and whispered something to Celina to which she nodded at and let go of his arm. "I have to finish cooking these steaks, but once again, it was nice to meet you!"
I nodded and thanked him before Celina begun scurrying us off to the other end of the backyard and I trailed closely behind her, "He's very sweet. I see why you two are always so happy." I spoke as an attempt to get some conversation going again.
Celina giggled as she tucked a piece of her blonde hair that was now shoulder length, behind her ears, "He is. We were acquaintances for a while before we got to truly know each other and he was always like a big teddy bear."
As we sat in a small patio area I couldn't help but notice the bright pink shade on Celina's cheeks. That combined with her ring was more than enough proof of the blossoming young love. If I had any doubt before that these two were in love, it was completely thrown out of the window now. I placed my bag and recorder on the table while Celina sat quietly, waiting patiently for me to officially begin our interview. When I was finally done setting up, I pressed record and asked the most pressing question.
"How does it feel being a superstar?"
Celina laughed immediately after my question, "Superstar is an overstatement, but I greatly appreciate it," I sent her a smile before she continued, "But, no, really it's been so great seeing so many people connect with my album. The numbers and statistics are fun to look at but seeing how my fans have been responding has been so overwhelming in a good way. This album was created during my hiatus which was... very tough, but it has helped create so many wonderful memories."
"How would you describe life during your hiatus?"
She paused for a second, looking off into the distance as if trying to find the most cohesive thought she could articulate, "Honestly? It was a long year and I was dealing with a rollercoaster of emotions."
"How did you manage that? It surely must've been hard to go through that in silence."
"I dealt with it the best I could. My parents always told me to remain strong in situations that were tough as it was the world's way of teaching me how strong I truly am. While the public didn't know what I was going through, I had plenty of friends and family in my corner when I needed them most."
"As your album is certainly inspired by heartbreak, would you say it was the most difficult part about your hiatus?"
At this question, there was a big energy shift as Celina began to look down at her hands rested on the table. She fiddled with her fingers and took a deep breath, "I think obviously the answer is yes even though it's much deeper than that. I haven't really talked about it with anyone except those closest to me but Zayn and I's break up was the hardest thing to come to terms with."
She fiddled with her fingertips even more and her right leg began to shake as her thoughts continued to float around, "We had been together since we were teenagers and If I didn't have any other constant in my life, he was it. Even though I knew long before we announced our break up that our relationship had reached it's end, it was still tough to watch each day as it became harder to recognize the love we once had for each other."
For those unfamiliar: Celina and Zayn Malik dated from 2012 until early 2018. They met while in line to audition for The X Factor UK in 2010 and began dating two years after that before eventually getting engaged, and then officially calling it quits in 2018. The pair was truly inseparable at one point, even after Zayn's departure from One Direction. In a separate interview with The Fader, the former boybander spoke about how supportive the starlet was of him.
"She's just been very supportive in all this. She was there during the peak of everything and she remained there throughout it all. When I left, she was the one person who I knew wouldn't judge me for a decision I felt I needed to make for my own mental health."
While the reason for their break up was never discussed (Celina politely declined to confirm or deny any rumors about their break up when asked), the two vocalists seemed to be on good terms until a very public Twitter feud with Zayn and his ex-girlfriend, Gia Collins.
"The Twitter situation was incredibly embarrassing and childish on both ends but especially for me because I'm a very forgiving person—It's just in my nature. I don't hold grudges against people I've known for a major part of my life so when all of that happened, it felt like a slap to the face. I was accused of playing 'victim' when I had spent an entire year sitting in silence and defending people when I finally did make my return to social media but when it came to returning the favor... they ran."
I nodded understandably and took in her respond before continuing with my questioning, "Have you spoken to Zayn since then?"
Celina snickered as if I had asked a stupid question which, in the moment, probably was, "We have and like I said before, I don't hold grudges. We spoke and regardless of how it went, I still wish him the best in everything that he does. I've said that a few times and I really do mean it."
She paused before leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. "We just weren't compatible in the long run. That's why I wrote Lose You to Love Me because it tells my journey of finally letting go and finding myself." Taking another pause, the girl's gaze fell to her lap, " I don't know... maybe some day in the future we could pretend all of this never happened and become the friends we once were, but sadly, right now is not that time."
The sound of footsteps alerted us and soon there was another Beckham standing in front of us whom I had no idea was even here—Harper Seven. The small child smiled brightly at me as she held two cups in one hand and a pitcher in the other of what appeared to be iced lemonade.
"Brooklyn said you were doing an interview and not to bother you but it's a bit warm out so I thought I'd bring something to drink."
Celina frowned cutely and put her hand over her chest for a second, watching as Harper poured us both a glass before pulling her into a short hug. We both thanked the angel child and she mumbled you're welcome before scurrying off towards her brother.
"You seem to be getting on really well with Brooklyn's family."
