Bursting with intimate passion, “A Little Bit” is a glistening drop of pristine, polished pop introducing ili (Emily Middlemas) as an up-and-coming musical force.
Listen: “A Little Bit” – ili
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Hailing from Glasgow, pop singer/songwriter Emily Middlemas is best known as an X Factor semi-finalist from 2016’s 13th series. Moving forward, she will be known by the name ili, an artist name whose journey begins today with her debut single. Independently out everywhere August 22, 2019, “A Little Bit” is an intimate and glistening drop of pristine, polished pop introducing ili as an up-and-coming musical force.
trying to play it cool
Not like I’d beeen looking at you
since we met in 2002
You never had a clue
at the start, out of your view
you had me sweat from 2002
I’m wondering if
I was that important to you
I really don’t want you
to think I’m falling for you
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering ili’s debut single “A Little Bit,” the dynamic first offering from ili, Emily Middlemas’ dynamic new identity. Pop yet rough around the edges, polished yet wholly authentic, ili’s musical passion channels itself into thoughtful and affecting bursts of stimulating sonic energy.
“As soon as I knew what direction I wanted to take musically, I really felt things around me as an artist just weren’t sitting right,” 20-year-old Emily Middlemas tells Atwood Magazine. “There is no exaggeration when I say, I locked myself in my studio for a full week trying to put my finger on what I felt in my heart was wrong, it all finally clicked. I needed to change everything: My look, my name, my styling, everything, to something I had envisioned in my head. I spent weeks drawing up mood boards, figuring out names, creating ideas for music videos, sketching out clothes and even actually making the clothes myself. I got together an incredible team around me and now, I have never felt this confident and comfortable in my own skin, with my career and as a person. I have finally found myself!”
I have never felt this confident and comfortable in my own skin, with my career and as a person. I have finally found myself!
Growing from a cool whisper into a lilting alto roar, ili lets loose in a chorus lush with the vulnerability of someone coming to terms with their emotions and relationships:
I love ya
just a drop, just a drop,
just a little bit;
can you deal with it?
A little bit.
“I wrote ‘A Little Bit’ at the start of 2018 with a very good friend of mine and a very talented producer, Gil Lewis,” ili tells Atwood Magazine. “It was the first song where I felt like, this is me, this is the kind of song I want the world to here from me. I have been writing ever since I was 9 years old and ‘a little bit’ to date is still one of my favourites, it’s just so fun but moody a the same time.”
The artist continues, “It’s all about growing up with your first crush. When you first discover those feeling for somebody, it’s really clumsy and you never know what to do at the start. You constantly try to play it cool when they are around but it never works out how you imagine it in your head. Growing up, I never actually had a lot of crushes, only 2 or 3 throughout all of high school; that’s even including celebrity crushes. So, it was a pretty unique feeling and a big deal for me when it came around! I think the chorus just explains everything in a nutshell, I would try to play hard to get and say ‘I love ya, but just a little bit’ and give it all away a few seconds after; ‘okay, I love ya a little bit more every day.’”
When I wrote this, I knew, I finally found myself.
A blistering alt-pop indulgence that shines with hard-earned self-knowing and confidence, “A Little Bit” comes from the heart in its portrayal of intimacy, vulnerability, and the act of falling for someone. Easily memorable with big, catchy melodies and ili’s lush, silvery vocal swoon, it’s a fitting beginning to a new era for Emily Middlemas and ili.
Stream “A Little Bit” exclusively on Atwood Magazine and stay tuned for more from ili as she prepares to release her forthcoming debut EP, Changes!
It’s time for a change, new beginnings and a whole new era.
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Listen: “A Little Bit” – ili
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