Emily + Shawn are the musical power duo carving a name for themselves in the indie pop genre. Their songs are not only melody and catchy, but their lyrics are pure fun and an honest reflection of their daily lives. They are influenced by the small things that make life worth it as well as their ethics and interests, like making cocktails, baking, and making music after coming home from their day jobs.
Though nostalgia is a lyrical and emotional component to the Emily + Shawn aesthetic, the duo are pop-savvy fearless songwriters, blowing the dust off stodgy traditional music through integrating fresh genre approaches. Their new single is an R&B and pop song “What You Got” is inspired by Emily’s biggest musical influences, specifically Aretha Franklin. It has a contemporary meets 60’s style, almost a Megan Trainor vibe.
“What You Got” is a female power anthem, a song about what Emily would do to Shawn if he ever cheated on her. The pop stylings of the song give it the joking yet serious meaning behind the song. Emily’s vocals really shine in “What You Got.” She belts the chorus effortlessly and sings softly in the verses. Her voice exudes strength and she clearly has a knack for it. Emily’s voice is really what carries this song to the heights it reaches.
“When it came time to record, we found that we were trying to do too much instrumentally” they share. “We started stripping things away to focus on the attitude of Emily’s voice and the lyrics, and built it back up from there. We found the combination of vocals + drums really worked, and added an upbeat jam vibe at the end of the song with an intentionally imperfect male falsetto chorus. The keys were the last thing that we added to give the song’s ending some gospel vibes. It all came together perfectly, resulting in a song that captures a cheeky yet powerful message, wrapped in a feel-good groove.”
Find and connect with Emily + Shawn via:
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