Life for an independent singer can be tough, but things are on the rise for ili.
The musician has released her latest EP It’s Giving…, alongside the lead single of the same name, today (February 16) after the track starting bubbling on TikTok. But, speaking exclusively to Daily Star, ili admitted it was a long journey to become the artist she is today.
While ili is working hard to make a name for herself, some may recognise her from 2016’s X Factor. Then, going by her real name Emily Middlemas, she came fourth, with Matt Terry going on to win.
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Ili told us: “It’s been a wild ride, to say the least. It’s been a crazy journey. I’ve changed my name and released music I feel more comfortable with.
(Image: Hope Simmers)
“I think during lockdown especially, there was a whole journey and process of really finding my true self through music, and I really feel so much happier now than when I was going through the show.
“I’ve come out the other side a lot happier and have found myself kind of naturally, as you do when you’re in your early 20s. You go through another phase of being like, ‘Oh my God, who am I?’
“That was the journey after that show of really low lows, and then now there’s high highs.”
Glasgow-native Ili’s journey to finding herself and her own sound after the show wasn’t an overnight thing, either. She confessed a “wholesome” moment led to her writing 30 songs.
(Image: PA)
She said: “I went through a really rough patch, I was super down and I felt really low in myself. I took a step back from everything and decided to go up to the Highlands.
“It was so refreshing. I felt the way I felt like I did as a kid that I’d lost for so long, that spark of just being excited for life and excited to go out and jump in the Fairy Pools, just go to the park and stuff.
“I hadn’t actually wrote anything for about a year which is really bad for me. I took my guitar and started writing on it again and wrote like 30 songs in that week, purely by being happier and having so much inspiration and taking a step back from the world of craziness.”
Her latest track, It’s Giving, is all about a past relationship – and she wrote it with her music producer fiancé Ryan Lawrie, known professionally as KOOLKID, who was on The X Factor with her and has since worked with global big-hitters like BTS.
“We actually wrote this in my little bedroom in Glasgow – I’ve been in the same house and room since I was born,” ili told us. “So it’s sort of wholesome that we we wrote it there.
“It’s hilarious that we wrote it about another guy. We’re just so open with each other and it’s such a nice relationship where you can just be truly honest and write about anything without the other person being like, ‘What did you just say?’ It’s just very fun and we just love each other so much.”
While talking about exes with your current squeeze is usually a no-go-zone, that’s exactly what the duo did for It’s Giving. “For years, on my notes on my phone, I had the title It’s Giving and I really wanted to use it. I woke up that morning and was like, ‘I’m using it in this session whether we like it or not.'”
(Image: Hope Simmers)
Ili went on: “It stemmed from the title and then we wrote it about somebody that nobody will ever know, pin-pointed all of it on this poor guy. It’s pretty savage, to be honest, but it’s funny – and actually scary that a lot of people relate to it.
“There’s a lot of creepy guys out there that you need to be careful of. It was fun to write a really funny and savage song – but it also has a really strong message.”
Also on the new EP is track Babe Me Up, all about the struggle to find true love. Ili said. “It’s all about how in this generation, you can’t really find true love, or love like it was in the olden days.
(Image: Hope Simmers)
“I wrote it about that but then kind of switched the flip in my brain and was like, ‘What if people have just always been rubbish?’ People were cheating way back then, we just didn’t hear about it because there were no phones to post about it.”
As well as releasing her new EP, ili is heading straight out on tour, with dates in hometown Glasgow, Manchester and London. “I just want people to sing my songs. I’ve had concerts here and there where you can see two or three people singing every word, but I’ve never had a full show where everybody knows all of my songs.”
She said: “My dream is for people to be singing my music just during their every day, such a big thing for me.” And thanks to TikTok that’s very likely, as catchy It’s Giving has been slowly bubbling up since ili started teasing it.
(Image: Hope Simmers)
“Social media has helped me so much. I love when people discover me for my new artist name. Obviously you still get ‘oh are you Emily?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I’m also this artist as well!’
“It’s kind of led me to the opportunity that I can be discovered for my new artist project with the newer generation because they wouldn’t know about the X Factor.”
And for those just discovering ili, there is plenty more in store. She revealed she’s written for some K-Pop artists recently and has even more music of her own coming out this year.
“This year is going to be really exciting, and I just got some really big news for festival season, so keep an eye out!”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
