Maleny singer-songwriter Shanleigh Rose has released a raw new folk-country single, “Like My Mama Loves Tobacco”.
The Sunshine Coast hinterland artist turns a family history of addiction into a stark folk-country song about love, dependency and knowing when to let go.
“Like My Mama Loves Tobacco” draws on the emotional weight of watching addiction move through people from a young age, before recognising a similar pattern inside an all-consuming relationship.
Rose said the song came from realising that what she felt for someone looked less like love and more like dependency.
“In writing this song, I realised that what I felt for them acted more like my mother’s relationship with smoking than love,” Rose said.
“I knew how bad it was for me, but I just couldn’t put it down.”
A Maleny songwriter on the rise
Rose grew up in Maleny, where the natural surrounds of the hinterland helped shape the vivid imagery and storytelling nature of her lyrics.
Her music sits across folk, country and pop, with influences including Kasey Chambers, Taylor Swift, Hozier and The Civil Wars.
Songwriting has been central to Rose’s rise, winning the 2023 Tamworth Songwriters Association John P. Toomey Commemorative Award for youth songwriting, the CCMA Junior Songwriter of the Year in 2023, and the 2025 TSA lyrics-only writer award.
She has also performed at festivals including Gympie Music Muster, Tamworth Country Music Festival and Maleny Music Festival, and has built her Spotify catalogue past 100,000 streams across 10 singles.
Love, addiction and letting go
The new single was produced by Michael Muchow and takes inspiration from the candid songwriting of Melody Moko and Fanny Lumsden.
Rose said the track marks a different direction from her earlier releases, while also feeling like her most honest work so far.
“It is a really different direction from any of my previous releases, but I’m just in love with this track,” Rose said.
“It’s the most ‘me’ song I think I’ve ever put out.”
Multi-award-winning artist Melody Moko also praised Rose’s songwriting, describing the single as “vivid and personal”.
Where to see Shanleigh Rose live
Catch Shanleigh Rose on the road when she does a run of Queensland shows, including a hometown appearance at the Maleny Show on May 29.
Upcoming dates include:
Saturday, May 24 — The Linville Hotel, Linville
Friday, May 29 — Maleny Show, Maleny
Saturday, June 27 — Hotel Radnor, Blackbutt
Saturday, July 4 — Gravel & Flannel Festival, Wondai
Friday, July 17 — Farm to Table, Toowoomba
Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29 — Gympie Music Muster, Amamoor State Forest
“Like My Mama Loves Tobacco” is available through Music 2 Media and AMRAP broadcast on the CBAA Network.
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