Emmy Meli: The voice behind TikTok’s ‘I Am Woman’ movement [watch]

You might’ve heard her voice, but you probably don’t know her name. American singer-songwriter Emmy Meli is the incredible voice behind the self-love anthem I Am Woman, which sparked a heartwarming movement on TikTok. I Am Woman has seen thousands of women across the world create videos with the sound. 

WHO IS EMMY MELI?

Emmy Meli is a 21-year-old musician from Los Angeles, California who says she’s been singing since she was born. Her sound is inspired by her father’s love for artists like Amy Winehouse, Adele, Rihanna and the Temptations. 

On Amy Winehouse, Meli mentioned that the Valarie hitmaker was her best friend. 

Speaking to Variety she said: “I used to sit in my closet with my iPod Nano and listen to ‘Frank’ and ‘Back to Black’ on repeat. She literally raised me, she taught me how to sing.”

“I think because our vocal ranges are the exact same, like we’re both mezzo sopranos, it was just easy for me to sing. She was always so vulnerable and personal in her songs too, so it just became ingrained in the way I sing.”

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‘I AM WOMAN’

Meli posted a TikTok of herself singing her song I Am Woman on a random Tuesday night in October and went out to a bar with her friends afterward. When she woke up the next day, her friends called her telling her the video blew up. 

At the time she had just written the hook. “And then I was like, well f*ck. I have to write the rest of the song now,” she said. 

She explained that the hook came to her in a dream where a black cat was scratching her. “When I looked it up it said [that’s] indicative that you’re having trouble embracing your feminity and stepping into your personal power.”

“That kind of stuck with me and I just made these little mantras to say to myself every morning hence the ‘I am woman, I am fearless.’”

Meli’s I Am Woman has inspired thousands of women all over the world to create videos embracing their femininity. 

TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE VIDEOS HERE 

@glitterandlazers

Late to this trend, but still had to give it a go ????

♬ I AM WOMAN – Emmy Meli

@pewithmsali

It’s just the woman in me. ♥️ #iamwoman #BeYou

♬ I AM WOMAN – ❦ emmy meli ❦

@ishiniw

I am woman ????

♬ I AM WOMAN – ❦ emmy meli ❦

WHAT’S NEXT FOR EMMY MELI? 

Before I am Woman went viral, Meli was working two jobs. “Now I get to take a breath of fresh air and let out a sigh of relief knowing that I thankfully have a career ahead of me,” she told Texx and the City. 

She is currently signed to Disrupter Records, a division of Sony Music and is working on her debut album. 

‘While I Am Woman is an amazing song and is indicative of my talent, I have so much more to show.” 

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