Emily West
Emily West | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Emily Marie Nemmers[1] |
| Born | July 9, 1981[2] |
| Origin | Waterloo, Iowa,United States |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Capitol Nashville Sony Masterworks |
| Website | Emily West Music |
Emily Marie Nemmers(born July 9, 1981) is an American music artist, who performs and records under the nameEmily West.Signed toCapitol RecordsNashville, she debuted onBillboard'sHot Country Songscharts in early 2008 with the single "Rocks in Your Shoes". This song peaked at No. 39 early in the year, and is the first single from a self-titled EP. She entered the country charts a second time with "Blue Sky", a duet withKeith Urban,in 2010.
In 2012, West guest-starred inBody of Proof. In 2014, she competed onthe 9th seasonofAmerica's Got Talent,where she finished as the runner up to magicianMat Franco.Since her success on the show, West has toured extensively throughout the United States, first with herone-woman showand then with America's Got Talent Live: The All-Stars Tour!
Early life
[edit]West, the youngest of four children, was born inWaterloo, Iowa.In July 1994 her parents took her to Bird-On-Fire Recording Studio in West Union, Iowa where studio owner Doug Koempel worked with her producing four demos: "Sweet Dreams", "Piece Of My Heart", "Higher Love" and "Me And Bobby McGee." She moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2000 following her graduation fromWaterloo West High Schoolin hopes of achieving her goals of becoming a country music singer.[3]West soon signed a deal with a publishing company in Nashville, Warner-Chapell. West was then signed to Capitol Records Nashville when producer Mike Dungan listened to her demo tapes.[4]One of her first appearances was as a background vocalist onChely Wright's 2005 albumThe Metropolitan Hotel.[5]
Career
[edit]2007–2012: Music and television
[edit]Capitol released a self-titled EP December 11, 2007, to theiTunesmusic store. In early 2008, West was featured inPeoplemagazine and completed a media tour for her debut single, "Rocks in Your Shoes".[6]"Rocks in Your Shoes" peaked in the Top 40 on theBillboardHot Country Songschart in early 2008. A second single, "That Kind of Happy" was released in April 2009 and failed to enter the chart.
West appeared onAre You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?on September 25, 2009, winning $25,000. In January 2010, West released a duet with labelmateKeith Urbantitled "Blue Sky." The song debuted at No. 53 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the week of February 23, 2010. Roughstock gave the song 4½ stars out of 5, stating that"'Blue Sky' is already a contender for one of 2010's best singles. "[7]It spent thirteen weeks on the charts and peaked at No. 38.
Emily appeared in the April 18, 2010, episode ofCelebrity Apprentice,as the "music make-over" target for the women's team led byCyndi Lauper.Lauper won the challenge and as a result West donated 100% of the first month ofiTunessales of her song "Blue Sky" to the Stonewall Community Foundation, Lauper's charity.
She appeared in the January 10, 2012 "Shades of Blue" episode onBody of Proofon ABC. She played a drug addict trying to make it in the music business. She sings her single "Head On" at the end of the episode: Season 2 episode 12 in "Body of Proof." She shows herself to be a terrific actress & singer.
2014–present:America's Got Talent
[edit]In 2014, West competed onthe 9th seasonofAmerica's Got Talent,advancing to the finals.[8]She finished in second place.
Shortly after the show ended, West signed a record deal withSony Masterworks,and released a two-track single on December 2, 2014;[9][10]
On April 6, 2015, the first single, called "Bitter", off her upcoming album "All For You" was released, and the album was released in August 2015.[11]
Performances and results
[edit]| Episode | Theme | Song choice | Original artist | Order | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Auditioner's Choice | "Sea of Love" | Phil Phillips | N/A | Advanced |
| Judgement Week | N/A | "You Got It" | Roy Orbison | N/A | Advanced |
| Top 48 | Quarter-finals | "Chandelier" | Sia | 9 | Advanced |
| Top 24 | Semi-finals, Part 1 | "Who Wants to Live Forever" | Queen | 12 | Advanced |
| Top 12 | Top 12 | "Nights in White Satin" | The Moody Blues | 10 | Advanced |
| Finals | Breakthrough Performance Brand New Choice |
"Chandelier" "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" |
Sia Roberta Flack |
3 12 |
Runner-up |
Discography
[edit]Studio albums
[edit]| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Heat | ||
| All for You |
|
188 | 2 |
Extended plays
[edit]| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Heat | US Indie | US Folk | ||
| Emily West |
|
— | — | — | — |
| I Hate You, I Love You |
|
41 | 9 | 41 | 7 |
| Rocket Science |
|
— | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Singles
[edit]| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Bubbling [12] |
CAN | |||
| 2008 | "Rocks in Your Shoes" | 39 | — | — | Emily West(EP) |
| 2009 | "That Kind of Happy" | — | — | — | — |
| 2010 | "Blue Sky"(withKeith Urban) | 38 | 4 | 97 | |
| 2012 | "Cross My Heart" | — | — | — | GCB:Music from Season One |
| 2014 | "Made for the Radio" | — | — | — | — |
| "Wonderful Things" | — | — | — | ||
| "Chandelier" | — | — | — | All for You | |
| "Santa Baby" | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Music videos
[edit]| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Rocks in Your Shoes"(road video) | |
| "Rocks in Your Shoes" | Stephen Shepherd | |
| 2009 | "O Holy Night" | |
| 2010 | "Blue Sky" | |
| 2014 | "Chandelier" | |
| 2015 | "Bitter" | |
| 2017 | "Symphonies" | |
| "Don't Ever Go To Paris When You're Lonely" |
References
[edit]- ^"Let's Do This Thing Lyrics".Lyrics.net.RetrievedJune 17,2015.
- ^"Birthdays".Country Weekly.17(28): 58.
- ^Neal, Chris (April 2, 2008). "Who's New: Emily West".Country Weekly.15(8): 13.
- ^"Emily West Biography".Capitol Records Nashville.RetrievedApril 4,2008.
- ^The Metropolitan Hotel(Media notes). Chely Wright. Dualtone Records. 2005. 80302-01200-2.
{{cite AV media notes}}:CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^"2 Music Geeks' Podcast 13: Lucky—Featuring Emily West".www.2musicgeeks.com.RetrievedMay 12,2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^Emily West (Featuring Keith Urban) – "Blue Sky"ArchivedMarch 28, 2010, at theWayback Machine,By: Matt Bjorke, Last Updated: March 23, 2010, Roughstock
- ^Simmer, Alan."West through toTalentfinals ",Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, September 11, 2014
- ^Thompson, Gayle (November 10, 2014)."Emily West Signs New Record Deal, Plans Digital Release".The Boot.RetrievedNovember 23,2014.
- ^Betts, Stephen L. (October 30, 2014)."Emily West Inks Label Deal for New Album".Rolling Stone.RetrievedNovember 23,2014.
- ^Betts, Stephen (April 6, 2015)."Hear Emily West's Empowering New Single 'Bitter'".Rolling Stone.RetrievedAugust 12,2015.
- ^Whitburn, Joel (2011).Top Pop Singles 1955–2010.Record Research, Inc. p. 962.ISBN978-0-89820-188-8.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1981 births
- 21st-century American singer-songwriters
- Living people
- American women country singers
- American country singer-songwriters
- Capitol Records artists
- People from Waterloo, Iowa
- America's Got Talent contestants
- 21st-century American women singers
- Country musicians from Iowa
- Singer-songwriters from Iowa