ARTIST SPOLIGHT
EMA drops her latest single
EMA Drops Latest Single Love Languages
Who are your biggest influences?
Recently, one of my biggest influences for my music has been Olivia Rodrigo. Watching her quick rise into the music industry inspired me not only to work hard on my own music, but also inspired my lyrics and vocals for my newest single, “Love Languages”. When she released her debut album, “Sour”, I had it on repeat. I would analyze the lyrics and production over and over again until I had it memorized, and was excited to display what I learned from her in my own work.
What’s the craziest thing that has happened on tour?
Being a small artist, I’ve never had a tour all to myself; but performing live has held a special space in my heart. Being able to do what I do best, singing in front of an audience, is something I would love to do every moment of the day. I played a small concert at my high school back in 2019, a 35 minute show, where I sang original music & covers. I had to figure out my own band, come up with my own marketing and promotion, and rehearse for 3 full weeks. It was a lot of hard work, and, as a result, I was extremely nervous the day-of the show. I remember I had my opening piece, Tomorrow by Jorja Smith, on REPEAT to make sure I didn’t forget any of the lyrics or melody, but hearing the piece over and over again, I developed a tiny bit of a British accent when I started singing to mimic Jorja herself! It was so embarrassing, but I had to go with the flow while I was up on stage.
What’s your songwriting process?
When I first released my single “Get It”, songwriting was very new to me. My vocal coach and I had previously been brainstorming different lyric ideas for a future single, but we never fully finished a song. This came in handy when I was writing my first song, because I’d think of an idea, and find a handful of lyrics that I had previously written to match the tone and story. Later on, I found my producer, Mike Tompa. Mike and I spent weeks trying to think of the instrumentation for Get It. One year later, we finished the piece and it was ready to be released. I can confidently say that without them both, songwriting would have been a lot more difficult to me.
Who do you sound like?
My music resonates with artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Aurora, Billie Eilish & Adele. My newest piece, Love Languages, is heavily inspired by all 4 of these amazing women, and you can feel their sound embodied in my work.
If you didn’t become a musician, what would you be doing right now?
Currently, I’m in school at Ryerson University in Toronto for media production. Film & TV hold a special place in my heart, and if it wasn’t for my love for music, I would love to be directing and acting in films. I’ve spent lots of time learning how to use film cameras, and how to edit music videos, films, and more. My music video coming out for Love Languages also was edited by myself.
What do you feel is the best song you’ve ever released and why?
My newest single, Love Languages, is a piece I wrote straight from the heart. Love Languages is written on the 5 love languages, and how they heavily impact a relationship. Even in friendships, it builds a bond between two people knowing how they like to be appreciated, and what gestures you can do to make them feel more comfortable with you. The concept is so beautiful to me, so I decided to have the instrumentation for this piece help the listener visualize the gentle concept. The bridge of this piece is my favorite part, as it breaks down the confusion that people go through when their partner does not understand or have the same love language as them.
Which musician would you like to collaborate with next and why?
I would love to collaborate with Conan Gray. After all the success behind my cover of his song, Heather, I imagine that my fanbase would love a project alongside him. His vocals and overall vibe match closely to mine, and it would be an honor to even do something small-scale like background vocals for him. His music is a huge inspiration to me.
What’s the biggest problem you’ve had to overcome so far?
The biggest problem I’ve had when releasing a song is definitely the pandemic!! The pandemic was at it’s worst at the time that I wanted to originally release my new single, so everything from the venues, my videographer/photographer for the music video & album art was all pushed back until a couple months after. Around this time, I lost a lot of motivation as well to publish YouTube videos and other creative content, because I felt a bit lost in isolation. Fortunately, I gained a bit of inspiration and it encouraged me to start working hard again! Now I’m finally at a point where everything is falling back into place.
What do you enjoy most about being a musician? What do you hate most?
Releasing and writing music is the best experience of my life. Having people hear, share and enjoy my music is so amazing – because art is meant to be shared. It’s meant to be put out, to be admired and seen/heard. Songs are my art, and its so fun having people enjoy my art. My favorite part of releasing a song is the release day itself. That one day where your friends and family get together to celebrate such an accomplishment, because it takes months to years to put out something so close to your heart, and finally having it out in the world is relieving and exhilarating. On the other hand, having your heart and soul out for the public to hear is also extremely nerve-wracking. The fact that you put so much time and effort into a 3-4 minute piece, and people feeling the need to comment or scrutinize what you do. Although you can choose not to listen, it’s hard to watch people write things or say things about work that you hold close to your heart.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
I find that the industry relies a lot on popularity over hard work, and is a bit upsetting to see me and a lot of my friends, constantly working hard to try to make connections, but easily being shut down due to numbers. Apart from my close circle, I see hundreds of amazing small artists try to make it in this industry online but never get the chance because of how difficult it is to gain a following without money or connections.
What inspires you? What connection do you have to your music?
Typically, songwriters enjoy writing music based off of past experiences. Although I do the same, I find myself exaggerating or adding a storyline to small experiences I have had to make the song more relatable to my audience. I find inspiration in lots of people around me or online, such as Gracie Abrams, who posts mini snippets of songs she’s written on Instagram. I scroll through to see a post or two from her, and immediately find the motivation to write my own music.
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