On The Row: Emily Ann Roberts Shares Her Story & Classic Country Style

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Emily Ann Roberts

Emily Ann Roberts has been singing for as long as she can remember. Born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, she recalls driving around with her father listening to bluegrass records and picking out the harmonies while in a carseat. Inspired by greats such as Ricky Skaggs, Patty Loveless and Dolly Parton, among others, Roberts mixes definitive country elements with her warm spirit to create a sweet and classic sound all her own.

From flaming tracks such as “He Set Her Off” to tunes about the simple life and adoring love songs like her latest release “Infinity,” out today (June 2), she covers the story-telling spectrum with the velvety twang of her vocals. Roberts recently visited MusicRow, accompanied by fiddle player Ivy Phillips, to share her work as well as her journey thus far.

Emily Ann Roberts with MusicRow‘s Sherod Robertson. Photo: Courtesy of MusicRow

She had a gig at a local Mexican restaurant for three years before she began performing for people across the nation on season nine of NBC’s The Voice as a member of Blake Shelton‘s team in 2015. Still in high school, Roberts made it all the way to the finals and finished as the season’s runner-up. She notes how grateful she is for the experience and the knowledge she gained from it, as it was her first taste of the music business.

“I hadn’t had any vocal training before I went on The Voice, and there was a vocal coach [we worked with] on my season, so I learned a lot from her,” said Roberts. She continued, “All the songs I sang on the show were old country and Blake loved that.

“He [told] me ‘You’ve got to do what feels real to you, that’s the only thing people are going to believe.’ He was so encouraging and told me time and time again how much he believed in me. He’s so down-to-earth and that was good for me to see. If I ever have a bunch of hit songs on the radio, I hope I treat other people the way he treats them.”

During the season’s finale, Roberts got the chance to sing “Country Boy” with one of her musical influences Skaggs, who will make a special appearance on her forthcoming project along with country icon Vince Gill.

After the show wrapped, Roberts graduated and made her way to Music City in the summer of 2016. She signed with Starstruck Management and began writing. Roberts since has graced the Grand Ole Opry stage 16 times and recently expanded her team by signing with UTA. Working alongside co-writers and producer Trent Willmon, she is currently prepping to release her first full-length album.

The collection will feature previously released single “He Set Her Off,” a riotous tune about a scorned wife seeking revenge. Roberts is an honorary member of a volunteer fire department in Seymour, Tennessee and was able to actually burn a vacant house down as part of a training fire while filming the song’s music video.

Also included in the new project is “Whole Lotta Little,” which the artist co-wrote with Willmon and Jeremy Spillman. The catchy number centers around the joy of life’s little things, and talks about being happy with what you’ve got and where you are.

Following the October release of “Whole Lotta Little,” she shared an additional single set to appear on the record, “The Building”. As the music video takes place in the “Mother Church of Country Music,” the touching tune describes the personal impact Roberts’ hometown church has had on her and her family. She wrote the song with Michael Farren, who had similar relationship with his church growing up. Unbeknownst to Roberts at the time of writing, her church was set to celebrate its 100th anniversary the same year, and she was able to perform it for the congression during the celebration.

“If I had to pick a song that meant the most to me, [that] one would be up there [near the top],” she states.

Roberts has now unveiled another album track, “Infinity.” She wrote the soothing, devoted song with Stephanie Chapman about her high school sweetheart and husband Chris.

“This was the first time Stephanie and I were writing one on one. It was just us, and right away we started with girl talk. She asked me if I had a boyfriend. I said yes. She asked, ‘Well, is he the one?’ When I told her he was, she wanted to know how I knew. I said that forever doesn’t seem like long enough to love him. And from there, this song came to us. I sang it for my sister’s first dance at her wedding, then at mine, the string quartet played this for me to walk down the aisle. My husband is so humble, but he was definitely the inspiration. We met in Spanish class in high school and we’ve been together ever since. He is such a steady force in my life. He truly is my better half and my best friend. When you find your person, forever just doesn’t feel like long enough,” shares Roberts.

Additionally, the vibrant southern belle will kick off CMA Fest with a full-band performance at Station Inn on Wednesday, June 7 at 8 p.m. She’ll then take the Hard Rock Stage at the Hard Rock Cafe at 10:55 a.m. on Thursday, June 8 for a free outdoor show.

Liza Anderson
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