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Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Fri May 04, 2018 3:45 pm
by Birdie
Any thoughts on her new song, "Agenda"?

I liked "Dirt" alright but "Agenda" is... something else. Musically it's just not very exciting, another pop song that uses a lot of common harmonies and sequences, not very interesting. The lyrics though... look, I liked the idea of having revenge as an album theme because Emma is the saltiest person I know and the theme suits her. But "Agenda" is so on the nose and if you know Emma, you know who it's about. And of course she's portraying herself as the victim again... If I didn't know Emma I'd probably think she was another straight white girl trying to be edgy and "different from the other pop singers" and I'm not really here for it.

EDIT: The word I was looking for was "generic". It's very generic.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 11:52 am
by human
I can’t say I like dirt, it’s really not my thing and a bit bubble gum and generic. But it’s catchy and pop and memorable tbh. Agenda is none of those things for me sadly, I didn’t even finish the lyric video as I was disappointed in it for her.

I actually want her to succeed so much as I can see how much she wants this and is working so hard. But girl. Those lyrics. That melody. So so forgettable, in my opinion. Please think a little more outside the box and I am finding that the songs which are “spilling the tea” or about revenge are getting a bit old now. Hopefully there’s some other material on the album as I’d definitely grab a copy to support her doing what she wants to do, but not if it’s full of songs all with the same boring message.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 12:04 pm
by Ablissa
I'm not exactly a fan of Emma, as can easily be told from my posts in this thread, but some of her old music was okay to me. Not outstanding, nothing unusual, but I could easily listen to it without my dislike for her clouding my judgment, so I'm clearly not just a "hater".

Her new songs though? Boring is the only thing I can say. She's trying too hard and falling super short of what she is trying to do. I gave Agenda a listen and it sounds almost exactly like Dirt, both are dull pop songs that pretty much anyone with a semi-decent voice (or autotune) can produce.

She's acting like she's trying to sell out with all this mainstream, generic music, but there are still better artists out there in that same genre and I can't see her becoming super successful with this type of music.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 2:21 pm
by MythicalPinkTrashCan
Just watched Dirt for the first time. It’s okay? I actually love bubblegum pop (Poppy is on a lot in our house) but this is... blah. The shots with her dancing and singing with the four dancers felt awkward. Like it’s obvious she isn’t a strong dancer or just isn’t comfortable doing it.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 6:04 pm
by Birdie
human wrote: Sat May 05, 2018 11:52 am I actually want her to succeed so much as I can see how much she wants this and is working so hard. But girl. Those lyrics. That melody. So so forgettable, in my opinion. Please think a little more outside the box and I am finding that the songs which are “spilling the tea” or about revenge are getting a bit old now. Hopefully there’s some other material on the album as I’d definitely grab a copy to support her doing what she wants to do, but not if it’s full of songs all with the same boring message.
I thought about this some more and I think I figured why I don't like it apart from the generic melodies. The songs kind of feel empty for me. The overall message basically is "I'm better than you and you are a bad person" and that's it, there's nothing in them that makes them feel personal. We all know this is very personal for Emma but despite that the songs sound like anyone could perform them and be just as authentic singing those words. I mean, of course she can't put "I hate Hazel" or something in a song but it's all so generic that despite me knowing this song is about a real fight she had, it's hard for me to hear any real emotion in it.

I'm really curious to hear what's next. Releasing "Agenda" might have been a mistake because it has the same message "Dirt" did but isn't as catchy so now it looks like she has nothing else to say. Hopefully there are some more interesting songs on the album. My main problem with Emma as a musician is that she's always working with formulas. It was formulaic pop punk, now it's formulaic electro pop and there's nothing wrong with that but if she doesn't give it her own spin, it won't stand out and people will keep listening to already established pop singers like Taylor Swift or Halsey and not give her a chance.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 10:09 pm
by citizen_erased
Honestly, I am very rapidly losing all my interest in Emma. Which is a shame, I've loved her videos for years, but I've never been a big fan of her music to begin with and now this new direction is kind of annoying me and it's almost all she does and talks about and just. meh.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 11:36 pm
by sparkle
Dirt is shit.
Emma needs to get over herself - and I've watched her since January 2013 so I feel like a pretty OG fan. But seriously, you're not Taylor Swift.

