Wipe away the tears and get ready to dance as Emma Brooke releases her debut single “If You’ve Ever Had a Broken Heart.” After several years of writing songs in Nashville, Emma embarks on her own journey, kickstarting a singing career of her own. With her song “If You’ve Ever had a Broken Heart,” Emma will get you up on your feet dancing, reminiscing of old times, and remind you that those times made you a stronger person.
Opening with a catchy guitar loop, Emma starts off the song describing feelings of those who lie about being able to relate to the pain and heart ache you are feeling. Building up into the first chorus, ethereal synths play while a catchy acoustic guitar pattern is strummed, while Emma sings, describing how the person who says they know what it’s like to have a broken heart doesn’t. The chorus sings “never had to go back to the start, put the pieces together, fought to come back better, baby, if you ever knew what it was like, you wouldn’t have been so reckless with mine, if you ever had a broken heart.”
Immediately after the first chorus, a clean drum beat brings the song to its full legs of life, taking you up onto your feet, almost getting you to close your eyes dance around your bedroom. Later into the track the drum beat slightly switches, breathing even more soul into the song once it hits the second chorus.
The bridge is short, but I strongly believe this is the part of the song that really shines the most and pulls the entire track together. “Maybe you feel, maybe you don’t, but you would have never let me fall in love alone.” This lyric stood out to me the most, relating myself to past experiences where this part of the song would have been perfect for those hard times.
I had the wonderful change to interview Emma regarding her new single and music career!
This is your first single! That is exciting! What are you feeling now that the song is being released?
Thank you! I’ve been trying to find the right words for how I feel. I’d say I feel excited, peaceful, grateful, and relieved. This journey has been a long one and it’s surreal that people are actually able to listen to the final result!
What drew or inspired you to start creating music?
Singing was my first love, and I do remember writing pieces of songs naturally as I was growing up. However, it wasn’t until I was 15 and in love with a boy that full songs started taking shape. That’s when I began truly expressing myself through writing, which was consequential because, at that point, I mostly bottled up how I felt. Since then, I’ve written about basically any feeling or experience I’ve found compelling.
Was there any place you drew inspiration for the track? Lyrics? Beat?
I was in a big Bee Gees mood in 2021 when I wrote “If You Ever.” My mom is a ‘70s baby, so I grew up on a lot of music from that time. I think listening to them helped me reconnect with that classic essence. When we started recording the song, I knew I wanted the beat to be ‘four on the floor.’ I later heard “Working My Way Back to You” by The Spinners for the first time in a while and texted it to my amazing co-producer, Frank Maroney. I was like, “Whatever is happening here, let’s do this!” “Jolene” by Dolly Parton and “Adventure of a Lifetime” by Coldplay also came up during our pre-production conversations.
Who are some artists in the industry that you look up to?
Tori Kelly comes to mind! Her insane talent aside, I love that in a few of her songs she talks about how the industry hasn’t gotten to her and how she’s remained rooted in who she is.
How do you begin writing a song? Do you start with the instrumental, or do you work up with the lyrics then continue into an instrumental?
Honestly, most of the time, the lyrics come with a piece of the melody that sets the tone for the rest of the song, and then I just follow that. If not, I work with whatever comes first! If music comes first, I wonder what it would be saying. If lyrics come first, I wonder what the emotion of the lyrics would sound like.
What was your favourite part about creating this song?
Ahhh that’s a really hard question for me. If I have to pick one favorite part, it’s probably singing it. “If You Ever” challenges me. There’s not a lot of room to breathe in the chorus, the melody is at the top of my chest voice range, and it switches back and forth between the F natural and harmonic scales. I remember recording the background vocals at Frank’s home studio. Harmonies usually come easily to me, but this time I really had to pause and visualize the notes. I was proud to have written a melody that felt a bit tricky to follow!
The track is amazing and makes you want to dance through the pain, do you have more tracks in mind? Perhaps another single, EP or maybe even an album planned?
That’s exactly what I was going for! And yes, I do have another single planned—more sassy and soulful, with another challenging vocal. There’s no release date just yet, but I’m imagining late this summer or early fall.
What is your overall goal that you want to achieve with your music while releasing it to the public?
My goals are simple: God has given me a gift, and I want to use it! Another goal is to be honest. I’m very human. In this particular song, I’m the one getting hurt, but I’ve certainly hurt people as well. I make mistakes. Some of my songs are confessions, and it’s healing to share them. I have an old, unreleased song called “Jealous.” Is that a ‘pretty’ feeling? No. Yet it was one of my favorite songs to perform because of the vulnerability.
If you were to go on tour, where would your dream city to play be, and why?
My first thought is Nashville. I lived there for eight years and haven’t been back in two. They really celebrate songs. Playing at the Bluebird Cafe for the first time was one of the best nights of my life. I’d love to come back refreshed and do that again.
Finally, where do you see yourself in 10 years from now with your music? Are there larger goals on the horizon, or are you letting the journey take you as it goes along?
No specifics, really, but like I said, I write what I live, and I hope to be writing and releasing songs about whatever I may be doing in 10 years.
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Emma Brooke created an outstanding track with “If You’ve Ever Had A Broken Heart.” The song is out now, and can be streamed below on Spotify. She is an artist that I will definitely be keeping on my radar, and I think you should too! I’m ecstatic to see where she is going next with her music as Emma Brooke proves in her debut single alone, that she is about to create a lyrically beautiful song.
You can stream "If You've Ever Had A Broken Heart" below on Spotify:
