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Emery Kelly, a member of Sachem East High School’s class of 2016, stands on the precipice of releasing his full-length debut as an independent solo artist.
The 24-year-old who now resides in Los Angeles dropped his latest single and music video “Rebel Rebel,” last month. Earlier this year, he released a video for the introductory song to his upcoming album, “S.O.M.E.”
The story continues past the music video.
Kelly has been a presence in families’ living rooms around the country since before he graduated high school. In 2013, he broke threw the entertainment industry as a contestant on “X-Factor,” and was soon fused with Ricky Garcia and Liam Attridge to form the boy band Forever In Your Mind.
The Disney Channel sensation toured with the likes of Demi Lovato, Jesse McCartney and Fifth Harmony, while their singles racked tens of millions of views on YouTube.
Over the past several years, Kelly has grown from boy in a band to young man acting and exploring himself musically, releasing a handful of singles. In 2016, when a friend questioned Kelly’s greater artistic ambitions and aspirations, it spurred his journey of self-discovery as a solo artist and the phrase behind the album’s acronym.
Third time’s the charm
The phrase “Some Of My Emotions,” or “S.O.M.E.,” became Kelly’s vision these past six years. But the project’s execution has not been easy, as he took two detours navigating the long and winding road to unveiling his work.
“The album I’m putting out now, this is the third rendition of S.O.M.E.,” he said.
If this third time is the charm, Kelly will the release of “S.O.M.E.” in 2023. In the meantime, his fans can anticipate singles and videos coming down the pipeline.
“I have a whole lot of ideas in the bag,” he said. “I want to really open people’s eyes to what I can do with this project, even as an independent artist. It’s so hard to do, but I feel like it’s better for the long run.
“There’s a lot of stuff coming, be prepared for that, in 2023, even before 2023 in the next few month, lots of stuff is coming,” he continued. “I’ve been making music so long, so it’s just time to let it all out.”
Looking back on developing this project, Kelly highlighted producer D Phelps as one of the key inspirations that made this iteration of his album just right.
“He’s a different level of genius,” Kelly said of Phelps. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have been able to learn so many cool things, meet so many cool people, be thrown into the actual world of music. I felt like before this third album of S.O.M.E., I was still disconnected from the industry in a way.”
Emotional experience
When Kelly’s fans finally hear the album, which he describes as alternative with various other elements from hip-hop to reggaetón, he anticipates going on a roller coaster ride of emotions.
“[There are] emotions of feeling good, emotions of vibing out, just chilling,” he said. “They are like some sad songs. Every song is a different feeling, and when you listen to it all in one go, you get this whole experience of emotions.”
While Kelly said he received some positive feedback from those who watched or listened to “Rebel Rebel” or saw him perform in Los Angeles, he thinks fans will not simply enjoy his album, but experience it.
“I want them to feel like they just experienced something they haven’t experienced before. I want them to walk out from hearing this album finding a little piece more about themselves. [Could be] in a good, and sadly that could be in a bad way — something they are reflecting on, or in a more simplistic way, something they have to change.”
Top photo: Emery Kelly (Credit: Brandon Pavan).
