Em Beihold joins Shelf

Em Beihold is treating darkness with levity

You might recognize Em from her 2022 platinum hit, “Numb Little Bug” (over 500 million global streams on Spotify, and a climb to the #1 spot on Billboard’s Emerging Artist chart), or from the dreamy duet version of Stephen Sanchez’s “Until I Found You” (which has racked up over 1 billion streams). Three years after her debut project, Egg in the Backseat, Em Beihold is back—and more unapologetically herself than ever. As she gears up for another album release, Em shares that this new era of her music is “a lot more intentional… I don’t care as much what other people think.”

We caught up with Em to chat about her songwriting process for the upcoming album, the 13-year-old version of herself, and—naturally—some of the media she’s loving right now (spoiler alert: she’s a Survivor fiend). Check out our full conversation below, and don’t forget to stream Em’s latest single and music video, “Brutus,” out now.

ShelfMAG: How does this era of your musical career and journey feel compared to Egg in the Backseat? What parts of you feel the same and what parts feel different?

@embeihold: Musically, I think this era is a lot more intentional. I think Egg in the Backseat was my first time really working with co-writers, because before that, I really wrote most of my music by myself. I think I was able to sort of expand what my gut would do in a song. So it was sort of a fun exploration, but this one feels like the most honest—the most me. And also, at this point my mental approach to music is very different. Like, I know this is me, and I don't care as much what people think in comparison.

ShelfMAG: It feels like you're just unapologetic.

@embeihold: Yeah. I mean, I would love for people to like it, but I know, regardless of the results, even if it doesn’t stream like crazy, I'm really proud of this album.

ShelfMAG: When you're writing a song, what usually comes first? Is it a feeling, a lyric, a melody? What is that process like for you?

@embeihold: For me, it's often a lick on piano that I get stuck in my head. Could be a melody. There's a couple songs on the album where it started with a title. It really ranges.

ShelfMAG: Was there one song where the creation—the process of bringing it to life resonated with you more than the others?

@embeihold: I mean, there's one song on the album called “Scared of the Dark”, and I wrote the hook of that song when I was 13, and I think at the time it was actually about being scared of the dark, but I kind of changed it to a song about codependency and not wanting to be alone at home. And I think that one actually seeing the light of day was crazy because it's just been in my own little world, stuck in my head for at least a decade.

ShelfMAG: That 13 year old version of yourself. What kind of things would be on her Shelf? What was she consuming at that time?

@embeihold: She was on Tumblr, that's for sure, and she was consuming Melanie Martinez and Regina Spektor. I was a big Pandora girl. I would live on the Regina Spektor channel and just discover other artists. The movie The Secret of Kells is also coming to me. It's like a 2D animation, very whimsical, naturey, beautiful film.

ShelfMAG: I was never seen it, but I will be checking that out.

@embeihold: I want to watch it again. I was very much not the Hannah Montana, normal 13 year old girl.

ShelfMAG: Respect. Do you feel like some of the artists you mentioned—Melanie Martinez, etc. play a role in your influences and how you create music today?

@embeihold: I mean, totally. I'd say that my album is kind of an amalgamation of Regina, Marina, little bit of Fiona Apple, Melanie—all my favorite artists. And I just want to be someone that I would have thought was cool at 13.

ShelfMAG: That's kind of how I view myself, more generally speaking. Like, “am I someone that I would want to hang out with as like a teenager?” I feel like that's a really good metric.

Your music is really emotionally honest, whether you're thinking about anxiety, working, love, etc. Considering that we're in a state of the world where it's considered cool to be apathetic, how do you view vulnerability and protect your own sensitivity?

@embeihold: You know, I think when I saw the response to “Numb Little Bug”, I realized my ability or what I value about my project is that I think I'm able to put words to feelings that are difficult to describe, honestly, sometimes even for myself. It comes out in a song more than it will in a therapy conversation or when I'm trying to explain it to anyone. So the only way I really know how to write music is to be very vulnerable and kind of treat it like a journal. But I treat darkness with levity in my regular life and I want my artist project to reflect the same.

ShelfMAG: What's a song that you would defend with your life even though everyone else thinks it might be bad?

@embeihold: I love “Gnarly”. The first time I heard it, I have to be honest, I was like, “this is bad.” And now it's probably my most played song of this year. My boyfriend and I are singing it all the time and KATSEYE has a grip on me right now.

ShelfMAG: What was the first song that made you feel like the main character while like riding in the backseat of your parent’s car as a kid? You know what I mean?

@embeihold: The first one that comes to mind is “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane.

ShelfMAG: Oh, good pick.

@embeihold: It’s gotta be raining a little bit too, you know?

ShelfMAG: For sure. Is that your go-to karaoke song?

@embeihold: No, I always go for ABBA. Last time I did karaoke, I believe it was “Mamma Mia”. And I did incorporate audience moments. I treated it like “let's get the whole bar singing.”

ShelfMAG: Okay, so you're someone who makes sure that the crowd's involved when you're on the stage. Does this go for your own performances as well?

@embeihold: Yeah, I think it's just more fun. I don't like it to feel like there's a separation.

ShelfMAG: As an avid concert goer, I can agree with that. Last one, what item on your Shelf is most likely to stay there forever?

@embeihold: I'm such a die hard Survivor fan and that will never go away. Not to be dramatic, but Survivor kind of like got me out of my depression, really. It was something I really latched onto during a year that I was really struggling, and it was the one bright light or something I would look forward to. Also one of my friends was on it which is how I started watching it. And since then, I've met some of her friends who are contestants and some of her friends who are superfans. And I host weekly Wednesday watch parties, and it's been such an unexpected community in my life.

ShelfMAG: That's really sweet. I can tell you I’ve definitely had shows that got me through hard seasons. I think for me, the equivalent would be Grey's Anatomy. But now I'm sitting here thinking Survivor might have to go on my Shelf.

@embeihold: I think season 50 is coming up next year. Let me know when you do—we'll have a lot to talk about. I have a lot of thoughts.

ShelfMAG: Would you ever apply?

@embeihold: It's just the starving part. I just don't think I could starve.

Curious about what else Em is into? Get real-time updates at shelf.im/embeihold