Phil Wolvin 
Emma McCarthy released her latest single, Petty, on 17th November. It arrives at the end of her busiest year so far, with support slots for Better Joy and Courtney Hadwin, her first festival appearance, and a headline show that sold out and left her stunned in the best way. With so much happening around her music and momentum building each month, this felt like the perfect moment to sit down with Emma and get the full story behind the new track.
Hi Emma, you’ve supported Better Joy and Courtney Hadwin, played your first festival and put on your own headline show. What’s been the highlight of the year for you?
Hi. Oh my God. All of the above? No, I think the highlight was the headline gig because it took the most work, the most effort, and it felt like the biggest risk. The others were amazing opportunities that I’m super grateful for, but this was the one I had full control over. I could have paid for the venue, marketed it, and ended up performing to a room of three people thinking, “Well, this was silly and a bit embarrassing,” but instead it was packed, everything went smoothly, all the timings were right, and all the technical things worked. The supports were happy. Everything came together. I went home that night overwhelmed, thinking, “Wow, it worked. It paid off.” It was special because it was all independently planned by me. It’s a close competition, but the headline show wins.
You have a new single out today, Petty. What’s the story behind the song?
I wanted Petty to be a fun, light-hearted song. There’s a place for deep lyrics and sad music, and I think my repertoire has some of that, but I also wanted something girly, glittery, twinkly, and very Sabrina Carpenter inspired. I love her writing and her style both sonically and lyrically. I wanted to write a cheeky song like that, and we came up with Petty. It started with the chorus. I thought it would be fun and full of little stories about moments where people have been petty. There are so many ways to play with that idea. It feels relatable and innocent. I’m not encouraging anyone to commit a crime or anything, but it’s that feeling of, “If you’re going to try to be petty, I’m going to one-up you.”
I love the sort of keeping score on the photo.
I was so worried it wasn’t going to make sense, but it’s that idea of, “Look, I’m getting all the points. You’re not.”
You talked about collecting the petty stories from fans. Are you able to share any of your favourites?
Yeah. Oh, I’m going to shout out Lil’s because hers was brilliant. She was in a queue at a Sabrina Carpenter concert. The people behind her were shovey, rude, and loud. They pushed in front of her in the merch queue, and when the girl got to the front, her card declined. She had to transfer money, and while she was doing that, Lil’s stepped up and bought the T-shirt she wanted. It turned out to be the last one. Lil’s didn’t even want it. She bought it purely out of spite. When she said that in the Discord, I thought, “That’s exactly the vibe of petty.”
The concept sounds like so many movie plots. If this track were a movie scene, what would it be like?
That’s really hard. Oh, there’s actually a film it could be in. There’s an iconic line in Legally Blonde. Elle Woods thinks her boyfriend Warner is going to propose, but instead he breaks up with her and tells her he needs a “serious girlfriend” for law school. She studies hard, gets into the same law school, doesn’t tell him, and when they bump into each other he says, “Elle, you got into law school?” She replies, “What, like it’s hard?” That’s petty.
I know you’ve been doing your video each day for TikTok, the Becoming Emma McCarthy series. How has that been and how do you keep it fresh?
Yes, the series has been fun. It’s been really fun. I see no end to it any time soon. I keep it fresh by keeping it authentic. Every episode is filmed on the day. I’ve never pre-recorded a Becoming Emma McCarthy. Even if I pre-record other TikToks, that series is always real. You see the days when we’re on massive highs and the days when I’ve done a 17-hour shift and I’m tired. I like to think I’m relatable and I want to come across like that. I know I’m going to be a famous pop star one day, and I want it to come with a backing of hard work. I’m not a nepo baby. I didn’t pay anyone in the industry. I’ve worked every single day. I think that comes across on camera.
Even if the numbers are slow, the authenticity stays, and people watch the growth. The headline gig was a great example. If you were following the series, you saw it go from a small idea to planning, to making merch, to things going wrong, to things going right again, to booking supports, to a support dropping out, to finding another, to the gig happening. Then you saw the videos from the gig. It’s a whole journey, and I don’t think anyone else is doing something like that.
You’ve now made five singles with Niall Fennell from The Clause. How has that partnership developed? Was this track different to make compared to the first?
Yeah, we know each other really well now and we bounce off each other’s ideas. The studio sessions are fun and creative, and we’re always talking about different ideas and how to make things better. My background is performer heavy rather than music theory heavy, so I had to learn how to communicate things in a way that made sense, and he had to learn how I work. Now we understand each other’s language.
I’ve always seen Niall as a bit of a mentor. He’s supportive. He gives me songwriting hints, ideas for gigs, and he created the pre-recorded voiceover bits for the headline gig. He helped shape a lot of that. He’s calm, he’s understanding, and over time he’s helped my confidence grow. I used to be tentative when suggesting things. Now I’m like, “No, I’ve got the song. It’s a banger. Let’s get going.” And he’s like, “Yeah, let’s go.”
I think it’s funny that he’s in an indie band, and I’m slowly turning him into a girly pop boy one song at a time. He does like pop though, and one of his favourite producers works with Dua Lipa. It’s ironic that he does all his indie stuff and then I ask him, “Do you want to write a song about being petty because a boy’s done you dirty?”
Was there a moment during the production when you thought, “This is exactly what I wanted”?
OK. There was a funny moment. The only part not written before we went to the studio was the bridge. I went away and came up with some ideas. The bridge lyrics are:
You never had great style. You always took the Mick of my height. Ironic for you to complain about size.
I warned Niall and said, “You’re either going to love this or hate it.” I sang it for the first time, and his face said everything. Then I laughed and he laughed. We tried a few alternative ideas, but we both said, “It’s got to be the small male area reference. It fits best. It sounds best.” I told him it would be the first and last time there’s a small penis reference in an Emma song. It’s subtle. It’s classy.
If someone hears this song for the first time, what do you hope they say about it?
I hope it puts them in a good mood and makes them smile and think about times they’ve been a little petty in their lives. I hope it sticks in their head. I try to write catchy songs. If it sticks and makes them smile, then I’ve done an OK job.
Is there a dream artist you’d like to support?
It’s always a hard one, but any of the big pop girls I love. Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McRae, and Olivia Rodrigo are my three favourites. Someone like Dua Lipa too. Maisie Peters as well. I think I’d work well alongside her. I’d love to support any of them.
Finally, what plans do you have for 2026?
Definitely more music. In my first YouTube video I said I normally release more, but this year I became a homeowner and that set everything back a bit. The middle of the year was full of moving and dealing with solicitors, so it all paused. I’m happy we released the second single of the year, but I want to go back to releasing three or four a year. I want more gigs and I’d love to grow on social media, YouTube, and TikTok. Once the audience grows even more, I can put on another headline gig like February’s, and hopefully see new faces there. That’s the plan.
Thank you so much. Good luck with Petty.
Emma McCarthy can be found at the following social media sites
- Emma McCarthy (@emmamccarthymusic) • Instagram photos and videos
- Emma McCarthy (@emmamccarthymusic) | TikTok
- Channel intro from me! Emma McCarthy!
Photographs courtesy of Oliver Scapetrace
Colin