Em Beihold Gets Vulnerable About Success On “Roller Coasters Make Me Sad”
Samantha Colleran, March 2023
Em Beihold’s Egg In The Backseat EP launched her into incredible levels of success that landed her a feature on Stephen Sanchez’s “Until I Found You”, a performance on Jimmy Fallon, as well as opening act positions for Anson Seabra and more recently for Lewis Capaldi for his 2023 tour. Drawing inspiration from Regina Spektor, Sara Bareilles, and Fiona Apple, Em sings about important topics like anxiety and puts her own spin on the music to make people feel less alone in their experiences. Her recently released single “Roller Coasters Make Me Sad” is a response to all of her success since releasing Egg In The Backseat, which she took some time to talk about with º1824 press conference attendees.
Growing up in Los Angeles allowed Em to focus on her creative side. Both of her parents work in animation and would bring her to culture and art events, and she went to a school that greatly supported artists. Although inspiration can come from anywhere, Em explains that living in a place like L.A. that serves as a major hub of music and art has led her to meet people that were willing to help her achieve her dreams of becoming a musician.
With Egg In The Backseat, there wasn’t a set storyline or overall feeling Em was looking to convey. The EP is a collection of songs based on different moments and feelings that were written and recorded based on how Em was feeling when going into the sessions. Following the momentum of “Numb Little Bug”, Em wanted to create a selection of songs she felt proud of sharing with the world. “12345” was written shortly after “Numb Little Bug”, “Porcelain” followed the next day, and from there Egg In The Backseat began to come together.
The concept for “Roller Coasters Make Me Sad” was something Em had been sitting on for some time, but with the success of “Numb Little Bug”, it felt like a good time to revisit the idea and turn it into something bigger. The session for “Roller Coasters Make Me Sad” was unplanned, which allowed for more authenticity in the lyrics and the overall delivery of the song. When listening to the song you feel Em’s emotions of being trapped and the loss of control she felt in life (“Seems like when I get high up to the top/ My brain, it lets me down before the drop/ Strapped me in too tight, I can’t get off/ Hey, is it too late to make it stop?”). Things have changed for Em very quickly, and that pressure of feeling as if she needs to continue getting bigger and better builds up throughout the song as she repeats over and over “I should be having fun”.
As someone who has experienced highs and lows since receiving so much attention as an artist, Em shared that it’s important to surround yourself with people you love and are loved by and to live in the moment. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with so much success, and Em opened up about how she’s trying to become better at dealing with that by unplugging and finding different outlets for her stress such as going for walks. She’s also trying to worry less, which is easier said than done, but instead she’s focusing on enjoying every moment of the rollercoaster of life and not rushing things.
In live settings, Em hopes that fans can feel less alone and walk away from her set having truly enjoyed what they saw and heard. She connects with fans in a unique way; she keeps in contact with them through comments and messages, and has even used fan comments from her Instagram page to write songs, so it’s clear that she keeps them in mind when writing about vulnerable topics. Unveiling the norms society forces onto topics such as mental health and dealing with anxious feelings is a mission Em is passionate about in her music, and if her performances can allow her fans to feel as if their experiences are valid then she’s succeeded.
You can listen to “Roller Coasters Make Me Sad” on Spotify, Apple Music, or any other streaming service you may use. Be sure to keep up with Em on her social platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, and let me know your thoughts on the track in the comments!
I love how many artists are addressing the mental health issues and anxiety that seem to be so prevalent these days.
Me too, music is so healing and being able to hear artists sing about such important topics helps people feel less alone in their struggles🤍