Also you're a fucking YouTuber, you've had SO. MANY. CHANNELS. and theres nothing wrong with being a YouTuber, without people like me you wouldnt have the opportunity to make your music so popular in the first place. But its pretty ironic to make a 20 minute long video on how you're a musician now on FUCKING YOUTUBE.

I used to love Emma but lately she's got my eyes rolling into the back of my head.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Sun May 06, 2018 12:55 pm
by kavat
I kinda liked Dirt, it's a decent fun pop song and every time it comes on shuffle I chuckle a bit because I know who it's about. It's like an in joke of sorts. Agenda would have been fine on it's own, but my problem with it is that it just sounds like Dirt 2.0. Not only is the theme the same, the hook is sooo similar. Compare "I've got dirt on you" with "What are you after, don't you like my colours". It's literally the same (and the first time I heard Dirt I immediately thought of Robyn's 90's classic Do you really want me).

I'm still interested in hearing the rest of the album, but I think it was a mistake to release two so similar songs as the first two singles. It's just a bit repetitive.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:54 pm
by sparkle
can someone who actually cares about Emma give me a summary of her newest video, I've tried looking on GG but they're all taking around it and I really dont want to have to watch that video.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 8:36 am
by sentinel
sparkle wrote: Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:54 pm can someone who actually cares about Emma give me a summary of her newest video, I've tried looking on GG but they're all taking around it and I really dont want to have to watch that video.
- She got herself drunk and had a mental breakdown that she doesn't have anyone and has ruined her career. Implied it might not have been the first time she has turned towards alcohol - enough that she decided to stop drinking for now. Had a 72 hour hangover and nearly gave herself alcohol poisoning.
- She realises that she has been actively destroying her channel.
- She tells her yt story - how she started her channel, doing comedy, being done with the type of content she created, the 7 million channels she had, pivoting to music and it not working out (the busted tour didn't do anything for her really), pivoting to commentary, pivoting to music again.
- Credits Charlie, Dan and Phil as her inspirations
- During her first music try out she wanted to detach herself from the youtube musician label, but after it didnt pan out she threw herself back into yt comedy and pretended she hadn't tried to abandon youtube, as if nothing happened
- She did commentary comedy and liked it
- Apple featured her and it "completely went to her head"
- She started pre-production for her album around that time
- Weekly vlogs were yet another way to detach herself from her core audience. "People didn't subscribe for weekly vlogs, they were here [for comedy.] There was a massive disconnect."
- The weekly vlogs were under performing, but she thought she was a serious musician and this was the right path for her, because serious musicians don't do traditional youtube
- The weekly vlogs killed her other content too, every time she uploaded she lost subs
- Recording her debut album changed her, "I became someone I didn't like, someone no one liked."
- She filmed a cooking video and got herself drunk, then continued drinking until she had a mental breakdown.
- She didn't tell anyone about what had happened.
- She put every penny she had into the album
- Is done with the album and has taken self care steps, wants to be more honest
- Despite what she claimed she is not the happiest she's ever been
- Has realised that the unwritten contract between her and her viewers has been broken and she has a few comedy videos lined up that she really likes.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 9:06 am
by kavat
@sentinel did a good summary.

To me it seems like an honest and open video about her struggles with success, wanting to stay relevant but also doing what makes her happy. I hope she has someone to talk to, a friend or maybe a therapist, because bottling it all up is obviously making it worse.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 4:57 pm
by alittledizzy
The first part is extremely reminiscent of Elle Mills recent video. It wouldn't be the first time Emma's taken "inspiration" from someone else. Though it doesn't negate the point of the video, of course; if she needs help I hope she's getting help and has a good support system around her. She seems self-aware of mistakes she's made in her career trajectory with youtube, so hopefully that self-awareness leads to better decisions in the future.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 5:57 pm
by human
I felt really bad for her after watching the video. I also felt bad that she admitted she wrote most of the album when she was quite a bad, vindictive place and I saw a lot of criticism for the fact that Dirt and Agenda and the album title Villains, as well as some of the other track names, already indicated that so much. I wonder how she'll feel with this album coming out and having to tour it now, with everything the album will remind her of.

