Interview: Aimeé discusses her upcoming debut EP

Aimeé is a master of honest pop anthems. The rising star's catchy melodies are intertwined with powerful messages and vulnerability, bringing an important dose of substance to the genre. Within the few singles she's released so far, she's tackled topics from loss to women's empowerment. Debut EP Confession is her official introduction to the music industry, and she wants to make sure the world knows exactly who she is.

“I was picturing listeners being people that have never heard of me, they don't know who I am. They don't know anything about my music, so I wanted to have a little bit of everything in there, to open up about some personal things so they can get to know me.”

She and her team knew that Confession would only be 5 songs long, but they wrote 15, just so they’d have enough to pick and choose from to curate the strongest body of work. But once they finished the EP, Aimeé spontaneously wrote a new song that everyone loved, lead single ‘What My Mama Gave Me.’ Dedicated to her late mother, it’s the track she’s most excited to share with the world.

“I used to always say, ‘Mam, I'm gonna write you a song one day.’ And she'd just say, ‘Well, if you're writing about me, just make sure I can dance to it.’ That’s where the inspiration came from, I was trying to picture her actually dancing to it in the kitchen,” she says. “It's about just having that one role model in your life that, if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't be who you are.”

Music helped her open up about her mother’s passing. The emotions she buried finally reached the surface when she wrote the track ‘I’m Ok’.

“Normally when I'm upset over things, I just dive myself into work to try and keep myself distracted. When I was writing ‘I’m Ok’, it was the very first time that I opened up and started talking about it. It honestly just felt like a therapy session. And I remember after the session being like, 'Shit, was that a bit too emotional? Should I go back and redo it?’ And my producer was like ‘No, absolutely not’.”

Her rawness struck a chord with listeners, whose support immediately poured in upon the song’s release.

“The day that I released the video, it was so strange and so nice at the same time. So many people sent me pictures of them crying. Pictures with mascara running down their face, just crying because it just really hit them. I felt so much closer to my followers.”

Aimeés love for honesty and vulnerability reflects a growing movement throughout the industry of artists opening up about their mental health. As someone who felt the isolation of struggling in secret as a child, she welcomes the newfound openness.

“A lot of the songs I wrote as a kid used to be about feeling confused, because anxiety wasn't really known when I was a kid. The doctors used to think I had asthma and I knew I didn't have fucking asthma. I remember really struggling, but not having anybody to listen to or anybody that related to me, so I used to feel really alone,” she remembers. “But now artists are being more vulnerable. I think it’s helping a lot of people.”

Confession will be released on Friday, March 27.