‘An Evening with Emmy Meli’ at London’s The Social
London was the final stop on Emmy Meli’s intimate three-date tour, marking her first headline event since 2022.
Photo: Press
The American-born singer Emmy Meli performed a perfect intimate set at The Social in London, delivering a performance that brought sultry soulful melodies and heartfelt vibes to fans’ ears.
When the opportunity to attend the event came around, initially I thought I had never listened to Emmy’s songs before, until I realised that she is the vocal powerhouse behind the hit track I AM WOMAN, released in 2021.
This made me curious about her new EP All About Love, which I listened to ahead of the show. I loved the EP’s vibe and, surprisingly, it was better than what I was imagining. It’s definitely an acquired taste, but the depth it carries feels warm, sophisticated and sonic — Emmy definitely brought this to life on the night.
The evening opened with Abbie Piper, an up-and-coming Cornwall-based R&B artist. Abbie gave a stunning performance, performing songs from her Mirror Talk EP. Her voice gave me all the feels, especially when she sang Save Your Love and Dressing Up to Go Nowhere. Think Jorja Smith and Lianne La Havas had a love-child vibes. Her voice is truly insane.
Abbie also performed a few unreleased songs, making for a bittersweet experience, only because she mentioned she has no plans to release them; a shame because, honestly, every single one was truly stunning and deserves to be heard. Her talent is great, and I really hope 2026 is her year. A voice like hers — one that carries such depth, vulnerability, and character — needs an audience.
The last song she performed took a different direction from her other songs, which were centred around love. It’s called Tokes, and it’s about getting high. It was a fun, playful track, but still delivered the most.
She also revealed to the audience that she’ll be going on tour for the first time this year. I’ll absolutely be keeping an eye out for her live shows. My takeaway moment from Abbie’s set was when she thanked the crowd for showing up to watch her. She had the most beautiful smile as she said it, admitting that she always worries she’ll be singing to an empty stage as the supporting act.
After Abbie, Emmy Meli graced the stage. She came out fierce and ready, wearing the most beautiful outfit: a baby pink and blue bra with baby pink flared mesh trousers. Emmy was actually very ill on the night, though I would never have known had she not mentioned it. If anything, her voice sounded even better than the EP — she was hitting the most incredible high notes and, as my friend said, ‘If that’s how she sings with a cold, then wow’.
What made the night even more special was that this was the first time Emmy had played her new EP to a live audience, making it feel like a real privilege to be there. She opened strong with The Zoo, followed by Heathers and Built from the B******t and, without even realising it on the night, she performed the songs in the exact order they appear on the EP, something I loved.
Before she performed Breakthrough, Emmy opened up about reaching a turning point in her life where she had to take a hard look at her friendships and romantic relationships — the moment she stopped being a serial dater and essentially got her shit together. The song itself is a 2024 single about dating a horrible Virgo who was impossible to please, and the moment you realise they truly never liked you. I won’t say too much, but she has a point.
I really loved how fun her set felt. Every time she took a sip of water, she got the crowd to cheer and clap to distract from the sound of her gulping. She also took time to thank everyone for showing up and acknowledged the beautiful energy in the room, which felt really warm and genuine.
One of my favourite moments was Glory, a song that’s been on repeat for me all week. Hearing it live only made me fall in love with it more. It’s an empowering reminder to love yourself, protect your heart, and keep going, but it’s also a quiet ‘fuck you’ to the people in the industry who passed on her before she blew up. She addressed this on the night, as she didn’t want to get famous off her song blowing up online. I can respect it. She wants to make music her way, on her terms, remaining authentic.
Emmy had originally captioned her tour announcement: “Coming to my tour with ur thong sticking out, popping ur shit w ur besties, and giving me a bunch of little kisses would be soooooo Ooh La La of y’all.” And I love that she did this because she reminded the audience not to care about what others think about you, show up for yourself, have fun with your friends, wear what you want and to hell with what others think.
All About Love is out now.