I have to say, Emma's music really isn't my thing but I do genuinely like her. She seems sweet, a bit lost sometimes and I do find myself watching her and wishing the best for her. She so much wants to have her music be successful and it must be so frustrating to just feel like your dreams are never quite achieving what you want them to. I really hope she continues improving in her mental health and becomes happier day to day :love2:

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 8:15 pm
by Birdie
Let's hope that maybe promoting and performing the album will be cathartic for her and not have a negative impact. Maybe getting all of these feelings out and being able to deal with them out in the open will help. I'm not her biggest fan as we all know but this made me sad since I kinda relate to the part where you're so stressed/depressed that you turn into a version of yourself you don't like. I hope she gets better soon and I really hope she has someone who is there for her to help her through it.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 8:19 pm
by sparkle
sentinel wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 8:36 am - She got herself drunk and had a mental breakdown that she doesn't have anyone and has ruined her career. Implied it might not have been the first time she has turned towards alcohol - enough that she decided to stop drinking for now. Had a 72 hour hangover and nearly gave herself alcohol poisoning.
- She realises that she has been actively destroying her channel.
- She tells her yt story - how she started her channel, doing comedy, being done with the type of content she created, the 7 million channels she had, pivoting to music and it not working out (the busted tour didn't do anything for her really), pivoting to commentary, pivoting to music again.
- Credits Charlie, Dan and Phil as her inspirations
- During her first music try out she wanted to detach herself from the youtube musician label, but after it didnt pan out she threw herself back into yt comedy and pretended she hadn't tried to abandon youtube, as if nothing happened
- She did commentary comedy and liked it
- Apple featured her and it "completely went to her head"
- She started pre-production for her album around that time
- Weekly vlogs were yet another way to detach herself from her core audience. "People didn't subscribe for weekly vlogs, they were here [for comedy.] There was a massive disconnect."
- The weekly vlogs were under performing, but she thought she was a serious musician and this was the right path for her, because serious musicians don't do traditional youtube
- The weekly vlogs killed her other content too, every time she uploaded she lost subs
- Recording her debut album changed her, "I became someone I didn't like, someone no one liked."
- She filmed a cooking video and got herself drunk, then continued drinking until she had a mental breakdown.
- She didn't tell anyone about what had happened.
- She put every penny she had into the album
- Is done with the album and has taken self care steps, wants to be more honest
- Despite what she claimed she is not the happiest she's ever been
- Has realised that the unwritten contract between her and her viewers has been broken and she has a few comedy videos lined up that she really likes.
thank youuuu <3
If I could thumbs up you I would. I was pretty much expecting that tbh, I do feel bad for Emma that she's trapped in this cycle; it makes me sad seeing this happen repeatedly. One of the worst for me was when she made videos with Dan (Hardcastle) and I love their chemistry, and she couldn't stick to it for a year. I wish that they'd made a side channel.

At the same time. I just can't keep on the Blackery roller coaster.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 7:58 am
by kavat
sparkle wrote: Mon Jun 11, 2018 8:19 pm
If I could thumbs up you I would. I was pretty much expecting that tbh, I do feel bad for Emma that she's trapped in this cycle; it makes me sad seeing this happen repeatedly. One of the worst for me was when she made videos with Dan (Hardcastle) and I love their chemistry, and she couldn't stick to it for a year. I wish that they'd made a side channel.

At the same time. I just can't keep on the Blackery roller coaster.
I agree with the bolded part. It was fun at first, but basically turning her whole channel into a year long collab project was maybe not the wisest decision. They got repetitive (Dan really doesn't like Zoella, we get it), boring and IMO pretty condescending towards the actual target audience of that book. I would love to see collabs between them again, but just not that concept.

I had the same problem with her vlogs. If she had put them on vloggery it probably would have been fine, but I didn't subscribe to her main channel for weekly vlogs (I recently unsubed from Louise for the same reason). And they were kind of the same every week.

Idk, I just want to give her a hug and say that she doesn't need to try so hard to do what other people are doing.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 10:10 am
by human
kavat wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 7:58 am Idk, I just want to give her a hug and say that she doesn't need to try so hard to do what other people are doing.
Agreed! I looked back at her videos like if social media sites dated and real period products commercials and laughed, she’s so naturally dry and funny. I miss that Emma. That’s a lot of pressure though to keep coming up with fresh ideas but as Dan has proven, if you can prove yourself, be consistent in your content personality and do something well then people will wait for it.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:21 pm
by sparkle
kavat wrote: Tue Jun 12, 2018 7:58 am
I agree with the bolded part. It was fun at first, but basically turning her whole channel into a year long collab project was maybe not the wisest decision. They got repetitive (Dan really doesn't like Zoella, we get it), boring and IMO pretty condescending towards the actual target audience of that book. I would love to see collabs between them again, but just not that concept.

