.png)
You may know her from her 2022 hit song 'Numb Little Bug', her appearances on Jimmy Kimmel and the majestic livelong "Until I Found You" by Stephen Sanchez; or even from her 2020 TikTok hit Groundhog Day. Wherever you know her from, we are delighted to announce that we had the pleasure of talking with Em Beihold!
The main thing you have to know about Em, is not necessarily the glitz and the glamour of show business but rather her depression. An absolutely wild first sentence I know, but it's the common thread that has connected her experiences throughout her life, her music and ultimately her success too.
When talking to Em, you almost get the sense of a British brusqueness despite being from the sunny hills of Los Angeles. There's a certain stereotype of people from LA, which definitely holds some weight for better or for worse; but Em completely mismatches that with her quote on quote "honest and blunt" personality.
Throughout her music Em frequently discusses her battles with depression and anxiety with songs as overt as "Roller Coasters Make Me Sad" and "Numb Little Bug" to ones with undertones such as "Groundhog Day" and "12345"
However, the key distinction with Em's music is that she doesn't dwell upon those feelings/negative emotions. Instead, she converts them into the quirky pop hits that have flipped her life upside down, from her bedroom in her parent's house to the heavy heights of Jimmy Fallon and headline tours.
Speaking of Jimmy Fallon, when I asked Em what her favourite "I Made It" moment has been so far, she at first said her performance on Jimmy Fallon (although her performance alongside Stephen Sanchez linked above is equally iconic). An absolutely classic performance but one that meant even more to Em as she flew out her parents to watch her, a real full circle moment from the song that first launched her career, the awaiting to move out hit 'Groundhog Day'.
Her second "I Made It" moment was supporting the Jonas Brothers at their show at the Bank of California stadium, the home of LAFC and Angel City FC. Specifically, the feeling of playing to an arena full of people engaged with her music, as opposed to the sometimes lonesome TikTok Live.
Although I sound like a broken record with the frequent mentions of Tiktok, it's an important thing to mention when we talk about the career of Em Beihold. Similar to her contemporaries Tai Verdes, Lil Has X and more; even though Em is a Republic Records signed artist now, she symbolises what we should expect from the music stars of tomorrow.
As aforementioned, Em's openness about her own mental health extends into her music and her entire personal brand. That's why joining her on her 'Maybe Life Is Good' tour is the mental health charity ActiveMinds, providing access to resources and support for her fans at each show.
This comes after a 2023 aptly described as a "long bout with depression and writer's block" and accompanied with a distinct lack of creative passion from Em, which she sarcastically laughed "was great for when I just started out in the music industry!".
From this, as she has begun writing for her upcoming album, Em has developed several mental health which we can all take notes from. From embroidery to knitting (which you can both find on CraftiesbyEm) to plain old exercise; Em has tried to diversify her life outside of music as much as possible.
Even going as far as to actively make non-music friends, Em is an example that not everything has to be about music, no matter how passionate you are. All these efforts, Em says are so that her mood doesn't align to the inevitable ups and downs of her music career, and instead is rooted elsewhere, something more stable.
Overall, Em's aim for 2024 is not any artist metric or project completion, it's simply to "continue to be happy" - something that needs to be emphasised more in our fast-paced, hyper attention economy world.
That being said, Em's distinct "pessimistic optimism" with her recoating of her issues into pop hits has taken inspiration from a few artists. Some of the artists in which Em has specifically said she wishes her music to be in the same realm as are: Melanie Martinez, Lorde, MARINA as well as Florence and the Machine.
If you want to listen to these altogether then stay tuned to our socials where we will be releasing our imagining of Em's playlist very shortly, in addition to some brand new content to MoveOnUp as we return from our slump (ironic considering this interview).
That being said, in the time being, listen to all of Em's stuff below and let us know what you think!
We're back. :)
Comments