What is your name?
Emma Elisabeth Detwiler
What is your genre of music?
My genre of music would probably be mainstream pop music. Similar to much of the current songs heard on the radio today.
Give us a little bio about you.
I was born in Wilmington, Delaware, but grew up in both Delaware and in Pennsylvania on a family dairy farm in a small town called Meshoppen. My mother Charlene Bunnell grew up on the family farm and it has been in our family for almost 200 years. I usually spend weekends, holidays, and summers up there but during the school year I attend University of Delaware in Newark, DE. I have always had a passion for dairy farming and enjoy the presence of animals more than people sometimes. I would probably describe myself as an introvert socially, which is why I think writing music is another passion of mine. It’s my way of expressing myself without having to talk in detail to people around me. However, I do have some very close friends and a wonderful boyfriend who I have been with for two years now. I’m the type of person that would prefer four quarters to a hundred pennies. My early life consisted of me going through some struggles with typical teenage drama in high school. I went to Concord High School in Wilmington, DE and wasn’t a very sociable person. I didn’t really fit into any cliques or groups and would often eat my lunch in the chorus room and work on my songs. I joined clubs such as GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) to help support students who would often get bullied or picked on for who they were. I joined musicals such as Legally Blonde my freshmen year and Shrek the musical my sophomore year. Towards the end of my high school career I worked at some local restaurants to earn a little cash. As of now I am focused solely on my music career and getting decent grades for college.My goal is to become a successful recording artist and to become a great influence for people who feel as though they don’t matter when they do.
What made you go in to music?
I actually went into music for many reasons, but I think the first reason was when I discovered I could sing. When I was about 3 years old I started to take dance classes and for a while growing up I wanted to become a professional dancer. However, one day I was listening to my sister Abbey sing during her voice lessons and I thought to myself I want to do that. Her voice teacher began to teach me little by little when I was 5 years old. I started to sing Disney songs and started to become classically trained by her. As much as I love opera and show tunes, I didn’t think it was my style as far as my passion. I began to dabble in song writing when I was 13 years old after a falling out with middle school friends. Much of my music sounded very pop oriented and I just loved that sound. I continued to write and discovered I really enjoyed it. Later in high school I realized that writing my own songs was a form of relief for me and I wanted to do it forever.
Your released your EP ‘ In Spite Of You’ , tell us more about it.
My EP “In Spite of You” is actually slowly becoming more of an album. Recently I have been writing a bunch of songs that sort of spread inspiration and hope to what the single “In Spite of You” is saying. The song itself was written when I was going through a difficult time in my life. I was betrayed and felt broken all because of a single person. Slowly I began to realize I wasn’t the only teenager who has felt like this before and thought it was silly to let one person cause me so much pain. I wrote the song to help not only other people, but myself understand that moving forward and to keep living your life no matter what anyone says is the best form of strength. Literally speaking I am living my life in spite of the people who want to bring me down.
Describe each track in two words.
In Spite of you: Strength and Self-empowerment
Please Stay: Hope and Fate
Never Regret: No regrets
Stop Drowning Me: Pain and loss
Tell us about the writing process.
My writing process for my songs isn’t a specific method. Some days when I would try to sit down and write I would have complete writers block and not have an idea of what I wanted to say. I sort of just set my writing book aside and forget about thinking and give myself a few days. I could be hiking in the country side, in the middle of a class, watching TV when all of a sudden I get inspired. While writing the songs for my “In Spite of You” album I would just let my heart speak for me and write down some cool ideas and then go back and organize my thoughts until I found something that fit really well. Sometimes the process got stressful, but I enjoyed every minute of expressing what I was feeling into something that I hope can inspire others.
Tell us more about the recording process.
Recording the songs honestly had to be my favorite part of the whole process. I was 18 years old when I went to record “In Spite of You” and it was my first time ever stepping foot into a studio. It was also my first time stepping into Nashville. When I first saw the studio I was completely blown away by all the equipment, speakers, buttons, and layout of the place. I got to work with an awesome producer Tom Michael, who made me feel so comfortable and made the experience into more of a learning and teaching method. I felt so lucky to be able to work with such a nice and supportive team. I was in the studio for most of the day and when everything was over I was still wanting to sing and record more. In the end the whole experience was completely incredible!
Will you be touring this year?
I am actually not sure what will be happening in my near future as far as touring. I am still a new and upcoming artist who is still trying to get some more songs out into the world. I am hoping some day in my future to experience touring because that would be completely awesome. Sharing music with the world would be a dream come true.
Do you play any instruments?
I actually don’t really play any instruments though I hope to learn some. I know a few chords on piano and learning some chords on guitar. My only real instrument is my voice.
Who are your influences?