I had the same problem with her vlogs. If she had put them on vloggery it probably would have been fine, but I didn't subscribe to her main channel for weekly vlogs (I recently unsubed from Louise for the same reason). And they were kind of the same every week.

Idk, I just want to give her a hug and say that she doesn't need to try so hard to do what other people are doing.
I do really like Dan though I like his sense of humour even though some jokes are a little overdone - I like it best when Dan and Emma play games together, especially because Dan is my favourite gaming YouTuber. Just, should've been on a side channel

I agree with you, she's naturally funny. But I dont know how many times she can recover from this tbh. Which is sad.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:42 am
by kavat
I know there's been a lot of critique of Emma here so I just want to balance that with highlighting this video that I really liked. As a Swede I laughed at her grammar and pronounciation but she honesty did a good job. I agree wiyh Joel at the end, she doesn't have to write bitchy songs.


Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:00 pm
by Birdie
I really wish she'd make more videos like this. It was genuinely entertaining, she seemed super nice and funny and if this was my first impression of Emma, I'd subscribe, I think. I'm back to the stage of starting to like her again. I wasn't a big fan of that video where she blamed Waterstone's for her book not selling well because it was classic Emma: Blaming someone else for her own failure, making misinformed accusations. I'm very glad she decided to delete that video bc she realised it wasn't a good look at all. (Now I just need The Rise and Fall to dissapear as well but I guess that one's here to stay.) I just wish she'd stick to entertaining videos for now. I realise she must have a lot on her mind and she's not in a good place but I really think she's going to ruin her own career for good if she keeps fucking up, especially so close to her album release.

Speaking of, what do you think of her new singles? I'm not a big fan of Agenda but I like Icarus well enough. I just think it's way overproduced but the lyrics and melody are really nice. Full disclosure, my favourite era of Emma music was the Magnetised EP. That folksy pop sound suited her voice so well and I feel like she should have stuck with it instead of going for "bitchy", new Taylor Swift style electro pop. It's just my opinion of course but I think it's a shame Icarus is so overproduced, that song could have been amazing with a lot less autotune and a more stripped down, acoustic sound.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2018 6:39 am
by kavat
I listened to the new album on my commute this morning and made some notes.

Villains Pt 1 - very Lorde with a Lana bridge . Proper radio pop! Makes me interested in what's to come.

Dirt - still a decent song, makes me snicker when I know what it's about. Good choice for a single.

Agenda - Why are they after each other? It's grown on me after not listening to it for a while. She really stepped up the production value since Magnetized.

Fake friends - The theme is a little on the nose. I can see the story from angry dirt/agenda to more accepting in this. Not super catchy.

Icarus - I somehow missed this release? I like the change in tempo. The chorus is a lot more mellow than expected, I kind of like that.

Take me out - One of my favourites of the singles, works great on it's own. I like the build up to the chorus.

Petty - oh my god get over it. Sorry but it's a bit tiring that they pretty much all have the same theme. At least this seems to be about someone else. Is this Follow me by Uncle Cracker? The drop is kind of cool.

Third eye - okay the intro is great. I like the 80s vibe. I can definitely put this on my dance playlist. Add this to your Sad Dancing list along with Robyn and Lorde.

What I felt - ooh here we go, I like this! The chorus is great. It could be a Troye song.

Burn the witch - This is the song where she admits her own faults and tries to learn. I respect that. The song is okay.

Villains pt 2 - how will she move on after this. Now she's the villain instead of the others. Sounds a bit like a Eurovision entry? Might be the scream singing. A good end to the album imo.

All in all a 7/10. Not on my Top 5 albums of 2018 but I will listen to it a few times and maybe see her on tour if I don't have other plans.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:59 pm
by Birdie
I just streamed her album and… it’s okay? I really like Villains pt. 1 and pt. 2 and I wish the whole album had been in this style. That’s personal taste on one hand of course, I just prefer darker pop music to the quirky, edgy stuff, but I also feel it would have gone way better with the theme of the album.

Other than that I think it’s all a bit bland. Like, the first few tracks after Villains pt. 1 all kind of blend together, they sound very alike and the similar theme just makes it worse. The only other standout besides Villains was Third Eye and I wish the album was a bit more musically diverse. Emma is talented and she works hard and a lot of her songwriting is actually so good and clever but the album is overproduced in my opinion which makes it bland and uninteresting.

