Bella Rios’ EP ‘Right Now’ captures the highs and lows of growing up, offering a raw and honest look at love, change and self-discovery.

Stream: ‘Right Now’ – Bella Rios

Bella Rios might be the girl next door… if the girl next door had Olivia Rodrigo’s pop-punk bite, Adele’s emotional balladry, and a dash of Hannah Montana’s double life.

A multi-instrumental singer/songwriter with a flair for turning vulnerability into power, Rios proves she’s more than just a rising voice on her sophomore EP Right Now, out July 25. She’s a full-force storyteller, ready to take messy feelings and turn them into music you want to scream in the car or cry to at 2 AM.

Right Now EP - Bella Rios cover art — Right Now EP – Bella Rios

At the heart of the new EP is the title track, a soaring anthem written during a moment of personal upheaval. Rios was finishing college – staring down the end of something familiar, and the terrifying beginning of something unknown. “Right Now” captures the vertigo of that transition with clarity and catharsis.

“I wrote it when I needed faith,” she says. “It’s about saying goodbye to something you’re not ready to let go of, and figuring out who you are when you’re not sure what’s next.”

That push-and-pull between past and future, fear and faith runs through the entire record. Right Now is filled with the emotional turbulence of early adulthood: heartbreak, anxiety, self-doubt, and the slow, sometimes painful climb toward confidence. But through it all, Rios maintains a kind of steady honesty. Her songs aren’t just confessions; they’re conversations.

On “I’m the Man,” she revisits a one-sided situationship with both exhaustion and clarity, processing the emotional labor she put in and the lessons she took from it. “Overthinker,” by contrast, feels more internal – a portrait of her own racing thoughts, tangled expectations and perfectionism.

“The verses and pre-choruses channel my anxiety and confusion,” she explains. “The choruses are what I hope for – freedom, resolution.”

Those contrasts are part of what makes her songwriting feel so personal. She writes not just from experience, but from emotion, capturing what it feels like to be in the middle of something, before the resolution has arrived.

That instinct was already apparent on her 2024 debut EP Sincerely, a collection of coming-of-age songs full of raw feeling and sharp pop melodies. But Right Now is a step forward; bigger, bolder, and even more sure of itself. The production is polished, but the emotions remain close to the surface.

Bella Rios © Shervin Lainez

Rios’ sound draws on the artists who shaped her, from the lush rock arrangements of Fleetwood Mac and Heart to the high-drama pop of Adele, P!nk, and Lady Gaga.

Raised in suburban Chicago, she started classical piano lessons at five years old, but it was her parents’ record collection, and later, her own discovery of artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan that made her fall in love with storytelling through music.

That collision of old-school rock theatricality and modern pop honesty is where Rios lives now. Her music is built on big feelings, catchy hooks and an unflinching emotional core. She doesn’t shy away from what’s hard – she writes her way through it.

She’s also still adjusting to hearing her songs resonate with others. Whether she’s performing live or seeing friends tear up while listening to her lyrics, it’s a strange and moving experience.

“There are moments I hear a line back and think, ‘That’s pretty good, actually,’” she says with a laugh. “That’s still new for me.”

Atwood Magazine spoke with Rios ahead of Right Now to talk songwriting, self-awareness and the sound of finally standing on your own.

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:: stream/purchase Right Now here ::

:: connect with Bella Rios here ::

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A CONVERSATION WITH BELLA RIOS

Atwood Magazine: I have to tell you that if you get a report that says somebody in Winnipeg listened to “Ever After” 17 times today, that’s me and I'm OK. That is an awesome song! How does that one go over live?

Bella Rios: Thank you so much! That means a lot. Seriously, it depends. I prefer performing it with the band – I can get a little angrier as opposed to sarcastic because that’s the tone it usually gives when I’m just playing it acoustically.

I just stare at my mom because it’s her favorite song of mine, I think, and will forever be, or at least has a very special place in her heart because I wrote it when I was really young. It was maybe one of the first times she heard me openly, confidently cuss. So, I just focus on her being happy with it. But normally people laugh, which is what I’m looking for.

You describe yourself as “Hannah Montana Wannabe” on your Instagram account. What's the story behind that?

Bella Rios: I’ve always felt like I’m balancing this double life of being Type A, being in school, having that part of me that wants to pursue the ordinary girl life, and then simultaneously wanting to pursue music and be a pop star, rock star. So, I just felt like that’s a good encapsulation of who I want to be or who I feel like I am some days.

How has songwriting evolved for you? I imagine it was quite different from your debut to now; there's been some maturity, some life experience that's happened.

Bella Rios: Oh yeah, definitely. I think I’ve grown in what I write about and how I write and how confident I am in a writing room. The thing that’s changed the most is my self-awareness and my confidence. Like when I enter a room, especially with people that I haven’t written with before, I make sure to just put everything on the table about how I write. I’m not saying I need to stick to that, but just being really upfront about my tendencies, noting them to myself, but also letting other writers know and I don’t know.

I'm curious about the tendencies – are there rituals when you’re writing?

