Platinum-selling artist Em Beihold has released her debut album Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter.
A bold and deeply personal body of work, Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter finds Beihold reckoning with identity, expectation, and the pressure to become everything at once. Across the album, she transforms self-doubt into sharp, cathartic pop, balancing vulnerability with wit in the way only she can.
“Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter is about trying to fit in all the roles in life that you think you are ‘supposed to,’ only to learn that forcing something to work that doesn’t fit your best interest actually holds you back.” Em shares. After ‘Numb Little Bug’I went through an extreme emotional whiplash, from experiencing success beyond my imagination to feeling like I lost my creativity—and therefore my purpose—entirely. It’s a story about coming back to myself in the form of pop, and after spending so long living inside this album, I’m really proud that it’s finally here. I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
Written in part during outpatient therapy and shaped by a return to the artists who first inspired her songwriting, the album looks at comparison, co-dependency, ambition, burnout, and self-reclamation. Where early success introduced Beihold to a global audience, Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter presents her most cohesive and fully realized statement to date.
We recently caught up with Em to talk about her new record where we asked about her role as a shapeshifer.
“After releasing “Numb Little Bug” in 2022 I had a lot of opportunities that were incredible, but since it was a song on the Hot AC radio it wasn’t really in line with who I wanted to be as an artist. ” She told us, “. It felt like a version of me that was manufactured to fit a certain role. I think also during this time I was aligning myself with people who weren’t right, because I was afraid to not have a community around me. I suffered from depression from being in these roles that didn’t feel like me. Though, at this point in my life I feel very much like myself.”
Beihold first broke through in 2022 with “Numb Little Bug,” her candid anthem inspired by her experience taking antidepressants. The single reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned platinum status, propelling her onto late-night television stages, international tours, and into the pop spotlight. With her debut album, she channels that momentum into a confident new chapter.
In celebration of the release, Beihold will embark on her most extensive global headline run yet. The Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter Tour kicks off May 11th in Dublin, a stop at UK’s The Great Escape Festival, followed by dates across Europe before launching the North American leg on May 24 at Mod Club in Toronto. The tour visits major markets coast to coast and concludes with a hometown show at the legendary Troubadour in Los Angeles on June 15.
Beihold has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold on the tour will go towards organizations protecting immigrant rights and supporting deportees, migrants and refugees. www.plus1.org
