Q&A: EMELINE Strikes with “Emotional Virgin” on the Horizon
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY CHLOE GONZALES ☆
“But, you know, I am ready to be a fully formed artist who has eras and chapters and fully dive into these different things. You can only go so far as a singles artist.” - EMELINE
EMELINE wears a kiss on her neck everyday, signaling her newest era. “Emotional Virgin” is an ode to the 80s, with the song singing of getting lost in a person and the emotions behind it. Even with inspiration behind her, EMELINE invents her own lane. Luna got to sit down with the pop star and talk about the horizon of a new era.
Photo by Paige Strabale
LUNA: Let’s jump into your song, “Emotional Virgin.” Is it your first love song or at least the first one you’ve written? Your first love song, officially out?
EMELINE: No, I’ve been out forever, but I do think a lot of my music… I had a lot of anger towards men to get out of my system. And I don’t write about that anymore. I also think that coming of age is also realizing what battles do you actually want to fight, what’s actually progressive, and what’s actually worth your energy? I'm really happy that I’ve been able to confront a lot of issues. I’m never going to stop being a feminist and talking about songs like learning to say no and what it means to be a girl. Those songs for me are forever so important and I’ll keep writing songs like that. But I just haven’t gotten the opportunity to write from a place of pure happiness and love.
First of all, because I haven’t been in the greatest relationships. But I also think that I write where the most intense feelings are coming from. A lot of that was resentment towards the patriarchy for a really long time. I also think that an incredible way to be progressive in that light is to think about these relationships that I have had that are beautiful. If my standard and brand is creating this high standard for women, then being an example of that is what I should be doing. That actually really helped me step into my own life when I think about all the people that I’ve inspired. I have lots of people come to my shows and tell me that my songs have helped them get out of toxic relationships and to think of yourself as someone that has a relationship with people with that as a root.
I think that’s the most inspiring thing for me to look at myself like, “Oh, these people that I have this connection with, how can I lead as an example?” To me, that’s like breaking the cycle. I really want to show people that I have had, and you can have, incredible love after going through horrible things with horrible people.
LUNA: Why did this feel like the right moment to release “Emotional Virgin?”
EMELINE: I’ve been working on this project for a few years and I really wanted to put it out when I was on my label. I kind of got the feedback that the 80s inspired sonics are not really in, no one else is doing this. In my eyes as an artist, that’s such a strength, like walking the path that’s not being walked is always my mantra. I think that especially people in the label system, there’s a lot of fear over doing anything different or new, so it was just shelved.
I really saw this being my first album for a long time and then actually I watched Chappell Roan blow up and there was kind of this surge of synth-pop happening. And then from the same person, who will go unnamed, I got the feedback, “Why don’t you try the 80s aesthetic? Because this is really working.” I was just like, “Oh my God, yeah.” I was averaging for the past, I don’t know, the past two years I was putting out only two songs a year and it’s been incredible what I’ve been able to build with that. But, you know, I am ready to be a fully formed artist who has eras and chapters and fully dive into these different things. You can only go so far as a singles artist.
So honestly, the first answer is that I wasn’t really allowed to put it out. The second answer is that I’ve always seen this being my first album since I wrote that song, I wanted it to be called “Emotional Virgin.” And I think that, you know, you’ll hear the whole album eventually, but it is its own world, and it deserves that moment.
LUNA: I’m so happy that it’s finally coming to fruition now for you. Talking about those 80s influences, I know it's been said that there are influences of ABBA and Madonna. I also feel like I personally heard a potential Carly Rae Jepsen influence. Were there specific songs or era from them that you were channeling?
EMELINE: You know, it's funny, I try to avoid referencing things before I make the art. I have so much in my brain and we all do subconsciously, the things that we like connect to appear in different ways and I like to allow that to happen in a mysterious way. I wasn’t expecting to walk in and say I want to [sound like this], like I just try to be fully myself. Listening to it and hearing it after the fact I realize, oh my god, this reminds me of this thing that I love and that thing that I love. I think that I’m pretty true to that method. Anytime I have ever tried to even reference myself, like try to make another “Cinderella” or something, you’re just gonna fall short of something that was great. You know, Madonna or ABBA, they didn’t walk in trying to be anyone else other than themselves. I think that it’s a fun time to put this project out, especially with how provocative and how much self love is in it. I think that it’s an important time for this project. But yeah, I definitely was listening to a lot of ABBA. During the time of writing this project, I felt like I was going out dancing a lot, listening to a lot of 70s music and Fleetwood Mac and music that made me feel like I wanted to kiss on the dance floor. So bringing that buzz into the studio was where I was at.
LUNA: I totally agree, especially with influences. I guess it’s more so like being compared to people, like I’m not the next this or that. And then subconsciously, getting those influences, but not going to pinpoint them and be like, now I have to kind of be like that.
EMELINE: And naturally, I think the sounds will feel somewhat of the time, just because of technology even. But I try to pull from older artists and try to kind of avoid what’s “the now.” I think that sometimes I can get a little in my head about that. I think that people in the business get very in their heads about that, you know where you fall in comparison to others, especially female artists.
LUNA: How do you hope that “Emotional Virgin” resonates with listeners who might be at the start of their own sapphic journeys?
EMELINE: I was manifesting queer joy when I wrote this project. I specifically was picturing queer joy and like, I don’t know, I didn’t have a ton of [queer] music when I was really young. I came out at 13, so the amount of sapphic art that I had, I really only had for pop girls, it was Hayley Kiyoko. I was joking about this because I went to prom with this girl that I was dating. I think we had our first kiss to the Hayley Kiyoko album, and then we were like, “This is not sexy.”
It’s been exciting to watch how many open and queer people that are on the rise and blowing up now and people who have been out, like Demi Lovato, even putting out more gay songs has been really exciting to see.
For me, I just think that I want things to be rooted in joy again. I said earlier that a lot of my past music has been about liberating myself from more toxic relationships, specifically with men. That’s a point of pride for me, is being that person to my queer friends. If I can be like that, especially to my fans who are still under 18 and living in a house where they don’t feel celebrated or don’t feel comfortable or confident, to be able to put their headphones on and open my YouTube and watch a video of me being aggressively confident and joyful. That’s a place that I want to be for people.
LUNA: I love that, to be a representation for them and everything! I also wanted to talk about your perception about getting a co-sign from Elton John. I was wondering if that recognition changed your outlook or put pressure on you at all.
EMELINE: I mean, it was super validating, He’s obviously a legend and been a huge inspiration for me. Talk about someone who’s been out and proud early on, he was here before Hayley Kiyoko. But he called me unusual and that specifically hit my inner child because I was weird and came out as queer I think in like 8th grade. I was also a musician in a very sports heavy prep school. I was severely bullied and so when I heard him use that phrasing, where it was one of my idols using that world and it was like letting my inner weird child know that the weirdness is my superpower and that it just validated something within me. So I think that it hit me in that way. The specific song that he was commenting on was from the EP that I had just put out called, the devil on my bra strap, but the song was called, “you should be scared,” which was my favorite song on the project. I feel like that song’s a hit, you know, it hasn’t gotten like a huge viral moment yet but the fact that he picked the songs that I feel like is the most me, that meant a lot too.
LUNA: Wait, that is very validating. To be like, “Oh, you fuck with that one the most, it’s almost like you fuck with me.” I also wanted to talk about your online presence. I love it, and I was just wondering if you perceived it as more authentically you or more as a persona.
EMELINE: It’s a little bit of both. It’s really refreshing to be able to put out an album, because I do feel like, when the kiss is on, I am like a pop star online and then when the kiss is off I can be offline.
