Emei has her own take on the “that girl” trend and stigma with new single “That Girl” – a pop bop that’ll leave you screaming and dancing around your room.
BTS: What inspired your single “That Girl”?
Emei: I went to Malibu before that session and brought my notebook and poetry book. I was like, I’m gonna have a cute little beach day with my cup of coffee. I ended up spending, like, 4 hours on my phone. I was so frustrated because I wanted a nice day of being “that girl”. My life is actually a mess though and I can’t really be that person.
BTS: What was the process like for creating this song?
Emei: I like to start from scratch. I do 4-5 sessions a week. I think about how I’m feeling and then we start from zero. Myles Avery produced it, we usually go in and I just start talking. Miles is just like, okay vibes – he puts down a track and it usually unravels. Originally, the song was all “I, I, I”, but that lacked glimmer and LIIV, who’s a writer on the song, was like, why don’t we change it to “she” and focus the song around “that girl”. I wanted a song where I could just rock out – I never wrote anything like that. After I wrote it I was like, I love it. We didn’t edit it at all, how it came out is how we did it the day of. Once a song’s done, it’s fresh and exciting so I want to record right away. We then went back to do the shouts and harms and fun ad libs.
BTS: Will there be a music video?
Emei: There’s a lyric video that I love. Yeah, I don’t know, we’ll see. I’ve been debating it. Unless the music video is something I feel strongly about, I usually don’t. I like when it stands alone as an artist project. But, I made a giant mood board for the song – obviously, the color is pink. I thrifted my dress and the photo shoot was really fun – very retro, vintage, pin up housewife. Like a barbie but struggling.
BTS: How would you describe your sound, overall?
Emei: I think it’s changing right now so that’s exciting. The vibe for my upcoming EP is like alt pop/ pop/ rock pop. It’s very self aware – very much me being me like, haha I’m a mess and here are all my songs about the fact that I’m a mess. I tend to write about that a lot more than other things – me struggling in my day to day life as I’m turning into an adult.
BTS: How has your life/ childhood influenced your music this far?
Emei: I mean, I just write about my life. For me, it’s really important to go and live and do things aside from being a songwriter. I’ve always been a singer since I was like 9 – I sang a lot of Chinese American things. I took a gap year when I was 15 to perform on Chinese Idol. I ended up getting 3rd place and signed with a tv company there. Through that experience, I learned I wanted more creative control. I started writing when I was 16 – it was a unique way to express teenagerhood. Since then, writing and performing have been everything I want to do and that I am doing.
BTS: What is your favorite part about being an artist?
Emei: I think performing, but I don’t know. What is my favorite part about being an artist? I think for me I’ve always wanted to write. It’s my way to express my emotions and feelings. I think it’s so cool people listen to my songs and can relate. Writing down my frustrations and vulnerabilities and people being like, me too. Yeah, that’s my favorite part.
BTS: What can we expect from you next?
Emei: We have a lot of music coming up – this is just ripping the bandaid off. I held off on releasing for a bit. I was just writing, writing, writing. I just sent the next single out to mix – a lot more consistent music. I am performing on August 15, we just announced. It’s a charity concert for Planned Parenthood. I’m really pumped for that, that’s in LA.
BTS: What are you most excited for in the future?
Emei: Having more music out. I think I’ve been sitting on so much music that I’m actively very happy and proud of. TikTok is good and bad for me – I have no restraint. I just leak and leak and leak. It’s good but also a problem. I’m just excited to release!
BTS: What final message do you want to send to your fans and listeners?
Emei: In the scheme of “That Girl”, I think I wrote the song because there’s this weird pressure and expectation for everyone to have their lives super together – like yeah, drink your coffee black. But life is all about balance. It’s healthy to strive for that if you want to; I think social media makes us believe otherwise. No one is actually “that girl”. We’re all messes.
Interviewing Emei was an absolute blast! The young artist is bubbly and bursting with personality. With her clever lyrics and ear candy melodies, she is bound to take over the pop music world.
Stream “That Girl” now!
Follow Emei on Instagram!
Subscribe to Beyond The Stage to stay updated on all things music!
- The Aces: From Their Garage to a Headliner Tour - December 6, 2022
- Get to Know: Trevor Daniel - December 6, 2022
- Get To Know: Thomas Day - November 29, 2022