Bella Rios: No, I find when I look over certain parts of certain bodies of work from my life, I’ll notice a similar melodic structure or rhythmic structure pre-chorus. Or there’s this other thing that’s a more general note about my songwriting where I’m super, super structured. I am again, Type A.

I’m very thoughtful and segmented sometimes in how I approach certain song portions and writing. It’s pretty obvious once you start writing, but when it’s part of getting to know people and other writers and their styles, I think that’s made workflow with people who work very differently a lot smoother and more efficient.

Were there any really interesting songwriting sessions? Any writers you worked with that changed the way you planned any songs?

Bella Rios: Even songwriters that I’ve just met, I’m always just amazed by how kind and accepting and warm they are. Because I mean, it’s your job and your passion to open up to other people, hear what other people are willing to share with you and collaborate in a very intimate, unique way. The thing that I’ve learned from most songwriting sessions is just to be more and more confident, to be more and more open and honest about what I want to do, what I want to say. And that’s really helped me grow as an artist in general, because it was definitely something I struggled with in the very beginning.

Is there one person you worked with on this EP that you couldn’t believe you had the chance to work with?

Bella Rios: The person that I wrote the majority of these songs with, actually, her name is Skylar Miller, and she’s a cool artist in her own right. But she is one of the first songwriters I ever wrote with when I was living in Chicago, and we kept writing virtually when I was in college. We even kept in touch. She’s so, so kind. She’s a powerhouse vocalist, obviously an incredible songwriter as well. And she’s taught me so much; she laid the foundations for what songwriting is, how to blend being methodical and intentional, but also just like taking a second to collect your thoughts, which has been a really nice way to channel my creativity, and that’s something that I’ve definitely adopted from her.

This might be a weird question, but when I write articles, sometimes there are certain lines that I think “oh, that was a good one!” Does that happen to you? Like when you're singing and your favorite line's coming up.

Bella Rios: Definitely, definitely. It happens melodically because there are moments I know I’m about to eat this stuff! Or like in a particular part of a song. Or I love certain background vocals I’m absolutely obsessed with and an unnecessary amount of harmonies at times, like stacks upon stacks upon stacks. So, whenever I can have an excuse to have some weird harmony going on and have the band drop out for a second, I’m like, “this is sick!”

And then there’s also some lines, usually the pre-choruses. For whatever reason, I really like pre-choruses because I tend to write talky ones, and I’ll listen back to some of those, especially one that always comes to mind is “In The Dark.” Every time I hear that pre-chorus, I’m like, “that’s pretty good!” That’s an abnormal level of confidence for me. [laughs]

Talking about confidence, “I'm The Man” is such a bold song. Was that based on a real experience?

Bella Rios: Oh, unfortunately, yes it was about an experience I had. It was the typical situationship where my feelings were clear. I was forward about them and this person, whether they meant to or not, I give them grace. But nonetheless they took advantage of that, and it was a one-sided relationship. And eventually I had had enough. It took an embarrassingly long amount of time, but I said I can’t do this anymore. I can’t do the excuses. I’m not getting anything out of this other than regret. And that was the end of it, and as much as I thought through that circumstance, once I actually fully embraced it, I think it was the first time I had ever embraced independence. I realized how nice it could be. I actually enjoy spending time with myself. For the first time, really, I think ever.

Did they hear the song, and if so, what was their reaction?

Bella Rios: It’s funny, I did play it for him, and he was like, “oh, it’s hard to hear. You really said like F off.” And I did. But things are good now.

Were there any songs on this album that came out really quickly or took a little more time than you thought to get it right?

Bella Rios: “Options” was definitely the longest because I’ve had that forever in my phone. Initially, the production was super hyper pop, and I like pop, but I had never found a producer or a partner who could translate it into what I wanted it to be. So, it was more cohesive with the rest of my work and what else I wanted to put out.

And finally, I trusted a producer named Zach Manno in Nashville and gave him some reference songs. That’s usually how I’ve worked with him, and we talked through it together and he made exactly what I was hoping. So that’s definitely been one that I’ve been wanting to put out for a long time. That took a lot of just sitting with and brainstorming and collaboration to figure out how to translate it.

A song that came out very quickly was “Bad Side.” I keep voice memos and written notes of things that I don’t know what to do with, but they pop in my head. I think they could be fun to inspire me one day when I just sit down to write and I was rolling through my voice memos and the guitar lick and the bass lick that is in the song. I just played that one day on my piano and recorded it and I was writing it with Skylar, and I played it for her, and we were like “yeah, we can write over this.” And we wrote the entire song in like four hours. That one came out easily just because we both connected to the subject and for some reason that simple bass line.

You mentioned pop, but I know you also grew up on some classic rock, like Queen and Fleetwood Mac. How does that influence your sound now?

Bella Rios: I think I’m a big believer that everything I’ve ever listened to, even if it’s subconsciously, impacts what I’m making. Everything is inspiration and different perspectives are amazing to have.

I would say it led to a bit of an identity crisis when I first started writing, but it was a great thing, too. It made me experiment. I was really good at imitating, and I was really good at adapting for a certain style and for a certain genre and so I couldn’t decide. Do I like R&B more? Do I like classic rock, or do I like pop? Or do I like ballads? I like singing all of them and it took a lot of trial and error.

