There are good and bad sides to social media. The good being the idea of sharing the best parts of our lives, pretending that we’re living a life only filled with happy and accomplished moments to share with our friends. However, there’s also the inverse. As you look through your and other people’s profiles, you’re blatantly aware that it’s all fake, that it’s not all real, and you’re only getting a carefully curated version of events to make people feel like everything is going well for them. It’s one of our main sources of envy and a way to pretend we’re okay. ÊMIA brings us “heard it on the internet”, a track to describe how we cover up our heartbrokenness with pretty pictures to make people think our lives are more ideal than they genuinely are. It’s a weird way of looking at our own life through rose-colored glasses, watching our life happen from our phone screens, and ignoring everything else that’s going on.
“heard it on the internet” is a bubbly pop song, a little electro, a little classic, and all-around satisfying. ÊMIA’s vocals ride a gentle wave of upbeat melodies to bring us a track to tell us about how we live vicariously through our social media personalities—surprisingly being a little motivating in its message of trying to live our best lives. She brings us this track to dictate that our lives can be a reflection of our internet personas, but only if we try hard enough, a fake it till you make it type of energy. ÊMIA sings, “They could put all the pieces together/That I’m happy and doing better” and shows that we’re slowly piecing the parts of our ideal life with each post, hitting it with the underlying hope of the usually sarcastic line, “If you heard it on the internet/Then it must be true”.
ÊMIA is a Vietnamese-American, Brooklyn-based singer, songwriter, and producer with an impressive music lineup to showcase her talents. With “heard it on the internet” we are hearing the fifth single to her two-part EP titled “Video Call: AM”. ÊMIA is the stage name of Anh Le’s indie-pop project, one that captures a refreshing and classic music style. “Video Call: AM” is a collaborative project with producer Charlie Kurata— “heard it on the internet” not originally supposed to be featured on the EP. However, as the song grew, it became too close to her heart and cemented its place there. She’s influenced by electronic music, R&B, film scores, and music theatre—creating sparkling magic with her music.
Written by Jane Katryn
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