Artist Spotlight: Emma Andersen

Emma Andersen: I’m good! Thank you for having me. This is so fun.

EA: Of course. I live in Nashville, but I’m always bouncing back to LA because of Ann [Markwell], my manager.

EA: ​​Six months ago somehow feels like both forever ago and also just yesterday, it’s the strangest thing. When you said six months, I thought, “Wait, has it really been that long?” but at the same time it feels so recent. Some of those songs were among the very first I ever wrote, so releasing them was such a sweet and meaningful moment. It felt like a huge milestone for me, really my first big step in putting music out there.

EA: Exactly. And that project took so much time, about a year and a half of work before release, not even counting the writing. So in a way I forget about it sometimes, which sounds terrible, but it’s just because of how much energy went into it. By the time it came out I was like, “Oh, that feels like forever ago,” and then suddenly it was alive again as soon as we started promoting it.

EA: People have been messaging me even recently about songs like “I Don’t Want to Go Out” or “Adrenaline,” and it blows my mind. I’ll get a message saying how much a track means to them and I’ll think, “Oh my god, I almost forgot about that one!” Seeing new listeners discover the songs and give them this second life has been so surreal, but also incredibly rewarding. The other day I decided to re-listen to it myself since it had been a while, and even I was surprised, catching little details I’d forgotten. It made me think, “Wow, that’s actually really cool.”

EA: Yeah, it’s so cool. It’s my first project, so it’s like a little baby in my heart. I also just had so much fun doing it. I flew to Montreal to record that whole thing, so it was such an isolated period of time working on it. It’s so crazy just to see it exist outside of my bedroom.

EA: There are definitely a few lyrics like that for me. My favorite lyrical story on the project is definitely “’It’s Futile,” which I co-wrote with one of my best friends. When we got to the bridge, I had no idea what to write. I was overflowing with thoughts and just needed help. What made it even cooler is that the whole second verse is structured almost word-for-word around a real text exchange I had with someone. It’s a little scary and concerning in hindsight, but I had so much fun shaping that moment into the song because I wanted that person to know it was about them, though no one else would catch it.

There are a lot of lyrics in that song that felt so incredibly specific to that moment, but when I stepped back and listened to the whole project, I realized a theme that kept coming up: ‘I’ll be all right.’ I said that in different ways across multiple songs. It even shows up in “It’s Futile,” and it kind of wove itself into the spirit of the whole project. The other track that resonates most now is “Be Alright.”

EA: Yeah, I still listen to it and think, wow, I was spot-on back then, even though I’m in a totally different place now. That song was me saying to myself, ‘It’s okay, I can go for this music thing. I’m not going to let anyone down. Just take the risk, you’ll be fine.’ And now here I am, actually doing it. I still feel those nerves sometimes, but it’s cool to see the way that song continues to live with me and reflect where I’m at. It’s kind of crazy.

EA: I guess for me it’s never — which everybody says — but it genuinely has never been about the streaming numbers or any of that. I think it’s really cool to see that it’s reaching so many people; that’s what I quantify it as. People have liked the song enough that it’s been listened to half a million times! I remember freaking out when 1,000 people listened to it. That feels equally as big as 500,000 in some ways. I had no clue what was going to happen with that song. I never anticipated any of this happening!

EA: It’s insane, and honestly so fun. “Jaded and Blue” hit 500k, and then “FTSG” reached that same milestone almost right away.

EA: Generally, no. The only real line I draw in my writing is that I never want someone who doesn’t personally know the person I’m writing about to be able to say, “Oh, I know exactly who that is.” I try to be intentional so that the people close to me might understand, but a random person in New Hampshire shouldn’t be able to figure it out. That idea is scary to me. Beyond that, I write about everything, partly because I write every day. Sometimes I’ll take a tiny, meaningless moment, like a text message that rubbed me the wrong way, and blow it up into something huge. I make it dramatic, which usually matches how I’m feeling in the moment. So really, I’ll write about anything and everything, as long as it’s something I genuinely feel. I don’t set many limits.

