Standing Ovation - Daffodil Darling Rose Hits A High Note

She’s one of our top acting exports and now Rose McIver is surprising Kiwi audiences with the revelation she can sing too!

- Sebastian Van Der Zwan

In the new musical drama Daffodils, the iZombie and Lovely Bones actress belts out gorgeous covers of local classics by bands such as Crowded House and the Exponents in a soul-stirring voice worthy of a recording contract.

But what is perhaps even more surprising is the fact Rose once fancied herself a rapper!

“Oh, yeah, I had some very questionable rapping days,” the Los Angeles-based Aucklander, 30, tells Woman’s Day, giggling as she recalls how her dreams of hip-hop stardom died in her awkward preteen years.

“I recorded 2Pac’s ‘Changes’ into my tinny old computer microphone, and I remember a couple of my friends heard it and just teased me endlessly. That’s when I realised it wasn’t my true calling.”

Sadly for Rose – who still listens to rappers Drake and Frank Ocean – it’s not the only musical disaster of her youth. She also recalls a “really terrible” performance of Bic Runga’s “Sway” at her Glen Eden Intermediate School talent quest.

Fortunately, in bittersweet love story Daffodils, she gets to redeem herself with a touching version of the singer’s hit “Drive”.