Emei is an alt-pop singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. Her clearcut lyrics and cheeky tone guarantee listeners to press replay. But even before she started writing, Emei developed incredible stage presence from her experience competing on Chinese Idol at 15. 

After receiving third place on the show through months of stadium shows, Emei began releasing her own music on Chinese platforms and eventually performing on Dancing with the Stars of China. 

When Covid hit, Emei started releasing new music on American platforms, gaining media coverage on Ones to Watch, Early Rising, and Lyrical Lemonade. Emei’s single, “Late to the Party”, hit 4.1M streams after videos of her performing the song live hit a collective 9.5M views on Tiktok and Instagram Reels. 

This landed Emei on the cover of Fresh Finds Pop and her music on Big on the Internet, Pop Sauce, Young & Free and more. Her next single, That Girl has already reached 13K presaves with 3M views on Tiktok and Instagram Reels.

Tell us about your story as an artist:

I was born and raised in New Jersey by Chinese immigrant parents who had absolutely no experience in entertainment. However, they knew I loved performing and were very supportive. When I was around 9 years old, I got this bright pink Dell laptop for Christmas. When I’d get home, I would look up lyric videos every day and just sing at the top of my lungs around the house. I never really grew out of that phase! I started performing around the Chinese-American community in New Jersey and New York. Then, when I was 15, I took a gap year and competed on Chinese Idol and ended up receiving third place. When I came back to the U.S., I started writing music to get through some teenage angst and now, I still write but to get through some young adult angst instead. 

What makes this song special in your opinion?

I’ve always been a fan of very honest lyric writing and this song is filled with exactly how I’ve been feeling. This song encapsulates my energy of wanting so badly to be that girl who wakes up at 6 AM, goes on walks every morning, and drinks coffee black but never getting to that unattainable goal. It’s honest and filled with my train of thought and true stories (phone always being dead, denting my car when I was running late one morning, spending too much money on clothes I don’t care about etc) and that’s what makes it special to me!

What inspired this track?

I went to Malibu the day before this session and I brought my journal and a poetry book and opened neither. Instead, I spent 3 hours on my phone. When I was reflecting on my Malibu trip when we started writing this song, it brought up a lot of frustration in my own lazy tendencies and my attempt to be “that girl” when it’s often unattainable. 

What are some of the core messages here?

The fact that the “That Girl” trend exists just shows how much we all want to be this perfect, unattainable, productive person. That girl can do everything so easily and eats healthy and is so successful without even trying. This facade that we all like to put on social media is definitely not contributing to a healthy mental mindset. This song is just stating how I feel about this trend, but it’s also breaking down who “that girl” is and how impossible it can be. 

How do you think tik tok and social media are contributing to change an artist’s career?

It’s a really strange time to be in the music industry because clearly tik tok and social media is making “going viral” a lot easier and more attainable but also those moments are so much more fleeting because there’s a new viral song every day. This is a huge opportunity for independent artists but it also creates an issue where it’s hard to not pay attention to what the people on social media want versus your original plans that you made as an artist for release roll out etc. I think it’s all a balance, but overall tik tok and socials are just another tool to get more people to listen to your music!

What excites you about your life?

I just graduated college and moved to LA and I’m sitting on so much new music that I’m absolutely obsessed with. “That Girl” is just the beginning of the trickle of more new music!

What are some of your core values as a human being?

Oh man, that’s a wild question. I think I’m pretty confrontational and I consider clear communication as a really big part of who I am and what I like in people that I surround myself with. I grew up in a family that was always yelling at each other across dining room tables so I think honesty and straightforwardness is something I love and value. Tying back to my music, I hope that also comes through. I don’t like to filter myself in my lyrics so I have the same type of communication with my listeners! 

What are your projects for this year?

There’s a lot coming up that I won’t share quite yet. But just know there’s a lot more music and another single coming next month!!