Indie-pop artist Emmrose shares a new single “Ballad for the Boy Next Door” today. A dreamy track begins with soft tones, slowly building into an emotive yet confident melody, reflecting on the challenge to reveal feelings for a crush. A romantic at heart, her lyrics and melodies continue to connect on love, loss, and happiness. The single premiered on Clout, who described the release as an “exquisite rendition on heartache.”
“‘Ballad for the Boy Next Door’ was inspired by the fear of rejection, and how it takes a lot of courage to tell someone you like about how you feel,” shared Emmrose. “I went back to a time in my life when I always wanted a clear sign before I would tell a crush I liked them, I would honestly want some crazy magical thing to happen so I knew I wasn’t making a major mistake. The optimist in me said go for it, and the pessimist said that the other person would never feel the same way. The song ends realizing that you should just go for it, and if it doesn’t work out, cry and move on. I think it’s really important to be honest with the people you like.”
Seven months after the release of her debut EP Hopeless Romantics, Emmrose continues to showcase her vibrant talent. Much of her music comes as a reflective narrative, embracing the universal pursuit of love, acceptance, and happiness. She released “The Grass Was Greener” over the summer, a richly nostalgic love story of days past, with moving delivery. Her debut music video for the single was released last month on Youtube. “Ballad for the Boy Next Door” comes as an appropriate foil, continuing to surprise yet delight listeners as she continues to build her sound.
Producer/engineer Michael Abiuso (Behind the Curtains Media) shared on the return to in-studio recording, after months of remote sessions with Emmrose due to COVID restrictions. “This was the first time back in the studio with Emmrose in-person. In addition to feeling excited, I also felt kind of fragile and very sponge-like to all energies that filled the room including her vocal takes; so much so that I think we ended up keeping a bunch of performances and blended them all together. There are seven vocals in unison on the chorus. Similarly, I wanted to capture all of these raw organic elements as they were happening, so if you listen closely, there are a good amount of what I considered “pleasant flaws” – a lot of dry instruments, basically no processing on the drums, no tuning. Although a lot of nontraditional production methods, I’m really hoping they resonate with listeners as much as Emmrose’s lyrics, voice, and compositions.”
“Ballad for the Boy Next Door” is out everywhere today, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
