New York native Emily King is set to release her first new album in 4 years. Special Occasion will be available May 5 on ATO Records. Following the previously released lead single, “This Year,” she’s shared the new track, ”Medal.” It’s a joyfully upbeat song punctuated with scattered, syncopated hand claps, a soaring chorus, and funky bass groove.
“I’d had this melody in my head for a very long time,” Emily explains. “It was a slow song until I got in the studio with my producer (multi-instrumentalist, Grammy-nominated Jeremy Most) and we picked up the tempo. He started playing this funky bassline on the chorus and it was like instant joy! The lyric was ‘I wanna be the girl with the medal’ like, I want that shiny feeling you get when the person you have a crush on gives you their attention.”
“These days though, I’ve been singing the song to myself which gives it a slightly different meaning. Like, ‘Hey you are the prize girl!’ ‘You are the medal and you already won yourself!’ Ha. Makes me feel good and then I get to dancing.”
