Emilia Ali – FIRST CONCERT EVER

In this First Concert Ever segment, the pop artist, Emilia Ali, talks about her first concert ever. You can check out the feature, after the break.

My mom was a touring singer-songwriter and my dad a drummer, so the first concerts I ever attended were theirs (either my mom’s solo gigs or my dad’s full band shows). Of course, I don’t remember this, but the first time I accompanied my mother to a show I was only seven weeks old. As I got older, I went from being backstage to hanging out in the audience, to sometimes even getting up on stage to dance or sing along (which scared the living hell out of my mom, I’m told). But I just didn’t understand the separation between audience and stage – I saw my mom up there, so I thought I belonged there too.

It didn’t become clear that music was my path too until I branched away from family. I had to sort of go out and find music on my own. My first big concert was Jamn 94.5’s Monster Jam in 6th grade. There I saw acts like J. Cole, Nicky Minaj, and T-pain (he SANG, let me tell you!!!). I was never exposed to many Hip Hop songs or 808 drums as a child, so when I discovered R&B on my own it was really enchanting, especially for a suburban white girl.

It took me a while to find the confidence to share my own voice because I’d grown up with such contrasting genres – but I’ve learned not to categorize or label too quickly. My music is inspired and influenced by a variety of sounds, and I hope to never stop experimenting!

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