Emily Warren, a singer-songwriter, is breaking out in the music industry working with big name acts like Fifth Harmony, Shawn Mendez and The Chainsmokers. She has already won a Grammy. (Matt Gibson/The Daily Campus)
Sometimes, you’ll find really talented artists living behind the lyrics of a song. Most times, you’ll never even know they’re there. Luckily for singer-songwriter Emily Warren, she has been breaking out in the music industry and letting us hear her voice. She may not have any songs as a solo artist, but she was already awarded a Grammy.
Warren was raised in Manhattan. During high school, she performed with a band called The Betters; together they were known as Emily Warren & The Betters. When the band eventually went their separate ways, Warren was signed to Dr. Luke’s label, Prescription Songs, as a songwriter in 2013.
Warren got right down to business. Her earliest songwriting credit is for Krewella’s 2013 song “Pass The Love Around.” Warren continued to co-write songs throughout 2014. “Masterpiece” by Jessie J was born, in part, from Warren’s mind, along with various songs by Karmin, Nick & Knight and Niykee Heaton.
Then, 2015 came around and Warren decided not only to share her voice with the world, but also to start working with bigger names in the industry. She had a hand in “Them Girls Be Like” on Fifth Harmony’s debut album “Reflection,” “Whistle (While You Work It)” by Katy Tiz, several songs off of Shawn Mendes’ album “Handwritten,” Melanie Martinez’s hit song “Soap” and “Safety Pin” by 5 Seconds Of Summer, just to name a few.
To round out her year, Emily Warren collaborated with Grammy Award-winning DJ duo The Chainsmokers in their song “Until You Were Gone” off of their debut EP, “Bouquet.” Not only did she help write this hit, but she was also featured as a vocalist. And so, she upgraded from writing songs to also performing them.
Enter 2016, and Warren continued full steam ahead. She helped write “The Right Song” by DJs Tiësto and Oliver Heldens. She then came out strong with her Grammy Award-winning song, “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers, featuring vocals from 18-year-old singer Daya. Other songwriting credits that year included “Jump” and “I Don’t Wanna Know” on Astrid S’s debut EP and “No Lie” by Sean Paul and Dua Lipa.
Warren joined forces with pop-duo Frenship to write “Capsize,” on which she was also a lead vocalist. “Capsize” currently has over 343 million streams on Spotify. She also collaborated with DJ duo Lost Kings as a featured vocalist and co-writer on their song “Phone Down,” which has been streamed over 13 million times.
Even in 2017, Warren is nowhere near done. As an uncredited vocalist, she sang with Drew Taggart in The Chainsmokers’ top 10 hit “Paris,” which boasts over 292 million streams. Today, The Chainsmokers’ album has dropped and credits Warren with writing four out of the 12 songs, for two of which—“Don’t Say” and “My Type”—include her vocals.
It’s all we can do to just sit here and twiddle our thumbs until Emily Warren releases her debut single. She has proven over and over again that she’s more than capable of writing hit songs and also performing them with ease. There is no doubt in my mind that if she wanted her own solo career, she could easily have one. I just wish she would make us all happy and put her talents to even better use.
Spotlight Song: “Capsize”
Ryan Amato is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at ryan.amato@uconn.edu.
