Although a recent addition to the music industry, Em Beihold has quickly risen in popularity, breaking ground with her newest release, “Roller Coasters Make Me Sad” and opening for artist Lewis Capaldi’s upcoming tour. Beihold gained her prominent following through “Until I Found You,” her popular TikTok cover which reverberates throughout the collective minds of the app’s users.
The sound plays in the background of millions of videos, but few people know the story of the voice behind it. Growing up in Los Angeles, Beihold has been surrounded by the arts her whole life; she cites the city as having a lasting impact on her musical pursuits. “Both my parents are in animation and growing up we would always go to cultural or art events. I also went to a school where a lot of kids were arts-oriented — I had teachers who would stay after school because they saw potential in my craft of writing and wanted to help me. You can be inspired anywhere, but LA is the hub of music and art and film and people who want to help you.” said Beihold.
Beihold’s sound harks back to 90s and early 2000s music, looking to artists like Regina Spektor, Radiohead and Fiona Apple for influence. She mentioned that she hopes to learn more about modern music to inform her own, and eventually would like to collaborate with the artists she grew up listening to — Spektor in particular.
Despite the boost TikTok gave her career, Beihold shied from establishing a relationship between social media and her music. “I try to keep it separate. Sometimes I’ll write something not thinking about Tik Tok and I’ll feel like, ‘oh, this is a weird metaphor, it would probably go on Tiktok,’ or I’ll write something and know it’s a little too poetic to instantly click for TikTok. But I think you sacrifice your art if you’re writing for a medium like TikTok. So I think it’s a super helpful tool, but I wouldn’t say I write for it,” she said.
Accessibility plays an important role in Beihold’s appeal as an artist: her music’s relatability, with its candid depictions of anxiety and its consequences, is largely what makes it appealing to many of her fans. Beihold’s artistic vision centers around unveiling norms such as going to therapy and coping with panic attacks — she hopes her music will play a role in her listener’s journey of self-discovery. In turn, her popularity through TikTok is reflective of her listener’s easy access to her sound, as they often find her lyrics consistently applicable to their own experiences.
Beihold offered advice to anyone struggling with their own struggles: “I would say it’s definitely important to stay grounded, keep working, have a community of people that you love and that love you around you.” To her, that is the key to joy in a world defined by the presence of technology: “Maintain an equilibrium.”
