Saturday with EMMY: I am quite a shy person but I love music so much
Norwegian singer EMMY, will represent Ireland in this year’s Eurovision. Picture Andres Poveda
The time I get up on Saturdays at the moment can really vary as we prepare for the Eurovision. At the moment we are travelling a lot on Fridays to get to destinations for the Eurovision pre-parties on Saturday nights.
At the moment I am getting up at about 9am, but usually on a Saturday, I’d get up at around 11am.
If I’m on the pre-party circuit, the first thing I’ll do in the morning is have breakfast at the hotel – I love a good breakfast. I’ll choose a full Irish breakfast with eggs and bacon. If I’m at home, I’ll have cereal of some kind and a cup of tea.
Two years ago my boyfriend and I moved in together. We live in a university town in the countryside near the woods. I will go for a walk in the sun to make myself feel better about staying on the sofa for most of the day later on.
There’s a lovely river walk near my home. I have a new kitten – I’ve had rabbits, a bird and guinea pigs before but this is my first cat so I’ll play with her.
The football starts on TV. My favourite team is Norwich. I love watching football. I also have my own Fantasy Football League, which makes it even more exciting. I played football when I was younger but watching football and being a Norwich fan really comes from my dad.
I have a very close relationship with my family. They are my best friends. Both my parents and grandparents are musicians and songwriters so music has always been there, and I am so grateful for that. My dad used to play in a band and my mum used to do concerts and recordings as a child. My grandparents wrote songs for her and produced albums.
Sometimes I record content for social media on Saturdays, but usually I try to do all my content on weekdays so that I have free time at the weekend to relax, spend time with my boyfriend and watch football. Obviously things are a little different at the moment thanks to the Eurovision schedule.
I am so incredibly grateful to the Irish people for the love and support that they have shown us and the song. They have made me feel so welcome and included. We were so happy to get the public vote – it wouldn’t have felt the same without that.
My favourite part of the week is at 4pm on a Saturday when I will sit on the sofa, watch Norwich on the TV and have a big bowl of traditional Norwegian rice porridge.
At the moment, at that time of day, I could be in any city doing a soundcheck for that evening’s performance.
I am quite a shy person but I love music so much that when the music starts my brain understands that I am doing the thing I love and that I have to put myself out there. Even though I am very, very shy, when the music starts, it helps me to perform.
If I’m doing the Eurovision pre-parties I’ll be getting ready and getting dressed for the show later that night. I get very nervous and excited before a performance. I am afraid of doing something wrong like forgetting the lyrics or my voice cracking. We rehearse a lot, but if you think too much about the lyrics on stage you can actually forget them.. I’m working on muscle memory instead.
On the day of a performance, I try to keep my voice warm by doing vocal warm-ups, humming, going up and down in the scales and so on.
You’d think I’d do something else after spending the day watching football but usually I’ll just switch to Netflix. Saturday is a total chill out day for me.
Sometimes the events for Eurovision will go on till 12 or 1am and then there will be after-parties. It is quite a busy schedule. I love my sleep and that’s not happening on the weekends at the moment! It’s great to have my brother [keyboardist and co-writer of ‘Laika Party] travelling with me. We hung out together a lot as children but now we live hours apart so it’s great to be spending more time together because of Eurovision.
If I’m at home I’ll probably go to bed at around midnight. If I’ve been at an event, I often find it hard to get to sleep when I get home – I’ll find it hard to wind down.
I am so honoured and grateful to represent Ireland in the Eurovision –especially as the song was co-written by an Irish songwriter. My only goal is to do my best and to make Ireland proud.
- Norwegian singer EMMY, will represent Ireland in this year’s Eurovision with the song co-written by Irish singer-songwriter Larissa Tormey. EMMY will perform in the competition’s second semi-final on Thursday May 15 on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 8pm. The Eurovision Grand Final airs on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 8pm on Saturday May 17.
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