Growing Up in Nashville, Tennessee
From the age of seven years old, Emily Daniels has been putting on shows for her friends and family. But the first time Daniels ever sang, was in front of her pastor at her own baptism.
Emily states that “Growing up in Nashville meant that singing was encouraged and very normal for everyone to pursue as a career.”
However, Daniels, who legally changed her last name to honor her stepdad, did not begin her country music career until after college. The Nashville-native attended Pepperdine University where she graduated in four years. After graduation, the artist immediately returned home to Nashville to take her music more seriously.
Growing up, Daniels listened to a lot of 1990’s country music artists from like Jo Dee Messina to Tim McGraw. Of course, McGraw has spanned generations, and that is one of the reasons Daniels enjoys him so much. In addition to Jo Dee Messina, Daniels adds that her music has been influenced by a lot of other powerful country women from the 90’s.
And even with the rise in popularity of ‘pop country’, Daniels still carries her 90’s roots with her. The Nashville-native does admit that she enjoys the more ‘modernized’ country. She believes this to be true because many artists today still use traditional country music instruments and lyrics. In terms of musical style, Emily Daniels loves harmonic groups and individual singers like Kelsea Ballerini, Lady A, Rascal Flatts, and Dan + Shay because of their gorgeous harmonies and melodies. But, she doesn’t like it when people ask her who her favorite artist is, because she has so many, and has been influenced by an abundance of singers and country music groups!
Debut EP: Welcome to a Heartache
Emily Daniels’s debut EP, Welcome to a Heartache, is set to release July 23, 2021. The record will feature five songs, some of which have already been released as singles, and a brand new title track. Daniels explains that the EP goes through each stage of a relationship.
“First you meet somebody. Then you fall in love with that person. And sometimes you learn that person may not be who you hoped them to be,” the artist says. She also adds, “Musically and lyrically, I have an absolute and personal connection to each track. As a biographical person, I love writing my music with previous experiences I have had.”
In terms of the sound you can expect to hear on Daniels’s upcoming album, there is going to be a little bit of everything.
The artist says that “Some of the songs that are on the EP, that have already been released, are full-on country music. Whereas the title track, “Welcome to a Heartache”, is a little more ‘pop country’ in style.” She adds, “It has been really interesting to watch my sound evolve as an artist similar to someone like Taylor Swift.”
Emily Daniels: An Exceptional Songwriter
Emily Daniels, an exceptional songwriter to say the least, had the opportunity to attend the world’s largest songwriters festival ‘Tin Pan South’ in 2018. At the event, the artist had the chance to work and speak with other songwriters. She did this all while trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible. Daniels admits that while she was at the event, she would ‘kick herself’ for not thinking of ideas that other songwriters had instead. Nevertheless, Daniels confesses that she is so grateful to have been able to attend the festival.
Engaging With Audiences Across Multiple Platforms
On Daniels’s Instagram page, she shares a post every Friday at five o’clock of her singing her own music.
When asked why she enjoys doing ‘Five O’Clock Fridays’ so much, she asked: “Whenever someone were to come across my page, how would they know that I was a country singer without any content of me singing? So, I wanted to start something that people could look forward to. And for the timing, if I wasn’t able to post it at five o’clock, I could always caption: ‘It’s five o’clock somewhere.’”
Aside from staying busy on social media, Daniels has been growing her fanbase elsewhere as well. Back in Fall of 2019, Emily Daniels was a guest singer on the Netflix show “Sing On!”. The episode she was on was recorded in London, England with other contestants from around the world. Netflix recorded the Daniels’s featured episode pre-pandemic, back in Fall of 2019. However, the episode didn’t air on Netflix until the following year.
Daniels explains, “No one knew that the pandemic was coming, of course. So having that platform to share my sound and music with people around the world was truly a blessing; Especially since a lot of artists didn’t have the opportunity to perform during the pandemic.”
What’s Next for Emily Daniels?
Daniels’s upcoming debut EP is set to release later next month, but that hasn’t stopped the artist from creating her post-EP music for the near future. However, she confesses there is no timetable set for the release of this music. For more information on Emily Daniels visit her website, or follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.