By Zhang Mengyang (Eva)
Not just known as a performer, rising pop star Emma Blackery is also known as a songwriter, youtube vlogger, and author. She released her debut album ÔÇ£VillainsÔÇØ on 31th August 2018. After announcing an extensive UK and European headline tour for October 2018, Emma graced the stage at Tramshed, Cardiff on 24th October, the same venue she performed at in May last year. However, she noted that on the previous occasion she didnÔÇÖt have a chance to see Cardiff well.
Waiting in a queue to enter the Tramshed, I found most of her fans are still young. However, when I asked her about whether pop music is just for this demographic, Emma replied, ÔÇ£Pop music is not for a specific age group. Pop is for all, no matter what their religions and ages are.ÔÇØ In response to my query about if there were other genres of music she still wanted to try Emma manifested she wants to stick to pop and her love for this genre is shown throughout the songs on her album.
The same as last year, EmmaÔÇÖs guitar player Ryan played the opening act. It was pretty hot in Tramshed because of the excitement of her fans. After several songs, Emma said, ÔÇ£Across Europe, itÔÇÖs the hottest stage.ÔÇØ
Emma played all of Villains and less of her early music during this yearÔÇÖs show. Her new album explores themes of fake friendship and mean people on the Internet. To cater to the ÔÇ£darkÔÇØ theme of her new album, she chose a cooler and darker outfit compared with last yearÔÇÖs red dress.
Emma started with ÔÇ£Villain IÔÇØ, declaring that the villains are ÔÇ£on my listÔÇØ, and she ended by singing ÔÇ£I tore up my list, I threw it awayÔÇØ in ÔÇ£Villain II. It seemed as if the gig is a whole process of self-reflection, a journey to explore herself. Apart from songs in the debut album, Emma Blackery added some of her earlier songs, like ÔÇ£Suck to be YouÔÇØ. Compared with her previous pop-punk style, we witness this Sussex singerÔÇÖs maturity. ┬áA likeness to Avril Lavigne can be seen in her earlier music whereas her new album sounds more like Taylor Swift.
Emma displayed great energy throughout the gig, jumping around on the stage and subsequently making the venue even hotter. Not that it mattered to the girl who stood next to me who had been following EmmaÔÇÖs songs for five years. Her favourite song is ÔÇ£DonÔÇÖt Come HomeÔÇØ from her previous work, while my personal favourite track is ÔÇÿThird Eye.ÔÇÖ The up-tempo beat in ÔÇ£Third EyeÔÇØ was infectious and led me to also begin dancing. The song was influenced by 80ÔÇÖs synthpop and provided an excellent disco atmosphere. Everyone would like to have a ÔÇÿthird eye,ÔÇÖ but no one can be totally objective when they are trapped in things or when they face people they love.