Em Beihold

Early life and education Emily Beihold was born on January 21, 1999, in Los Angeles. Her mother, Zahra Dowlatabadi, immigrated from Iran to the United States during the Iranian Revolution in the late 70s. At the age of six, Beihold saw a piano in a shop window and begged her parents to let her learn the piano; she began writing songs when she was seven.

In 2017, Beihold enrolled at the University of California, San Diego and competed in the NCAA Fencing Championships receiving NCAA All-American Honors in 2019.

Career 2017–2021: Infrared and early singles Beihold self-released her debut EP, titled Infrared, on May 11, 2017. For the film I'm Not Here, director Michelle Schumacher invited Beihold to write a track for the film. She wrote the song, "Not Who We Were", which is included on the EP.

During this time, Beihold began touring by opening for AJR for their show in Cincinnati on May 17, 2022. She also opened for King Princess for her tour later that year. She performed before the Jonas Brothers during the AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! event in Los Angeles on January 7, 2023. Shortly after, she opened for Lewis Capaldi for his tour. That same year, she opened for Imagine Dragons for a show of their tour on July 15, 2023, as part of TC Summer Fest in Minneapolis. After her EP, she released three stand-alone singles: "Roller Coasters Make Me Sad" on February 24, 2023, "Pedestal" on October 12, 2023, and "Maybe Life Is Good" on February 9, 2024. Throughout February and March of that year, she embarked on the Maybe Life Is Good Tour, her first tour as a headlining act.

2025–present: Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter After taking a year off due to mental health issues, Beihold would begin showcasing material off of her upcoming debut studio album in early 2025. Part of this was done through a mini tour, the Super Small Semi-Secret Piano Tour, which ran in April of that year. A few months later, she began releasing singles over the course of several weeks, which would serve as the lead singles of the record. These included "Brutus" on July 18, 2025, "Hot Goblin" on September 5, 2025, and "Scared of the Dark" on October 24, 2025. Shortly into the new year, she announced the title of her album Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter, the tracklist and its release date of February 27, 2026.

Musical influences

Beihold grew up listening to Feist, Fiona Apple, Kate Nash, Sara Bareilles, and Lily Allen,

2018

Infrared

2019

RIAA: Platinum BPI: Gold MC: 2× Platinum RMNZ: Platinum

RIAA: 4× Platinum ARIA: 7× Platinum RMNZ: 2× Platinum

Mirror

"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Tours Headlining Maybe Life Is Good Tour (2024) Super Small Semi-Secret Piano Tour (2025) Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter Tour (2026)

Opening act AJR - OK Orchestra Tour (2022) King Princess - Hold on Baby Tour (2022) Jonas Brothers - AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! (2023) Lewis Capaldi - Broken by Desire to Be Heavenly Sent Tour (2023) Imagine Dragons - Mercury World Tour (2023)