On October 19, 2021, 22-year-old singer-songwriter Emmy Meli posted a 44-second video on TikTok that would go on to impact the confidence of Gen Z women everywhere. Since she recorded that raw version of her unreleased song “I Am Woman” in October, 33.3 million people have watched it, and she recorded and released the song on Spotify, where she’s reached 11.9 million monthly listeners, all while starting a movement for women looking to love themselves. She’s keeping this momentum going into 2022: On January 20, Emmy released an official performance video of the hit song sporting iconic knee-high orange boots and a fierce confidence, and has also been posting teasers to a potential new release called “Dead n Gone.”
If you haven’t heard of Emmy and “I Am Woman,” first of all, where have you been? “I Am Woman” is the perfect song for any woman trying to get in touch with her inner divine femininity and a stepping stone to achieving the self-love we all deserve. It allows women to be unapologetic in their confidence and to understand that being a woman is something to celebrate, no matter what womanhood looks like for you.
All Emmy has ever wanted to do is compose. Growing up in a house full of music, her childhood journals were always full of potential songs. “My family found all my old journals full of little songs — they were not that good, but it just showed that I’ve always done music. It’s always been this,” Emmy tells Her Campus. Participating in musical theater, show choir and voice lessons throughout her childhood and high school, she put the pedal to the metal and devoted her life to composing her own music and developing her “sound.” “All that stuff definitely prepared me for performing and having the vocal stamina and technique to control my voice, but once I broke away from all that, I started finding my style,” she says. Known as “The 2021 Amy Winehouse” by her TikTok followers, Emmy listened to a lot of Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lauryn Hill, and even Motown in order to develop her unique style, which shines through in “I Am Woman.”
“The lyrics of ‘I Am Woman’ are really just mantras I was saying to myself every day. Then I picked out my favorite qualities about myself.”
The idea for “I Am Woman” came to Emmy in a dream. “I am a huge believer in paying attention to your dreams. I think our dreams hold a lot of super important information because your subconscious mind is the most raw and authentic root of your thoughts,” she says, adding that she keeps a dream journal. “I dreamed that there was this beautiful little black cat that kept walking up to me, but when I tried to pick her up, she would scratch me.” She immediately knew that dream meant something because she remembered every aspect of it the next morning.
After researching the meaning of a black cat scratching you in a dream, Emmy learned that her subconscious was trying to motivate her to invest more time into self-love. “The dream meant that I was having trouble embracing my femininity and embracing the power that I have inside of me as a woman. I wasn’t appreciating what it was like to be me, which is so accurate, because I struggle with PCOS,” Emmy says.
PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) is a hormonal disorder that may cause infrequent menstrual periods or an increase in male hormone levels. After a long journey of clearing her skin and understanding her body, Emmy took the advice hidden in her dream and is now in tune with her physicality — giving herself the appreciation she deserves. Receiving that affirmation from her mind through her dream, Emmy knew a part of her daily routine needed to change. She then found an appreciation for affirmations and manifesting your dream life.
“I wanted the cover art to be a voice for the voiceless.”
One day when she was jamming at rehearsal with her band, Emmy’s two guitarists were playing a melody that she found herself really connected to. She quickly started singing the intentions that would become the lyrics of her affirmation song. “The lyrics of ‘I Am Woman’ are really just mantras I was saying to myself every day. Then I picked out my favorite qualities about myself,” Emmy says. The lyrics “I am feminine, I am masculine, I am anything I want” came from finding beauty within her struggles with PCOS.
After looking up a basic beat on YouTube, Emmy posted the song on TikTok, inspired by the relatability within the message. “They’re definitely the most simple lyrics I’ve ever written, because they weren’t meant to be lyrics. My mantras just happened to get translated into music. This song is really just about how it makes you feel by yourself,” said Emmy.
Once people started identifying with the message behind “I Am Woman,” Emmy knew her platform had power, and was aware of the effect this song had on her own mental health. “I’ve struggled so much with letting people walk on me, and not standing up for myself and not really seeing how I deserve to be treated,” Emmy tells Her Campus.
Seeing powerful women identifying with her lyrics and showcasing their emotional beauty through her song, Emmy was inspired to create an album cover that expressed how difficult it is to be a woman in today’s society. What better way to display what her song is about, than to show the emotion that is so easily disguised by the physical beauty of a woman? “I wanted the cover art to be a voice for the voiceless,” she explains.
“As a cis woman, the least I can do is make my music inclusive. You can’t gatekeep music — music doesn’t have a gender.”
By using red paint and writing phrases like “I am nothing, I am everything,” “I wish I was normal,” “I wish I was skinny,” and “how can I tell him that he ruined my mind,” Emmy wanted to symbolize the blood that has been shed from women since the beginning of time. “All the blood that has been shed from women, women in the trans community and the LGBTQIA+ community — it’s just been a whirlwind for women specifically over the last 10 years,” says Emmy. Acknowledging women’s struggles is not an easy topic to touch on, but “somebody has to do it,” Emmy tells Her Campus.
Five months after her song was first shared to TikTok, “I Am Woman” is still connecting with strong women — encouraging them to embrace their struggles and grow. After “I Am Woman” was first shared on TikTok, some people criticized Emmy for not making the song more universal by using non-gendered terms like “I Am Human” instead of “I Am Woman.” In response to the comments and followers, Emmy posted “I Am Human,” which included the same lyrics. Most people were excited to see a version for people in the nonbinary community, but some comments made Emmy disappointed. Women in Emmy’s comments were frustrated, lamenting that “women can’t have anything.”
“As a cis woman, the least I can do is make my music inclusive,” she argues. “‘I Am Human’’ is just a video that can help members of the LGBTQIA+ community feel safe. The absolute least I could do was make the sound available and accessible to anybody that wanted to resonate, because that’s what music is about. You can’t gatekeep music — music doesn’t have a gender. I feel confident and proud in my choice to be inclusive and to spread this message to everybody.”
“Be exactly who you want to be and do it unapologetically.”
Outside of music, Emmy relies on multiple art forms to bring her fulfillment and joy. She tells Her Campus that she enjoys getting dressed up and wearing unique clothes that help her express herself. When her roommate is gone, she also loves to connect to her inner child and dance around. “When I’m dancing, I’m just so visibly happy and smiling from ear to ear. It’s so stimulating to get all these bad feelings out and enjoy your life when nobody’s watching — just be a little foolish. I think that’s what life’s about,” she says.
Emmy is constantly inspiring her followers to embrace their individuality. She lives her life with the intention of doing things that make her happy — whether that be creatively, personally, or emotionally. She acknowledges that our generation is often told that our dreams and aspirations are not logical. “Would you rather go the easy way and be doing something that doesn’t make you happy? Or would you rather blindly follow your passion and be scared sometimes, knowing it’s going to be hard?”
Emmy belongs to the second category — she believes her dreams are her pathway to achieving her purpose. She trusts that now, at this point in time, you should pursue whatever you want to do, removing those mental blocks and focusing on what makes you happy as an individual. “My advice would just be to never ever let anybody tell you what you can and can’t do, especially when it comes to your passion and what makes you happy,” she says. “Life is meant to be lived. Be exactly who you want to be and do it unapologetically.”
Interviews have been edited for clarity and length.