But I think now I’ve found a little bit more of my niche and what comes most naturally when I’m not doing a cover, which is like a ballad, like “Walking in the Rain” that I would describe as Adele to most people, or a blend between pop rock, which I would compare to Olivia Rodrigo. And for “I’m The Man” and “Options,” the melodies and the structure are definitely very pop. But when I talk about production, I want it to feel like it can be translated fairly easily into a live band, and I want to perform it.

It’s definitely influenced what feels like home base for me as a performer and as a writer. It’s most authentic because it’s just ingrained in me, but it’s been melded with everything else I’ve encountered and loved along the way.

Is there anything you were listening to while you were recording that if we listened really closely, we might hear some of that?

Bella Rios: Definitely. I reference her all the time. I love Olivia Rodrigo. I think her two albums, Sour and Guts, were insane inspiration for me.

A lot of the songs talk about the uncertainties of being a young adult. Are there any lessons you want people to take away or something they can hold on to when things feel a little uncertain?

Bella Rios: Yes, I think part of what songwriting does in general for me, and it’s apparent in this group of songs, is that all the confusion, all the frustration or anxiety I’m having about certain situations, whether it’s relationships, school, jobs, whatever, I channel that into the verses and the pre-choruses and the chorus is what I hope for myself and anyone going through the thing. Like it’s the idealized version of what freedom from those thoughts and that energy would be for me and others experiencing it.

So, I hope people will be able to hear some of their own experiences in that, because I really do think music is universal and can be interpreted a million different ways and applied to a million different circumstances. And I hope people can use those songs to get whatever they need out of them.

If I had to think about a particular song that I wrote specifically about this kind of confusion and frustration with the unknown and those kinds of stresses I think of “Right Now.” I wrote it just as I was about to graduate and it was about having to say goodbye to something I would never be ready to say goodbye to and have to face the challenge of, at least on paper, redefining yourself, finding a new path in a way, in an arena that hasn’t been charted in a way that other phases of life have. And so that song is the one I listen to when I really need faith, and I just feel completely at a loss. That’s the one I would direct them to, whatever you need from that.

Have there been moments at shows where you feel “this is why I do it!”?

Bella Rios: Oh, definitely. I typically tend to get them when people are going through breakups. I write a lot of songs about that. But I also I’ve gotten a lot recently surrounding “Right Now” from friends and for “Overthinker” as well. I have a lot of Type A friends where I went to school who are incredibly talented, driven people, but they definitely suffer from anxiety, overthinking, getting in their own heads, getting in their own way. So those two songs tend to elicit something in people apart from the breakup songs.

I used to play it when we were still in the same dorm room and I watched my one friend who is particularly anxious, cry when she first heard “Overthinker” and it’s still the one she reposts the most whenever I try to promote it. And that really means the world to me because it’s someone where I intimately know what they’re going through, what they’re struggling with and want to help them so bad and to see what I love to do, like help them or at least make them not feel like they’re alone. It’s really rewarding and inspiring.

You've had some pretty good success and support from major platforms – is there a wish list of collaborators or tour partners?

Bella Rios: There are so many talented artists that I would like to tour and collaborate with. I always say this one when I think of songwriters and performers and geniuses in my mind: Jon Bellion, I love him. I’m obsessed. For my birthday, my friend got me tickets to see him, and I’ve never been able to – the last time he was on tour, it was finals week. I’m going to see him in a month, so he would definitely be a dream collaborator of any sort or even just to watch him work would be the most inspiring thing.

And then apart from him, I love Olivia. I love Chappell Roan. I also love the artists that I was listening to growing up and shaped me – Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, Led Zeppelin, Heart, U2. Just to see them be creative would be an incredible experience, much less to play with them.

I could hear you doing U2 or Fleetwood Mac.

Bella Rios: Oh yeah, I was in this band growing up in Chicago when I was 14 or 15. And we did a show each one entirely dedicated to Fleetwood Mac songs, and one entirely dedicated to U2. And so, I’ve done a deep dive into their discography. Obsessed.

Do you have time for a quick round of rapid fire?

Bella Rios: I’m kind of scared! [laughs]

Lyric that hits hardest on the EP.

Bella Rios: It’s gotta be something from “I’m The Man.”

Go-to instrument when writing.

Bella Rios: Piano if I’m playing. Or guitar if someone else is playing it.

What's the “Right Now” moment you never want to forget?

Bella Rios: I think it would be the last week of college with my best friends. They’re the coolest. I’ve never been so lucky to have such a great group of friends that I’ll play out for life.

New York or Nashville – who wins for best songwriting inspiration?

Bella Rios: Tie. Tie. Tie. I have friends in New York and family here. Love both.

Overthink her or trust your gut?

Bella Rios: I’d like to say trust your gut, even though I’m overthinking this right now.

You have 10 seconds to pitch Right Now. Go!

Bella Rios: It came from my heart. It means the world to me. I hope that it will connect with you. I think it’s a mix of a million artists that I love and that a lot of people seem to love. So hopefully you can hear that and like it.

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