Emma McGrath
“Emma McGrath’s honest songwriting cuts to the core of what it means to be a young queer woman today…she emanates a wisdom and wry maturity well beyond her 20 years” – Stylist Magazine
British artist Emma McGrath reveals a brand new single, the glorious ‘Say Something’, released August 28 via Young Poet Records.The song is the first to be taken from a new EP, the third in a series of thematically connected collections of songs. It follows ‘Keep Your Eyes Open (Silent Minds Pt. II)’, which was released in January this year to critical acclaim.
Earlier this year, on March 12 when the world was entering lockdown, Emma performed a headline show at London’s The Grace. Despite the impending restrictions, and the general desertedness of the city that day, the venue was full to capacity. It was the last gig most of the audience would see this year, but that’s not the only reason it has left such a lasting impression. Emma’s unique performance transitions from soaring anthemic moments to spine-tingling intimacy, blended with the sardonic wit of her pre-song introductions – she does this with the accomplished grace of a performer well beyond her 20 years.
This same sentiment is reflected in her songwriting, which has always displayed immense maturity and accomplishment, but even more so on this new set of songs.“Say Something is about the frustration in not being able to say what’s on your mind. Not being able to tell someone how you’re feeling or what you want” explains Emma. “But maybe there is no point saying how you feel. I find that often the people that understand are the people who already know. Maybe the person you’re chasing will never see or understand you. No matter how many times you dream about it.”
Beginning with Emma’s emotionally charged vocal and a piano refrain, ‘Say Something’ builds to an uplifting chorus layered with affirmative choral harmonies. Emma says: “I wrote the chorus with my friend Abi who has an amazing gospel sounding voice and she created such a perfect foundation of harmonies that I think really brought the song to life.”
Emma made her debut in 2014 to swift acclaim, with BBC Introducing awarding her with ‘Track of the Week’ twice over for her song ‘Sit With Me’. This was followed in 2018 by the ‘Silent Minds’ EP to universal praise, including ‘Love You Better’ which is approaching 2 million streams on Spotify. Her most recent EP ‘Keep Your Eyes Open (Silent Minds Pt. II)’ landed in January 2020. This saw Emma’s song ‘Fall With You’ receive ‘Best New Pop’ accreditation from BBC Radio 1, support Melanie Martinez on tour and pick up no less than thirteen Spotify New Music Friday playlists around the globe. She was also recently appointed to the Ivor Novello Academy Youth Council.
