Emmrose – Waitlisted (2021)

Embracing the music world at a young age, singer-songwriter Emmrose found herself performing in NYC clubs on the weekends. Skip forward three years and she is now a worldwide sensation with a weekly live stream show, over 350k streams on Spotify and a repertoire of critically acclaimed singles. Not only that, but the young artist won the Best Pop Album in 2020 by W.A.M Awards alongside coverage in When The Horn Blows and Ear The The Ground Magazine – not bad for a teenager. The latest single from the US-based songstress is ‘Waitlisted’.

Following her provocative single ‘The Imposter’ (read our review here), ‘Waitlisted’ adopts a more jovial, lighthearted and buoyant approach. Known for taking on more poignant issues in life, Emmrose uses personal experiences to expose the vulnerability of life. Her songs touch on the fragility of humanity and this is no different in ‘Waitlisted’ as she discusses being waitlisted by The Clive Davis School of Recorded Music at NYU.

“In all honesty, ‘Waitlisted’ was a really painful song for me to write… In March I would find out whether or not I got into my dream school The Clive Davis School of Recorded Music at NYU… Long story short: I got waitlisted. It hurt me on a deep level because of the fact it was all about my music and my talent… Writing an upbeat song was a fun contrast to an overall pretty sad song for me lyrically. I wanted it to be an anthem of a sort for people who’ve been in a similar situation; that you can find some kind of dark celebration in getting rejected.” – Emmrose on ‘Waitlisted’

Once again plunging the listener into a swirl of sound, Emmrose captures your ears, senses and soul in the upbeat ‘Waitlisted’. Yet, while the bubblegum pink whirlpool places a smile on your face, it is tinged with some darker black spots in the water. It is the darker twinges that showcase Emmrose’s innovativeness in lyricism and melodies. Juxtaposing the solemnity of the concept with a toe-tappingly infectious contemporary pop style highlights a mature thoughtfulness beyond her years.

Merging elements of dance and pop, ‘Waitlisted’ is a danceable tribute to people who have been waitlisted themselves. What I find most exciting about Emmrose is not the harmonic flow to her melodies or the soothing musical arrangement, but rather her voice and the execution of her poetic lyricism. Despite being only 17 years old, Emmrose has control over her wide vocal range adding robustness and warmth to her music, particularly in ‘Waitlisted’. I could say she is reminiscent of Florence Welch or Lana Del Rey, but that would be incorrect. Emmrose is a unique artist with natural talent shining bright for all to see.

For more from Emmrose check out her official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.