Celina took a sip of her lemonade and hummed before responding, "It's really easy to get along with them. I feel people have this preconceived idea that celebrity families are hard to impress or inherently mean, but Brooklyn's family is far from that. They were cautious at first as any family would be but they warmed up to me really quickly. His parents are like a second set of parents for me."
"I guess that would explain the huge diamond?"
Celina's eyes went wide as she looked down at her left ring finger as if it had began to talk, "I totally forgot to take this off before our interview." She paused to giggle, "I guess the cat's out of the bag."
"Congratulations! How long have you two been engaged for?"
Celina smiled as she recounted their engagement day, "He proposed on my birthday. I had absolutely no clue he was gonna do it, but both of our moms were in on it."
She paused once more to giggle at the memory, "Mama Vic and my mama were acting strange the whole day so I should've known something was off but it didn't click. We were just having an intimate dinner with family and close friends, and I turned around to grab something just to find Brooklyn on one knee with the most gorgeous ring I'd ever seen."
She extended her hand over the table to let me examine the ring as if it wasn't already blinding and visible enough just from where she was sitting.
"This must have costed thousands!"
Celina pouted as I continued to examine the huge diamond, "I try not to think about the price. I made sure Brooklyn didn't tell me because it really doesn't matter to me. He could've proposed with a grape for all I cared."
Now it was my turn to laugh, "A grape?"
I let go of her hand and she slowly placed it back into her lap while nodding furiously, "I love grapes!"
"Seriously though, It's good to see you happy! The Art Of Closure is such a heartbreaking album and it is so amazing to see that you've found your happy ending finally."
Celina nods and takes another sip of her lemonade before speaking. "It was a long journey to get here, but it was worth it in the end. I think that's something I learned while making this album – closure is never really final. It's something you have to work at every day. But when you finally find it, it's so worth it."
A smile tickled towards the corners of her mouth. "This album was my closure. I finally got to say goodbye to something from my past that was so devastating to me and it felt good. Liberating, even."
"And do you think your fans will feel that same sense of closure when they listen to the album?"
Celina shrugs delicately. "I hope so. While this album was personally made for myself, I hope my experiences are able to help others find their own sense of closure." She pauses for a moment before continuing. "Closure is something we all need."
"Now for the most dreaded question of them all... Do you plan on touring anytime soon?"
Celina's smile fades and she takes a deep breath before answering. "I'm not sure. The thought of touring makes me feel a little anxious. My first live show was such a thrilling and amazing experience, but also one of the most traumatizing events of my life. Creating music is one thing, but performing it for hours on end and reliving the stories I'm telling is another challenge altogether. Maybe one day down the line I will change my mind, but for now... no plans for touring anytime soon."
"I know your album has been out for a few months now, but how does it feel to finally have it released? Are you happy with the final product?"
"Of course! I am extremely happy with the final product. It was definitely a labour of love and it took quite some time to come together, but in the end I am really proud of what my brothers and I created."
"So what's next for you? Are you working on any new material?"
Celina smiles brightly, "I'm always working. I think creating is just something I came to this earth to do because I could be in the middle of a conversation and think of this incredible melody and I'll tell my friends 'Hey, I love ya, but I have to work on this now!"
We both paused to laugh, "They're super understanding even though it can be annoying at times, but to answer your question completely, I am working on something new!"
"Oh what is it? Can you tell me about it?"
Celina shakes her head and laughs, "I'm sorry, but I can't spill. It's still in the early stages." As if seeing my disappointment, she continues on to speak, "But I will say that its going to be a bit of a departure from this album. More upbeat and party-like."
"I see... Well I'm excited to hear it when its done and I'm sure everyone else will be too."
Celina smiles brightly, "Hopefully."
Just then her phone rings and she glances at the screen. "I'm sorry, I have to cut this short. My manager is calling and she knows we were using this slot of time for this interview today, so it must be important."
I wave her off completely understanding that with being in this industry, time is something considered very valuable but scarce these days. "Okay, no problem. Thank you for your time today. I really appreciate it."
We both stood from our seats and Celina walked around the table to pull me into another tight hug, "No, Thank you for your time today. It was so amazing to talk to you!"
After a few seconds she lets me go and I grab and stop my recorder and bag before we begin walking back to the front entrance. Brooklyn and Harper are now sat in the kitchen preparing plates for themselves and Celina as a mellow playlist plays. They stop what they're doing to wave goodbye and I say my goodbyes back before making my way out of the front door. Soon I find myself in my car and sitting there for a few minutes, just staring off into space. What an experience.
Celina is one of the most down to earth people that I've interviewed in a long time. Our conversation was everything I hoped it would be and more. She was so down to earth and easy to talk to despite her celebrity status, and that's probably why she has such a dedicated fanbase.
Be sure to check out Celina's debut album, The Art Of Closure, available on all streaming platforms and preorder her vinyl set available soon at these select stores!
𝑨𝑼𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑹'𝑺 𝑵𝑶𝑻𝑬!
there's been a bit of a time jump just because i wanted to skip past all technical stuff and get to the party!!!! forgive me if you hate random time jumps but not much happens between the last chapter and this one 😭