I have so many influences for my music that it’s hard to pick just a couple. Though if I had to choose I would honestly say my number one influence would be Bebe Rexha. To me her music can move the world and I think she writes with her whole heart and soul. Not only that, but the way she pronounces her vowels and words is just incredible to me. Another influence would be Taylor Swift. I feel like her music and mine are similar in a way and try to inspire other people. I love her music and think it’s very catchy and her lyrics make me feel what she could be feeling.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Inspiration to write my songs just comes to me randomly. Usually I take a negative experience from my life and turn it into something positive to help others who may have gone or are going through something similar. I write about people who I have lost, heart break, people I care about, and just my personal feelings towards a situation. Some days I don’t have anything to say and other days I can’t seem to stop writing. My inspiration hits me when I interact with the real world. I am actually grateful for the difficult times in my life because they have helped inspire my writing.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
5 years from now I hope to see myself as a successful recording artist with my songs on the radio, in stores, online, and to keep writing and recording my songs with amazing producers. I hope to be performing live on stage and to develop a larger fan base.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
When I’m not writing music I actually enjoy hanging out with my friends and boyfriend. I love shopping, going to the movies, bowling, playing video games, and working on my family dairy farm. My favorite and actually one of the only video games I play is called League of Legends and I am actually obsessed with it. I’m not amazing at the game but I am decent. I love to watch comedy movies and I am a huge Kevin Hart, Meryl Streep, Melissa McCarthy, and Leslie Mann fan. Anything with them in it I will actually watch 50 times. I am a big animal lover and spend as much time with my cats, dogs, and cows as I can.
where in your hometown is your dream venue to perform.
Though I haven’t really performed much on my own in front of people I do one day want to perform at this place called The Queen in Wilmington city. I walk past it every day when I go to school and the full name is Live at The Queen and so many bands and artist want to perform there so badly. It seems to be a great venue.
For anyone visiting Wilmington, here would you recommend to go?
For people visiting Wilmington, DE I would be very curious as to why anyone would actually be visiting such a small area in such a small state haha. But there are some pretty cool sites to visit such as the Hagley Museum, Brandywine Creek State Park, Delaware Art Museum, Nemours Mansion and Gardens, DuPont Building, Mount Cuba Astronomical Center, Long Wood Gardens, and even something as simple as the Wilmington River Front. The nice part about living in Delaware is that we are about 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia, 2 hours from New York City, and hour and a half away from Washington DC, and about an hour and a half from the Jersey Shore. So there are also cool places to visit outside the state that aren’t too far away.
Would you be up for more collaborations? if so can artists contact you and where to contact
you?
Yes I would be opened for more collaboration from artists. I can be contacted through my email/ FB.
If you could collaborate with one UK Artists or Band who would it be?
I would have to say I would like to collaborate with Adele for a UK artist. I love her style and lyrics and find her completely adorable!
If you could collaborate with one US Artists or Band who would it be?
For a U.S. artist to collaborate with I would have to say Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, or Lady Gaga. I find all of these American Artists to be completely amazing and so talented. And the number one band I would want to collaborate with would be 21 Pilots. I love their style because it’s a mixture of pop, rap, almost a reggae feel to it. I love songs that are unique.
What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
A song that I listened to a lot that made me want to really keep pursuing music was Bebe Rexha’s song “Gone”. I can still relate to this song every day and her voice just makes me want to do what she is doing. It’s a song that whenever I listen to it gives me goose bumps and shivers in a good way.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
The best advice I have ever been given was probably by my mom who told me to always find the strength to forgive a person, but to never forget what they did. Being able to forgive someone from even unspeakable pain they have caused you is probably the strongest thing a person could ever do. However, we must never forget and always remember what that person did because history is known to repeat itself. That’s the reason we should always remember.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
To those people out there aspiring to become artists I would say to always speak with your heart and stand up for what you believe in. We need more people like you to inspire change and peace to the world through your music.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
A quote or saying I always stick by is probably “don’t try, do”. To me I feel as though the word try is a crutch to keep a person from really succeeding. A person will either succeed or fail. If someone tells themselves they will “try” to do something, they aren’t completely putting all their effort in because they are worried about failure. People need to start telling themselves they CAN or WILL succeed in whatever they put their mind to. Also I like to remember that in order to succeed…people need to be able to fail. Success comes from hard work and self-empowerment.
Where in Nashville is the best place to Vistit?
Whenever I go to Nashville I always get so excited because there is so much to see and do. Now I am not an expert on Nashville because I have only been a few times for my music. But if I had to pick a few places to visit or go to I would say this one café called Café Coco because the coffee and food there are amazing! Downtown Nashville is always fun to see especially at night with all the lights on down the streets. There are always live bands performing all over the city and its fun to go and watch and experience live concerts almost every night. Honestly there is always so much to do there and I haven’t even gotten to experience all of it yet, but I’m excited to for my next visit.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
I’ve never actually performed a legit gig yet because again I am just getting started. I am hoping to do some soon because I think it’s important to get out there locally as well.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Yes I have social media for fans to follow, but they are still starting up and are slowly becoming detailed more each day. I have a twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and I have one lyric video on Youtube right now and hoping to upload more soon
