Five minutes until showtime, and Emei’s pep talk is getting loud. The Chinese American alternative-pop singer returns with “Molly,” available now through Atlantic Records in partnership with Ricky Reed’s Nice Life Recording Company, giving fans their first taste of the upcoming two-song release “Night at the Opera: Intermission,” arriving October 23. A galloping guitar carries the urgency, with fluttering ad-libs building toward a controlled vocal crescendo that turns encouragement into something you can shout back. “It’s gonna be alright. Just get through tonight. Baby, you’re on five. So get your ass up, Molly!” she sings, and the words read like a friend catching you just before you talk yourself out of something you wanted. There is tenderness beneath the command, but Emei isn’t letting anyone linger in the dressing room for too long; the song has somewhere to be, and it is bringing you along.
The theatricality feels fitting for an artist who openly embraces being a theater kid, but there is more beneath the elaborate titles than a reason to dress up the music. Following this year’s “Night At The Opera” EP, “Molly” carries that dramatic spirit into a moment of reassurance, ending with the unvarnished reminder, “Babe, you’re fucking Superman.” Emei’s own path to this point has hardly followed a predictable script: The New Jersey-born singer placed third on “Chinese Idol” at 15, later appeared on China’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and earned a cognitive science degree from Yale before sharing original music online. “Late to the Party” began gathering attention on TikTok in 2022, while “Scatterbrain” helped widen the audience that would eventually follow her into sold-out rooms across the United States and Europe. That history gives the latest release an interesting backdrop — a performer with years of experience is still making space in the song for the person who needs a little convincing before stepping into the light.
And the stage is already waiting. Emei’s 18-date North American “Night at the Opera Tour” began September 30 at San Francisco’s Bimbo’s 365 Club, carrying the music through the fall after sold-out summer performances at New York’s Slipper Room and Los Angeles’ Troubadour. New York City will receive two evenings at Sony Hall on October 16 and 17, before the run concludes October 30 at The Novo in Los Angeles. “Night at the Opera: Intermission” arrives in the middle of that stretch, giving listeners more music to carry home while the live story is still unfolding. The title might suggest a pause, but between “Molly” and the shows already underway, there is plenty left to anticipate before the curtain closes on this particular night at the opera.
Leave a Reply