Elena Rose Drops Debut Album ‘Bendito Verano’: Listen

Elena Rose is looking at life and love with a sense of freedom (and lots of healing) on her latest project. The Venezuelan American star has been celebrating the release of her debut album Bendito Verano, which came out last week and features collaborations with Young Miko, Justin Quiles, and Eladio Carrion.

“I deeply believe my music comes from a place greater than myself. In Bendito Verano, that energy can be felt in the ‘Mantra’ that opens the album, in the harmonies that heal me, in the words that seek to heal, and in the silences that also speak,” Rose tells Rolling Stone. “I always invite God and the angels into my sessions, and I explore creatively with that source. I felt embraced at all times, and I was able to be myself once again.”

The musician embraced celestial and angelic imagery throughout the record — from songs like “Alma,” “Amén Bebé,” and “La de Dios” to the album’s cover art and design, which features the musician posing with angel wings. The 12-track project, released Friday, includes collaborations with Justin Quiles on the already-hit “Cosita Linda,” Young Miko on “Gyoza,” and Carrion, who lends his voice on “Roulin.”

“I invite you to listen to Bendito Verano, slowly, like someone who sits to watch a sunset… and to let yourself be embraced by its songs,” she says. “Each one carries a piece of my soul and the love of God that is always with me.”

Bendito Verano marks Rose’s first full-length release, and follows last year’s En Las Nubes EP, which featured her hit “Me Lo Merezco.”