‘Numb Little Bug’ Singer Em Beihold on Scoring a No. 1 Radio Hit and the ‘Double-Edged Sword’ That Is TikTok
16.08.2022 - 00:57
/ variety.com
Rachel Seo editorOn Aug. 6, Em Beihold’s “Numb Little Bug” hit No.
1 on the U.S. Adult Top 40 chart — nearly a year after the singer-songwriter posted a viral snippet of the song on TikTok, which racked up 7.1 million views and 1.6 million likes.
The song, which was inspired by Beihold’s experiences with antidepressants, has accumulated a slew of accolades since its official release in January: according to Luminate Data, it’s tallied 158 million on-demand streams to date, good for a platinum certification; and with an airplay audience of 771 million, reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.It’s an out-the-gate success for Moon Projects, the label launched backed by former TikTok exec Mary Rahmani, and an imprint of Republic Records.
And while industry perception of TikTok has shifted in that time — from added value to marketing must — the public has remained loyal to the platform. Ahead of Beihold’s performance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” tonight, the Los Angeles native spoke with Variety about the success of “Numb Little Bug,” appearing on the soundtrack for Billy Porter’s directorial debut “Anything’s Possible,” her label experience and the the challenges that come with the “TikTok artist” designation. What was your reaction when you found out that “Numb Little Bug” was a top song on the radio? I was just like, “There’s no way I can be above Lizzo and Harry Styles.” With a lot of stuff that’s happened with “Numb Little Bug,” it all happened so quickly that I normally don’t heavily react to things, but this one I did. Like this one, I started jumping up.
I was just, like freaking out.Back in May, Variety reported that Mary Rahmani was launching Moon Projects. You’re the first artist that she signed —
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