Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emma LaRue. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Emma, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

I feel like many artists/creatives are often misunderstood. I think a lot of times when you tell someone you’re a singer or an actress people just assume that if you’re not famous your work doesn’t matter or it’s not good. For me I take pride in what I do and if I didn’t fully love it I wouldn’t share it. The amount of lyrics/songs that are still in my drafts is unreal. I’ve been an actress, a comedian, and now I’m pursuing a music career. It’s hard work. But it’s fun and it’s fulfilling.

I’m releasing my debut album ‘Dark Mind’ later this summer. I wrote it after a heartbreak. I feel like I’m often just classified as a goofball or someone that’s totally aloof and doesn’t care about much. When in reality I just have a hard time talking about my feelings (total Aquarius lol). I chose to call it ‘Dark Mind’ because my music is one of the only outlets that’s easy for me to describe how I feel. So I’m excited for people to hear the dark, emotional side of my mind.

Emma, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up in a small town in Minnesota. We’re talking one restaurant, one gas station, graduated with 22 kids in my high school class, that small. I always knew I wanted to pursue something creative. I actually struggled a lot with anxiety and depression growing up and to help I would just sing in my bathroom, write down lyrics here and there. My mom and dad actually used to have to tell me to go to bed because I’d stay up so late singing. (They loved it tho lol) After high school I went to acting school at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC. So big change there. I was actively pursuing an acting career and didn’t think I was as good of a singer compared to all the musical theatre belters there. While I was there I was told I was really funny which to be honest I don’t know why that was so unexpected for me but I was because I would literally just answer a question or say a sentence and people would erupt into laughter and I was like okay cool cool. So then I started pursuing a comedy career, which honestly I would like to get back into eventually but I’ve been focusing on my music.

Anyways I lived in NYC until 2020, the pandemic, like most people. I actually went and lived in Montana from like May 2020- April 2021 where I worked on a ranch as a housekeeper and in the winter I got a job as a ski instructor with no prior skiing experience. I think I was basically just hired because of my personality. Spent a lot of time on the bunny hill with 3 year olds so it wasn’t that cool but out of context it was cool to say that I was a ski instructor. While I was in Montana I met a guy, fell for said guy, got my heart abliterated and decided I needed to leave Montana. Before I moved to San Diego I wrote my first single that I released in 2021 called ‘Where Do We Go’ it was actually the first song I’d ever finished. And I knew it was good because my brother, who is very honest, very critical, said it was good.

So when I moved to San Diego I was like alright I gotta figure out how to turn this into something really good because my instrumental skills are basic piano chords and the 5 years of Clarinet I played in High School. So I started looking up producers and musicians in Los Angeles on Instagram and that’s when I came across Devin Bing. The man, the myth, the legend, my hero. I sent him a message through his website and was basically like “hey I wrote this song and I’m trying to find someone to make it good” and to my surprise he responded and told me to send him what I had and he would let me know if he thought he could help. And God Blesssss because he said he could and we set up a phone call for the next day and told me to come to his studio to see if we vibed. I think I drove up to LA like a week later and we started working on it. He was very patient with me and got my vision instantly. I say patient because it was my first time recording a song. But my god we did it! I’m pretty sure I cried with every update he would send me.

I released ‘Where Do We Go’ in September 2021 and we started working on my album in October 2021. I think we finished writing it in like May or June of 2022 and then started recording vocals and what not in the fall. So its been a long process and I had a lot of mental breakdowns along the way. I’m extremely glad and appreciative I had someone like Devin to work with because he’s literally the most supportive and chill human. But he’s also any extremely technical guy and a hard worker which I admire. He really pushed to get the best sound out of me and I’m so happy with how everything turned out. I’m incredibly proud of myself and I get really excited when friends/family/others reach out and tell me that they like a song or a lyric resonates with them.

I just released the first single off of my album on June 16th, called ‘Another Round’ it’s probably the most upbeat and “happy” song on the album and originally I didn’t think I even wanted it to be on the album but I’m glad it is and I’m glad it was the first single. It’s basically a song about being young, going out and drinking but then also having hangxiety and not really wanting to keep drinking but doing it anyways.

I’m releasing the second single off the album on July 28th called ‘I Would’ and I fully believe this is lyrically the best song I’ve ever written. The way that my album is, is it’s almost kind of like each song is my heart grieving and healing from heartbreak and this is actually the last song we wrote. So it’s sad but it’s also kind of hopeful.

I would ultimately like to start performing live so hopefully that’s in the cards for me in the near future.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In my opinion the best way to support an artist or a creative is not to judge them, be supportive, and share their work.

The fastest way for an artist to propel I. Their career is with the support of those around them.

Alot my people don’t understand the power of sharing. Sharing a post on social media, telling a stranger you meet in casual conversation, or just attending a show that someone’s in.

One of my great friends is actually an actress in LA, I would stay with her when I would drive to LA to record, and she is always is talking me up to random strangers and I honestly don’t thank her enough for doing that. Aside from my family, she’s one of the most supportive people in my life and it might be because she gets it since shes also a creative but shoutout to Dom!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I think my goals and dreams have changed since I’ve grown up. I used to just want to go off and prove to people that I was good enough to be somebody out of spite. But being bitter doesn’t get you anywhere I have learned. For now I’m chasing happiness and what makes me happy is getting to be creative. Like I said I’d love to get back up on a stage and perform in the near future. Writing this album has been the biggest dream come true for me. Little Emma that sang in her bathroom until 1am would be proud for sure.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/emmamaelarue?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emmamaelarue?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@emmamaelarue

Image Credits
Chandler Holmes, Brittni Ahrens