Emily King

Emily King - Down


You know how sometimes we mention that we're completely shocked that an act is unsigned? You know how sometimes this shock turns to excitement that because they're unsigned, we can write about them? Yeah, that's happening right now times ten. Native New Yorker Emily King, is one of those rare industry gems that's just oozing with raw talent. She doesn't need lights, auto tune or pyrotechnics to sell records. Nope, all Emily needs to win over an audience is her insanely captivating vocals paired with her delicate and feminine songs.

But, in the spirit of full disclosure we feel it's important to you that at one point, Emily was signed. And we're not talking about a tiny indie label either; we're talking about J records which is home to recording artists like Fantasia, Jamie Foxx and Alicia Keys. In 2007, Emily's critically acclaimed debut album East Side Story was released. Her first single "Walk In My Shoes" (later re-released to include a verse by rapper Lupe Fiasco) didn't place high on the charts. But for true King fans, the song was a great introduction to Emily's talents and more importantly was a window into the themes and social issues which inspired Emily's writing. But, in typical major label fashion, slow album sales trumped the actual music and shortly after her release, King was dropped from her label. "I'm better without the label," says King. "It's like when you hear people say they're glad they went through something because they've learned lessons from it. There are some decisions I would have made differently but whatever. It doesn't make me anti music industry. I've grown up, it's all good."

While J records may have overlooked King's talent, the Grammy's certainly did not. Yes, you heard right. We said, The Grammys. In December of 2007, King's debut East Side Story was a nominee for Best Contemporary R&B Album. That same year, King embarked on a national tour with John Legend. "The John legend tour was great" King remembers. "My band mates were amazing and we laughed the entire time." So what does an extremely talented and driven Grammy nominee do when she's dropped from her label? Her own (and may we say, amazing) thing. Happier than ever, King is a staple at local venues in her hometown of NYC and has plans to release a new album independently in 2011. While we've only heard three songs from the new album, from what we can tell it's incredible and certain major label is going to be eating their words...very soon.

Intrigued and want to hear more? Check her out on emilykingmusic.com or on MySpace and of course you can follow her on Twitter. (source:www.seventeen.com