“Your Fave Half Asian Singin Cowboy” Emerson Chance Is TikTok’s New Obsession
This is an interview done with Chance Emerson, read her story below! If you, or anyone you know, would like to be highlighted in The Zillennial Zine, shoot us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com or DM us on Instagram!
Q: Tell us your story! Where did you begin and how did you reach the caliber you’re currently at?
A: I grew up in Hong Kong and Taiwan and was a very loud child. I sang on the school bus, in class, in the shower, and before falling asleep. Honestly, I probably would have hated me as a child. I’m lucky to have had my wonderful parents cultivate that interest instead of gagging me to protect their ears. I learned piano and violin from a young age and started with guitar when I was 11. From there, I started playing covers in talent shows until I finally decided to start writing my own music. At 17, I put out my first EP that I recorded with a close friend in the attic of a music building. When I was 20, I put out my first album and started studying computer science and archaeology at college. Now I’m 22, still pretty loud, slightly better at software engineering, and I have more music on the way that I think is dramatically better and more mature than anything I’ve put out before.
Q: What makes you love what you do? How long have you been making music? Would you call it your passion?
A: I think I’ve always loved being on stage. I used to be in school musicals all the time and I remember once busking in Southern Taiwan as a 9 year old. I’m not so sure where it started but music has definitely been my passion for as long as I can remember.
Q: What are some accomplishments or milestones you’ve reached lately?
A: I hit 80,000 monthly listeners on Spotify for the first time! I also passed my computer science exam after spending two weeks on the road skipping class to tour the East Coast with Blues Traveler.
Q: Tell us about “house we share”!!
A: House We Share is about what happens to a house when two people in love are living in it. I had just moved into a little cabin in the woods of Maine with my first long term partner and I noticed all these little things I was doing differently: the wood in the fireplace was stacked neatly, the houseplants were thriving (shockingly) and there was a kind of joyful honeymoon energy imbued in even the dust floating through the air in the early mornings. I looked back on that experience this year in my (literal) pink-tinted glasses and started writing House We Share. A month later I returned to that cabin with my closest friend Jack, and we recorded a 12-string guitar in the living room and sampled the attic’s acoustics for the song’s ambient textures. Jack produced the song later that day. They are some of the most honest lyrics I’ve ever written.
Q: Do you have any advice for someone who is starting out in the music industry?
A: Nobody will work as hard on yourself as you will.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: I’m always hoping to play more shows, so let me know if you have an idea on somewhere I should come play!
Go Check Out Chance Emerson!
TikTok: @chanceeey
Instagram: @chance.s.emerson
Spotify: Chance Emerson