emmanue!le
Hailing from France, emmanue!le is a talented singer-songwriter who embraced her Norwegian identity in 2022. She found her musical muse when she acquired her first ukulele amidst the pandemic. She conquered her stage fright and adopted her new mantra “fuck it”. emmanue!le started to unveil her original songs to the audience, conveying a spectrum of human experiences through her soulful tunes. Her songs resonate with her personal struggles and emotions, such as depression and anxiety, as well as humorous episodes from everyday life.
Who is emmanue!le as a person and an artist, and what is her story?
emmanue!le is just me, or the person I dare being when I am on stage, which is something that was completely off the table before 2020. I am unable to be anyone else than who I am so I don't have a persona and I am basically just being myself at all times. I'm originally from France but have lived in Norway since 2011.
I've always loved singing (but either by myself or in choirs) so when I bought my first ukulele in 2020 and started to learn, it was amazing to me to be able to accompany myself on so many songs I wanted to sing. After a few months, I started writing my own songs and performed alone on stage for the first time. It was for friends but still nerve-racking. My singing and performing skills have improved a lot since that time.
What inspired you to create your debut release, “Be Like Hermione”?
It turns out I work for a consortium of libraries (and I'm a librarian myself), and I convinced my work to hire me for the musical part of our annual conference. So I wrote Be Like Hermione specifically for the event, and I wanted it to be positive and playful. I got so much feedback and questions after that, the main one being "Are you going to release it?", that I decided to just do that.
What are some of the songwriters who inspire you to craft your musical stories?
I've never thought of it consciously, but lately I've been really inspired by Taylor Swift and her "Anti-hero". I really like the humor in it, in top of it being a great song. I've also been told several times that people can hear the Disney influence in my songs. Also not conscious but that's what I grew up singing, probably what made me fall in love with it, so there is definitely something there.
How do you use social media to connect with your fans and grow your audience?
Oh well there is definitely room for improvement there as I am not really active at the moment. But right before the release of Be Hermione I released a number of funny reels on Instagram about librarians cliches, and several bloopers from the music video. I guess my favorite way to engage with people is by making them laugh. It applies on stage as well. I can sing really sad songs, but if I make the audience laugh right in between I feel more relaxed and connected.
Besides music, what are some other topics that interest you or inspire you?
Surprisingly, I'm also a personal finance nerd, and I have a blog called norwegiancrowns.no :) It's mostly for English-speakers in Norway but there are some general tips in there too.
What are you working on right now and what can we expect from you next?
I went to a songwriting retreat in Spain in May and it was an amazing experience. I got to write killer songs with some great people. Lately I've had sessions with some of my cowriters to finish them, and I've also been working on them with my singing teacher for future recordings. I also want to apply to more songwriting camps. I'm also planning a New Year-themed song release in December :)