There are some things that I find downright cringy, like “Fake Friends” sounds like something Taylor Swift wrote and didn’t like enough to record and I hate how Emma’s accent changes to make stuff rhyme. Idk, it’s like… Emma just doesn’t strike me as the popstar type. Her whole attitude just doesn’t align with radio pop and I wish she would have kept some of her actual edge in her music instead of going mainstream pop, it just seems so forced and clunky.

I’m personally also missing more slow songs. Even Icarus and What I Felt build up towards the end and there are no real ballads and no real tempo changes which can get a bit exhausting and I think that's why I feel like everything blends together. It's all very same-ish and I wish she had been a bit more experimental because I can actually listen to "Dirt" or "Fake Friends" or "Burn the Witch" on its own but I get bored listening to the album because it's all so similar.

Oh my god, wow, I didn’t mean to write an actual review but here we go. Idk, the album is okay but I think there is a lot of wasted potential, overall rating like… 5/10? I might listen to some of the songs on their own now and then but I don't see myself playing the whole album again, I can't really sit through it because the songs are too similar. I wish her all the best with the album and tour though.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:21 pm
by kavat
Katka wrote: Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:59 pm Idk, it’s like… Emma just doesn’t strike me as the popstar type. Her whole attitude just doesn’t align with radio pop and I wish she would have kept some of her actual edge in her music instead of going mainstream pop, it just seems so forced and clunky.
I get what you mean about her attitude. I'm perfectly fine with her doing mainstream pop though because I personally really don't like the kind of pop punk she did earlier. I think that she's trying to keep that edge through the lyrics and themes instead of the actual music, and I'm cool with that, it's just a little repetitive. The choice to go more mainstream in sound might be a way to appeal to a more mainstream audience which I also don't have a problem with. It's a lot more safe and sure way to become successful and there's no shame in that.

I don't really agree with you about it being over produced, I like the production on most of the songs and I think it fits the genre well (compared to Nothing with out you which to me sound like it was made in a few hours in someones bedroom). But this is her first real album and there is definitely room to grow. With the right team around her I think she could do pretty well.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:34 pm
by Birdie
The album is definitely well produced, very well made, but I feel like they produced all the kinks out that might have made it more interesting. :D This really bothered me on Icarus because you can hear the autotune so much and I just feel like the song might have been more interesting if it had been allowed to be less smooth. But this is obviously also a matter of taste and my opinion of her album is ofc completely subjective. I loved Emma's music best on the Magnetised EP because I felt like it was mainstream pop but with her own spin on it but that's just me.
kavat wrote:I get what you mean about her attitude. I'm perfectly fine with her doing mainstream pop though because I personally really don't like the kind of pop punk she did earlier. I think that she's trying to keep that edge through the lyrics and themes instead of the actual music, and I'm cool with that, it's just a little repetitive. The choice to go more mainstream in sound might be a way to appeal to a more mainstream audience which I also don't have a problem with. It's a lot more safe and sure way to become successful and there's no shame in that.
I agree! I just feel like the genre doesn't fit her but maybe that's just because I like her "old" (as in the Magnetised era) style better.

Re: Emma Blackery

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:35 pm
by kavat
I just got home from Emma's gig in Stockholm so I thought I'd write about it before I forget.

In short: It was a great show! She had fun, the crowd had fun, the lighting was really cool, thumbs up all around.

Sadly the venue was only maybe 1/3 filled. It was too bad the gig was moved, it was originally supposed to be at a bar with a smaller stage but then it would have to be 18+. This place was 13+ and they only sold sodas and light beer. Shame. Especially since, to my surprise, most people seemed to be 18+ anyway (though I'm quite bad at judging age). Because the crowd was so small the energy was a little lower but there were a few enthusiastic people that brought up the mood.

But Emma handled it really well, she kept good energy throughout the whole set which can be difficult when the crowd isn't the most exciting. The set was one hour including encore, it was mostly from Villains (as expected) and some older songs as well. I've never really been a fan of her pop punk music but they really impressed me live. Either she has worked on them or they just work better live, idk. I don't think she played anything from Magnetized though? Not sure why.

Favorites: Agenda was really fun, everyone was shouting out A-G-A-N-D-A-A-A-A and you could tell Emma loved that. Icarus was so good, it felt way more powerful than on the record and the lighting was really cool during it. And I'm really impressed with Villans pt II, she pulled through on those long notes! That's going to strain on her voice during tour, wow.

All in all I had a good time and I'm glad I went!