Singer-songwriter Em Beihold talks latest single, ‘Maybe Life Is Good,’ writing music and debut headline tour
By Tiara starks
Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve heard of pop singer-songwriter Em Beihold. The Iranian-American multi-hyphenate burst onto the scene in 2017 when she self-released her debut EP, “Infrared,” which features tracks like the powerful yet personal song, “Calculated.” Since then, saying that she’s been busy would be an understatement. With a new single and upcoming tour, Beihold is on her way to pop stardom.
After being approached by Michelle Schumacher, the director of the J.K. Simmons-led feature “I'm Not Here,” she wrote a song called “Not Who We Were” exclusively for its soundtrack. If you didn’t catch that, you most definitely have seen the 25-year-old on TikTok when she performed her song "City of Angels," a video that jettisoned her to mainstream attention. Since then, she has signed with Republic Records and has released even more music. In October 2022, Beihold shared a photo of her holding up a frame of her certified platinum single, "Numb Little Bug." Later, she would collaborate on a remix of the Stephen Sanchez song “Until I Found You” which she subsequently performed with Sanchez on the CBS late night show “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” However you may have found Beihold, there’s even more excitement to share from the artist as she goes in-depth into her music and questions the lie outside of inquiries about her lyricism.
In regards to her latest release, Beihold confidently says that “promoting a song called ‘Maybe Life Is Good’ has made my life better.”
What makes her unique is her straightforwardness about her beginnings, where she is, and where she’s going. Beihold is asked about her musical inspirations, and while listing some of the most iconic female singer-songwriters, she stops and explains the toll it can take on a performer in the industry as well.
“I’ve been listening to Marina [And The Diamonds]. I’ve been listening to Florence and the Machine. Honestly...I went through a long period of not listening to music because I was comparing myself to everything I was listening to...”
There’s a lyric video for the single ‘Maybe Life Is Good’ that listeners can watch on YouTube. Beihold says that “it might as well be the music video.” The lyric video was directed by Kelly Emmrich, an animator based in Brooklyn.
“It’s (the music video) very Alice in Wonderland-y. It walks the line between beauty and sadness the way that the song does and I’ve been a fan of Kelly’s since 2021 when I was on TikTok and just found her randomly and I’m super stoked that we got to do this,” Beihold says. “I’m excited for everyone to see it.”
Another aspect of Beihold’s career that is in question is if there’s any change to her relationship to honest storytelling and if that has impacted her relationship to her music.
“My relationship hasn’t changed,” Beihold answers. “Music has become my job and what that looks like is having a lot of sessions where I’m writing songs all the time. It’s a little difficult to dig deeply into my soul so much, and often, with strangers that I haven’t met before in a writing room.”
Beihold has opened for the likes of Lewis Capaldi, King Princess, and the perennially beloved boy bands, AJR and the Jonas Brothers. With these experiences in the backseat, she takes on the task of headlining her very first tour.
“I’m so grateful to be touring but I never dreamed of touring,” she says. “That was beyond what my music dream was so I think all of it has been a big learning curve.”
It’s a sweet reveal as the artist has had many opportunities to feel out how she handles touring and still has the jitters about it, but it just goes to show her willingness to be open to new opportunities coupled with obvious demand for the performer to play live across the nation.
Beihold is sweet but secure in her words. She has an effervescent energy that comes out as she answers each question. One in particular, struck her. How does she label herself as a singer?
“Continue on the pop line, I think a little bit of singer-songwriter. I feel like I’m finally getting into a good writing flow so I don’t have to urgency to say ‘this is what it’s going to be’ because I think I’m still finding out and I’m very excited by that process, but you can expect the stark honesty has been the beat.”
You can find Beihold on Instagram and Twitter. You can listen to “Maybe Life Is Good” now. Her tour kicks off Feb. 20 in San Francisco at The Independent and ends March 30 in San Diego at SOMA. To keep up with Em and find out what she’s up to, visit embeihold.com.