Katy Rose doesn't want to be labeled as another avril

NEW YORK -- Plenty of musicians have used their bad behavior, depression and subsequent rehabilitation as fodder for their songs.

Few were 14 at the time.

Yet Katy Rose, who recently turned 17, was barely into her teens when she began recording her debut album, "Because I Am." This sullen, introspective disc served as a creative outlet when she was in the throes of what she describes as a "self-destructive" phase.

"I'm not entirely out of that period," says Rose. "I'm still the same person, I just have better coping mechanisms. I have more motivation, I'd say. I think kids my age, I think maybe they can relate to it."

Kids are certainly getting familiar with it. Rose's first single, "Overdrive," has gotten a lot of rotation at MTV, which has given her its stamp of approval. Her music was featured in the dark teen movie "Thirteen," and will be in the upcoming flick "Mean Girls."

While teen girls may relate to her music -- many have described her as an edgier Avril Lavigne (to her chagrin) -- she is far from your typical teenager.

Musical legacy

Rose was immersed in music long before her teens. Her father, Kim Bullard, was a keyboardist for Crosby, Stills and Nash, while her mother was a background singer for various artists.

By the time she was a toddler, she was already indoctrinated into the rock world.

"I played on Crosby, Stills and Nash when I was about three or something," she says nonchalantly over a vegetarian lunch at a midtown Manhattan hotel. "Connie Stevens, my parents have been in her band for like 20 years, so I kind of grew up with her."

She spent most of her youth on the road with her parents, who she says raised her in a nontraditional, nonconformist manner -- her father would take her, instead of her mother, to parties and rock events.

"When I was born, my parents were still kind of on the road, they didn't really know how to parent," says Rose, who has a younger sister. "I definitely raised myself, and as a result I'm always off pretty much doing my own thing."

All that freedom came at a price.

Though Rose refuses to discuss details, she says her life became out of control. Much of her wild behavior, she says, mirrored the destructive patterns showcased in the movie "Thirteen," about preteen girls who descend into a world of drugs, alcohol and sex.

Rose was so moved by the concept of the film that she contacted the director, Catherine Hardwicke, who then chose her music for the movie.

"Catherine always says that had she known me when she was doing casting, that I should have played the main character, because that was me," the petite blonde singer says.

Rose said she was able to get out of that turmoil through therapy, and by using music as her outlet. During that period, her songs -- which speak about despair, longing and anger -- caught the attention of a few music executives who happened to be friends of the family.

"It was just songs that I had done for myself that I wanted to record just for fun, for the creative outlet aspect of it, to let off steam," she said.

"Some of my dad's friends were over and they happen to be at a record company, and they really jumped out of their seats -- 'You should get a record deal! I'll sign you right now!"'

Her manager, Nicole Martin of Nettwerk Management, says Rose's myriad of experiences has given her rich material and made her music appealing to a wider audience.

"People can relate to it and understand it. If she hadn't had all of these life experiences she wouldn't have a record out," Martin says. "This isn't just a record for kids."

Rose ended up signing with V2 and began recording her disc three years ago, when frothy teen pop was at its peak. Had her record been released then, she would have been among the first teen artists coming out to go against that mold.

But Lavigne beat her to it, and her punky pop 2002 disc "Let's Go," became the album credited for helping turn the tide away from teens with exposed midriffs who warbled other people's tunes.

Lavigne's best-selling debut was frustrating for Rose, who was still in the process of recording her album. She knew that when her disc came out, she would now be compared to Lavigne, instead of being looked upon as a unique artist. Indeed, a recent Blender magazine article described her as a "jaded Lavigne."

She rolls her eyes at such comparisons.

"It made me angry at first when Avril came out. I'm not like a competitive person, but suddenly I was starting to be called another Avril, but really, I probably got the deal before she did, or at the same time," she says.

"I'm sure she's a great girl, but she just seems very youthful and young and I almost envy her for that, because I've never been a young person," she continues. "I think I've seen a lot more than she has, and at first, it just kind of made me angry that she didn't have to go through the (stuff) that I did to make it."

But while Rose may be tired of the Lavigne talk, her manager calls it "a great comparison. I only hope that fans of Avril become fans of Katy's."

So far, Rose has not had the same stellar start as Lavigne -- her album is not even on the top 200. But the music is not the kind of slick pop that's heard on the radio. All of it she co-wrote with her father. Although there is some profanity and allusions to sex, Rose said her father didn't try to censor her at all.

"It wasn't easy, but it wasn't incredibly difficult; it was the most natural thing to do," she says of working with her father. "My dad and I have a pretty unusual relationship where we're kind of like friends."

But she doesn't hang out at rock parties with her dad anymore. In fact, she doesn't like to party much at all these days. She'd rather spend her time at the beach, hanging out with friends, exercising or just being mellow.

"It doesn't really appeal to me anymore," she says of the party scene. "I can't really afford to lose my sense of self and control. Again."