EA: I can’t believe I’m going to get to play it every night, and it doesn’t even count as one of the unreleased songs in my set! I’ll be able to still add [other] unreleased ones. It’s so fun to sing and play. I’m so excited, I’m going to die.

EA: I was at Joshua Sloan’s show last night and heard people singing back his lyrics. If I hear that at my shows, I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it. I’ll probably end up crying on stage, which will be embarrassing. I cry over TikTok videos sometimes, I’m not going to lie. If I see an actual face in front of me singing back, I might lose it.

EA: Oh my gosh, yes. One of my friends calls his list a “hook book,” which I thought was funny, so I started doing that. I have so many little thoughts throughout the day. I keep a pinned note called “ideas,” and it just goes on forever. Sometimes it’s single lines where I think, “I like this concept.” The last idea I wrote down was, “God, I want it so fucking bad,” followed by, “to love like an actually normal human.” I don’t know where that belongs yet. I also wrote down, “I need somebody to make me,” which started about laundry, but I thought it could make a fun lyric. I add emojis to keep track so I don’t repeat concepts. Another note says, “The easiest thing I ever did was falling back in love with you,” and that one became a song two weeks ago, which was fun.

EA: Exactly.

EA: It’s been so cool. For me, it was a no-brainer once it was suggested. Half my fans were already sending me handmade hoodies, basically creating merch for me, so I thought, “Okay, this is getting out of hand. I should do something properly.” They’re so creative. Some sketch cover art, some make little stop-motion-style illustrations from my songs. I honestly have the coolest, most creative fan base. I suck at that aspect. I know what I want things to look like, but turning that into a physical product is a whole different game.

With this, first, I wanted to get my talented fans involved. That’s huge. Second, I wanted merch that they would actually want to wear, and that I want to wear too. I’m sick of ugly merch. I won’t be caught dead in it. So this made sense! It’s another connection with fans, and they also get paid, which feels great. It’s not huge money, but it’s something. The Softside team just fired it out. I don’t know how they do it, it’s unbelievable.

EA: The whole process was so easy. Unreal. I don’t know why everyone isn’t doing it. There’s very little to lose, and it feels amazing.

EA: I’ve been itching to tour for the last year and a half but it didn’t make sense for some time. Now, I feel ready; I’ve built this whole little internet fandom, which is amazing but kind of terrifying. I’ve met a few here and there at random settings, but I’ve never had that real face-to-face moment of, “Let me play my music for you.” I’m so excited for our community to exist outside of the internet. Something tangible. Plus, I’m a huge fan of both Hunter and Sydney. It’s cool to be part of artists’ journeys I love and respect. They’re so talented, and I feel honored they wanted me with them.

EA: I’m so excited.

EA: My roommate Abby Powledge is ridiculous. She has a song coming out Friday that I’m so excited for people to hear. Caroline Carter is also phenomenal. Her upcoming stuff is unbelievable.

EA: Yes. Also Khatumu!

EA: She’s the best, so talented. I love her as a human and as an artist. Just unbelievable. They’re my top three right now.

EA: Lots of writing. I’m in the studio every day, trying to work quickly. Hopefully, there’s something soon. I don’t really know how much I’m allowed to say, but I’m definitely writing a ton.

EA: The biggest thing I realized is that no artist has taken the exact same path to get where they want to be. It helps to know that. Not even half of the artists you love got there in a straight line. Everyone’s path is different. What makes each artist successful is doing something unique. If you compare yourself to someone else, it won’t work. There’s no world in which that makes sense, at least for me. That’s the easiest way for me to process it. I love seeing people do their thing, but it won’t work if I try to replicate them. I have to do what feels fulfilling and true to me. That’s how, at some point, it’ll work out. That reminder keeps me grounded.

EA: No, thank you so much!