Queer NYC artist, writer and producer April Rose Gabrielli returns with “Bad Habit (Don’t Make Me Bad)” – the follow-up to her official debut single, released in collaboration with AWAL, BMG & Soho Records.
Breaking through into the alt-rock scene with her anthemic sound, Gabrielli’s latest track is one of female empowerment which exposes the double standards women face while dating. The piano ballad turned dark rock epic explodes with blazing energy, as Gabrielli’s impassioned lyrics roar through her depiction of a torrid romance. Packed with emotional highs and lows, crescendoing guitar solos and roaring vocals, “Bad Habit (Don’t Make Me Bad)” is an exciting example of how to do classic rock with edge.
Speaking about “Bad Habit (Don’t Make Me Bad)”, Gabrielli describes: “I wrote and produced “Bad Habit (Don’t Make Me Bad)” while in an on-again, off-again relationship. I would end things to ‘make it all better,’ but they kept coming back to me and they would make me feel like I was the problem. They couldn’t resist, it became my fault; I couldn’t resist, I blamed them for it, too.”
Gabrielli continues, “We became each other’s ‘bad habit’, but I kept trying to prove that it didn’t make us bad people for just trying to figure things out. Self-acceptance and acceptance of the situations we are in and the journey we are on, is key to finding peace; in releasing “Bad Habit (Don’t Make Me Bad)” I hope to express just that”.
The single is further explored in a cinematic music video. Recounting the deeply personal concept for the video, Gabrielli talks of how “when it was time to make the video, I was being hospitalized monthly because of my recent Epilepsy diagnosis. My levels of personal shame and guilt were at an all-time high and I was trying to do my best to eradicate it.”
Gabrielli continues, “Turning this feeling into a vision was intimidating, however the idea came to me in the shower one day when I was trying to scrub leftover tape residue from having an IV. I wanted to centre the video around a naive character, who experiences pain and destruction, represented by the ‘dark figures’ blindsiding the character, damaging her more and more. Eventually, through her destruction she embraces her painful transformation and becomes even bigger and better”.
As creative visually as she is sonically, April made quite the splash via her music video for debut single “Do You?”; added to MTV’s MTV U and Brand Spankin’ New video rotation, “Do You?” also won “Best Music Video” at the 2021 Female Voices Rock film festival and peaked at #24 on the Billboard A/C chart.
April also headlined NYC’s 2021 9/11 Benefit Gala Concert as well as performances with the Let Me Help Foundation and #IAmNoJoke anti-bullying campaign, taking part alongside Sir Patrick Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne, Rick Wakeman, Julian Lennon & Lights.
With co-signs coming in for April from the likes of NPR alongside major blog hype and support tours across the US and Canada with The Spill Canvas, Andy Black, The Faim and KULICK, the Casio Music Gear artist has spent the last few years laying down serious foundations for a fruitful career in music whilst generating credible buzz amongst the industry and music fans alike.
Now ready to continue her incredible journey as well as preparing her debut LP for release later this year, “Bad Habit (Don’t Make Me Bad)” further introduces Gabrielli as a powerful creative force with what is sure to be a dynamic career ahead of her.
Listen to “Bad Habit (Don’t Make Me Bad)“