Her First Love for Music
By: Martha Terrell
As I sat waiting at the Melting Point Thursday night I was not sure what to expect. The crowd was buzzing with excitement waiting for Emily Hearn to take the stage, but I was a bit skeptical. When 8:45 finally came, Hearn, charming and bubbly, waltzed onto the stage to an eager crowd. Hearn's infectious personality was apparent from the beginning, and I couldn't help but love her. She covered songs from The Cranberries, Avril Lavigne, and Foo Fighters which were all popular with the audience. While she performed many of her own songs, the covers were the highlight of her set.
21-year-old Hearn, a former University of Georgia student, began writing songs her freshman year after a bad break-up that led her to perform her first live show. Ultimately, she discovered her true love, music. After leaving school to pursue music full-time Hearn has released her first indie-pop album, “Red Balloon,” and recorded her first music video, “Rooftops,” which includes an appearance by actor Bill Murray.
As the show began Hearn opened with an upbeat song titled “Not the One,” which describes being tempted by a forbidden love. These catchy beats continued through the next couple of songs, but as the upbeat songs began to sound monotonous Hearn saved the performance by covering The Cranberries' song “Linger.” With the same easy flowing style of The Cranberries, Hearn sang “Linger” in an almost identical version to the original. Covering a song is not always an easy feat but it was impressive to hear a young artist sound so professional.
The next set of original songs were slower and gave a nice break from the bouncy rhythms at the beginning. One of my personal favorites, “Fall,” displayed Hearn's vocal talent starting with a lower range in the verses and leading to a higher range in the chorus. “Alone in This City,” an honest and raw song, showed Hearn's ability to put more emotion into her songs. The toned down set lulled the audience into a reflective state, but not for long because soon Hearn was back to more upbeat songs giving the audience a burst of energy. I even found myself ready for those catchy tunes that make me tap my feet and bounce in my seat.
The lyrics of Hearn's songs are honest and true, giving the audience something to relate to. A large portion of the audience appeared to be college-aged women, many of them singing along already familiar with the lyrics.
With her ability to strum the guitar while singing her own lyrics to a small dedicated fan base, Hearn has potential. As she announced “If you know this song then sing along” she proceeded into a cover of Avril Lavigne's “Complicated.” The crowd loved every minute singing along to all the words. Hearn's rendition was a slightly slower acoustic version but was a crowd-pleaser. Her take on the hit song was sincere and a breath of fresh air. Hearn even showed a bit of her rocker side when she performed a cover of “Best of You” by Foo Fighters. “Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you,” she screamed out at just the right moment giving the crowd a boost as the end of the show neared.
Hearn concluded the night with “Rooftops,” an original catchy, upbeat song. And as the show came to an end she left the crowd wanting more. By the end of the show my skepticism that this may not be my type of music, turned to surety that Hearn can put on a great show. Hearn showed she is truly versatile with her covers and her indie pop sound. She can cover many genres with her voice and talents. As she grows, her sound is sure to evolve and capture a larger fan base.
"I Can't Read Your Mind"
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