Review by Aaron Cloutier & Staff
The W.A M. Awards celebrate the year’s most outstanding independent artists from around the world in multiple genres and categories. "Best Song" and "Best Album" nominations were based on Artistry, Musicianship, Originality, Professionalism, Diversity, and Excellence. W.A.M. stands for "We Are the Music Makers.' Emmrose's album "Hopeless Romantics" was the 2020 W.A.M. Award Winner for Best Album in the Pop music category.
The eerie and chilling chorus of “Tonight” brings my attention in full focus as 17 Year old singer-songwriter Emmrose delivers an expertly delivered vocal performance showing a maturity beyond her years. Her voice is vulnerable. yet commanding. with a quality that is “smoky” like a fine bourbon.
The song is a dark and brooding ballad with a waltz like feel which yields a throwing caution to the wind kind of intensity. Almost as if there’s nothing to lose. As if she’s tired of pretending that everything is perfectly normal and nothing’s wrong as best depicted in the lyrics “I could lie and say I'm fine, but that's useless”
The instrumentation that makes up the musical bed of this dream pop ballad is also very interesting. Tastefully played guitar juxtaposed with arpeggiated piano chords, synthesizers and sparse electronic percussion all woefully express their parts in a 6/8 meter. The clever use of arrangement in the song. as the final chorus builds up to a hint of the full band coming in until it dies down without it happening, simply locks your ears in.
With strong hooks, interesting instrumentation and a powerhouse vocalist with a penchant for introspective lyrics , “Tonight” is 3 minutes and 37 seconds that will mesmerize you from beginning to end.
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About Emmrose
Emmrose wrote her first song five years ago in math class. She is now a 17-year-old songwriter and performer based in New York City currently working on the follow-up to her first EP, Hopeless Romantics, released in 2019. Despite quarantine, she continues to perform live streams for her fans (weekly), attends high school (remotely), and write songs during classes (frequently).
Thousands of people have discovered her unique take on introspective dream pop since her first release two years ago. Her most requested and downloaded song on the EP, 'Tonight,' showcases her gift with melody and her exceptional attention to lyrics that seem to come straight from a teenager's diary: I could lie and say I'm fine, but that's useless. Is it the people or just stress? Makes no difference. The EP's last song 'Don't Go' resulted from a heartfelt reaction to a fellow student's admission of suicidal thoughts. During the COVID lockdown, Emmrose received messages from teens worldwide who said they listened to her voice to help them get through the night –the best music review or award an artist could ever receive.