Platinum-selling pop singer-songwriter Em Beihold first catapulted onto our radars with the release of her 2022 single “Numb Little Bug.” It’s gone on to amass more than half a billion streams globally, but its success also put Em in a peculiar place, attempting to recreate that success as she struggled creatively.
In 2026, with the release of her eagerly anticipated debut album, Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter, we’re happy to say that she’s found herself again. The powerfully introspective album released last week, with 11 tracks serving as a reflection on identity, and the realization Em was forcing herself into roles that never suited her in the name of pursuing pop stardom. It’s packed with Em’s signature wit and catharsis as she recognizes that many of the expectations we play along only wind up hold us back. The project takes a versatile and confident approach to pop, influenced by the musicians who inspired her most as a budding artist, to craft something that feels undeniably Em.
She’s also preparing to embark on The Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter Tour around the world, starting in Dublin in May and traveling through Europe before coming to North America. We had the pleasure of hopping on a Zoom call to catch up with the star and get the inside scoop on the new album and everything to come. Read our full interview with her below.
Sweety High: Where did the album title Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter come from? Was it something that came up early that you built the songs around, or something that arose naturally from the creation of the album?
Em Beihold: I was near completing the album without a title, and I was playing some of the songs to my publisher. He noticed there was kind of this shape-shifting theme—I’m Brutus, I’m a unicorn, I’m a hot goblin. When he said that, it finally tied everything in together. It clicked for me very quickly. To me, the title Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter is about trying to fit into all these different roles that weren’t natural to me during the time of “Numb Little Bug” and a little bit after and kind of trying to be this like polished pop girl, which has just never been the people I’ve been drawn to growing up. I have to give a shout out to my publisher Adam Eichner at Sony for helping me come up with that title.
(Photo credit: Kirt Barnett)
SH: Were there any songs that were written specifically to fit in with the title?
EB: Well, “Unicorn” was the last song written on the album, and I came up with the title right before that. But “Unicorn” totally fits the theme of the album without me trying. I think there’s a kind of a whimsicalthrough line that wasn’t even that intentional. It’s just kind of how my brain is.
SH: What do you hope listeners take away from the album, regarding the themes of living authentically?
EB: When you realize that you can achieve your dreams and be successful being yourself, you just feel so free. There’s a weight lifted off of your shoulders. I remember the biggest show I’ve ever played where I opened for the Jonas Brothers, and I was like, I got this opportunity because I’m me. Had I been these people I compare myself to, I don’t know if I would have been there. I did the most “me” show and it felt so good. It was this weird eureka moment of like, oh my gosh, wait, I can just be myself! I don’t have to worry about it so much.
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SH: Was there ever frustration realizing you could have just embraced your authentic self this whole time? Or did you feel like going through that process was necessary to get to where you are today?
EB: Going through that process was necessary. Since growing up, I’ve struggled with the concept of being cool and not naturally being cool or liking what the cool kids like or fitting in. I’ve always kind of been a bit of an outsider. That problem can just be really heightened when you’re in the music industry. There, the popular kids aren’t just in your school, but like globally known and on billboards and everything. There was no other way to get there without going through it and realizing how much better it feels to be myself.
SH: What inspired you during the album’s creation and how did you develop the right sound to take listeners on this journey with you?
EB: I really wanted to pay homage to the female singer-songwriters that I grew up on—like Regina Spektor, Fiona Apple, Feist, Marina—and have that piano element. I love a lot of the singer-songwritery women, but I’m definitely a bit more pop. It was merging all the things I listened to growing up, and I feel like this is exactly in the world of what a young Em would freak out about listening to and having made.
SH: Do you feel like these songs sort of represent where you are in life right now, or do they feel like sort of the stepping stones to the present?
EB: I think they’re more like stepping stones, because the album did come out of a dark place and I’m currently in a very happy place in my life, luckily, knock on wood. They’re a summary of the journey, but not where I’m at at the moment.
(Photo credit: Kirt Barnett)
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SH: Do you have a favorite song from the album?
EB: It changes day to day. I’ve been saying “Soup!,” but I think today it’s “Strong Medicine.” I like the duality in “Strong Medicine” where it goes from a sort of heavy drum pop into the more intimate piano moments, and I feel like that’s what it’s like being an artist. The presentation versus the internal. I feel like “Strong Medicine” musically does that.
“Soup!” I just think is catchy. It gets stuck in my head. Also, my friends have very kindly been singing it, and so, we’re in a “Soup!” circle because they sing it and then I sing it and then we get stuck.
SH: Was there anything that surprised you about the process of recording and putting together a debut album?
EB: It was pretty difficult! I don’t know if anything was really surprising. I wish I could say it was easier than I thought it was pretty hard. A lot of the songs had been in the works since 2022, with the exception of “Scared of the Dark.” I wrote the chorus when I was 13 years old. If anything, I had a lot of doubt that the pieces would come together. At the time, a debut album felt impossible. Any album felt impossible. Even a single was hard because I just wasn’t liking anything I was making. But they they came together.
SH: Does the album feel like a time capsule, in a way?
EB: Definitely. With “Shiny New Things,” for instance, people have pointed out production-wise is a little different from the rest of the album, but I made that song alongside a lot of the other songs. At the time, everything I was making was kind of a different genre. Some were very pop, some very alt, there was some singer-songwriter-sad. When I put them all together, I just remember worrying there was no throughline there. Do I call my album “Identity Crisis,” because I don’t know what I’m trying to make? But there’s something about “Shiny New Things” that in my brain just like really makes sense with everything else around it because of that time.
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SH: What have the fan reactions been like so far?
EB: I don’t know if it’s fully hit yet, because it’s just existed in my head for so long. Someone tagged me in their story yesterday. They just got my vinyl shipped to Argentina. I guess I knew that was happening, but seeing my vinyl be opened in Argentina is really crazy, you know? I think still processing a little bit.
SH: Speaking of fans in other countries, you’re going on a global headline tour in May. What are you looking forward to most?
EB: I haven’t been back to Europe since 2022 when I did a co-headline show with Stephen Sanchez there. I was also very sick, so I’m really excited for the redo. I can’t wait to just see the fans over there. I have a lot of specifically London-based fans that I’ll DM back and forth with pretty often. They’re just very silly, and I’m silly too. We just are silly together. I’m excited to do shows there in particular.
You can listen to the album in full here:
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