Emily James Confronts the Double-Edged Sword of People-Pleasing With ‘Lovely Enough’
With her stunning voice and impactful lyricism, L.A.-based singer-songwriter Emily James is making her mark in 2023, and her new single "Lovely Enough" is just a taste of what's to come.
Out today, March 31, the new track comes alive thanks to Emily's ethereal, yearning vocals. It's a song about the need to be adored and appear perfect, and all of the people-pleasing we can engage in, at the detriment of our own well-being and sense of self. It all begins with a quiet calm, backed only by the picked notes of an acoustic guitar, before building up with pounding percussion into something anthemic, even as Emily continues to bury her true self for the sake of others.
"Lovely Enough" will also appear on Emily's newly announced EP, Grey, which drops on June 23. We had the chance to catch up with Emily to celebrate, and she told us all about what "Lovely Enough" means to her, and what we can expect from Grey this summer.
The Story Behind 'Lovely Enough'
Emily James: I wrote "Lovely Enough" with two friends of mine, Sarah Troy and Rabitt. We were having a conversation about what it feels like to be a people-pleaser and how that slowly chips away at your confidence and sense of self. We were messing around on the piano and when Sarah played the opening chords, I just started singing the first lines, "I wanna be the cool girl, wanna keep it easy," and that right there pretty much told us what the song was going to be about.
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What 'Lovely Enough' Means
EJ: To me, "Lovely Enough" is a song about insecurity and self-esteem. It's about the feeling that you can't truly be yourself because of the fear that you might not be accepted or liked for the person you are on the inside. I think that there's often this pressure put on women as we grow up to act and look a certain way, and to keep our emotions and opinions to a minimum in order to appear sweet and amiable. This song means a lot to me because when people are listening to "Lovely Enough," they're hearing me talk about some of my biggest insecurities. I hope that anyone who resonates with the message of the song finds comfort in it and feels a bit more understood. And, I hope that it makes people feel like they know me a little better after listening.
Emily's Favorite Lyric
EJ: My favorite lyric from the song is right before the first chorus, and it says, "I can be myself, just tell me what version." For me, this line really encapsulates what it feels like to constantly adjust your personality in order to mirror the type of people you're around. It can be so easy to fall into the habit of adopting the vibes of the group of people you're with and become a chameleon of sorts. I've definitely fallen prey to that in the past, and it's something I'm working on breaking out of. It feels a lot better to be accepted and loved when you're being your true self than when you're trying to portray some "perfect" version of yourself, just to fit in.
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On the Grey EP
EJ: "Lovely Enough" will actually be the opening track on Grey, because I want anyone listening to hear, from the very start, that the tone of the EP is vulnerability and honesty. The overall theme of Grey is this journey of me coming back into myself and figuring out how to feel good with that. "Lovely Enough" is the first step of that journey, where I'm just letting it all out and being real with myself about how I'm feeling. I think it's incredibly important to speak to ourselves with kindness and hype ourselves up, but I don't think we can get there until we're honest about our insecurities and the parts of ourselves that we might not love so much. If we're afraid to admit those things, we can't really work through them. So, "Lovely Enough" represents that first step of acknowledgment in the healing process.
I've very carefully crafted this EP, both sonically and visually, and because of that, it really feels like me. I don't view my music as being confined to one single genre, and I think that Grey reflects that as well. All I can say is this EP is very much the beginning of more to come!
For more of the true stories behind the music we love, click HERE to read our interview with Wrabel on his powerful track "The Village."