After three well-received singles, 28-year-old Danish singer-songwriter Emma Lindquist is now ready to release the first glimpse of her forthcoming debut album ‘Hello tiger, be my friend’ – a record about facing the unknown and finding the courage to follow your heart. The lead single ‘If I met somebody new’ captures the feeling of a deep emotional connection that was never put into words.
‘If I met somebody new’ balances tenderness and raw emotion. Driven by energetic, jungle-like rhythms and a powerful vocal delivery, the track captures the feeling of inner chaos finally being released. Emma herself calls it “Lion King energy” – a blend of harmony and wildness where everything bubbles over. She cites fellow Danish artists eee gee and Lucky Lo as key inspirations.
Emma sees the song as a turning point in both her music and her life. It was written after an experience where she held back from expressing her feelings – and came to regret it.
“It’s time to be brave and embrace love, wildness, and dreams,” she says. The single marks the beginning of giving herself permission to speak out – and let what’s been tamed run free.
You’ve called this track “Lion King energy”—and now we can’t stop imagining Simba slow-dancing in the jungle to cinematic Scandi pop. What does that wildness mean to you in the context of songwriting?
To me, wildness is an unfiltered expression. Wildness hasn’t learned to put up a façade. It doesn’t know pride or overthinking. Wildness is open and unplanned. That’s the energy I tried to unleash in ‘If I Met Somebody New,’ and just let all the feelings run wild.
The beats are primal, the lyrics are tender, and the whole thing feels like something cracked open. What part of you did you have to unlock to write this track?
I tried to shake off the idea that whoever feels the most is the loser. That primal beat and tender lyrics come from a spontaneous part of me. A romantic, pride‑free place I never thought could coexist with other parts of myself. I always wanted to be funny, cool, confident, skilled—but those traits never seemed to mesh with this softer side of me. Tenderness, passion, romance felt like flaws that would crack my exterior. So I wrote the song to flip that vulnerability into something strong.
The album title Hello tiger, be my friend is low-key iconic. Is the tiger a metaphor for fear? Love? Desire? All three in a trench coat?
The tiger is a metaphor for everything you encounter within yourself. Whether it’s about love, life goals, loss. To befriend whatever lives within you no matter how scary, uncomfortable or strange it might be.
This track was born from a moment of emotional restraint that you came to regret. If you could go back and say exactly what you wanted to say in that moment, what would it sound like?
“I’m not sure what I want. I feel fear, but above all I feel love. What do you feel?”
You’ve mentioned Lucky Lo and eee gee as inspirations. What is it about the current wave of Danish pop that feels like home to you?
I admire Lucky Lo for creating space and time for curiosity and authentic presence. For daring to write music that doesn’t fit the classic genre. Letting the music be itself. I admire eee gee for celebrating vintage sounds and a retro vibe, while at the same time creating an innovative universe with lyrics that are poetic, whimsical and relatable. To make in choices in composing that evoke passion or reignites your curiosity about the music in a new way, rather than simply going for what’s obvious makes me feel at home.
You recorded this track with a sense of inner chaos bubbling over—was there a moment in the studio when you knew this one hit different?
We had e very talented percussionist recording the bongo and congas for the record. This combined with the sampled beat was just so energetic and gave us that lion king vibe. It really captured that forward moving rhythmic feeling. I think we fell in love with the track right then and there.
The song lives somewhere between confession and release. How do you walk that line as an artist—between emotional vulnerability and performance?
In songwriting I think as with most things it’s a matter of balance. Vulnerability is important but it has to have that counterbalance: a brave element in music, something unexpected. But overall emotion comes before performance both in the music I listen to and the music I make. It’s easy to get lost in perfectionism when recording but I always try to keep that nerve alive that makes it human. And I really try to put myself out there in the lyrics, which allows me to more easily connect with the story when I’m performing the songs.
What advice would you give to someone who’s standing in front of their own tiger right now—something wild, thrilling, maybe a little terrifying?
Don’t look away. Listen patiently and curiously. Make friends with the tiger.
