Emei Returns to Her Theatre Roots on ‘Night at the Opera’

The five-track EP brings grief, self-discovery, and relationship frustrations into a pop project shaped by her love of musical theatre.

Chinese-American singer-songwriter Emei reconnects with her musical theatre roots on Night at the Opera, a five-track EP released on June 12, 2026, through Atlantic Records and Nice Life.

Created with songwriter Justin Tranter and producer Ricky Reed, the project brings theatrical expression into Emei’s pop songwriting. Behind its playful approach is a more personal story: finding her voice again after loss, friendship breakups, and a period of questioning who she wanted to be.

A homecoming shaped by grief

Emei’s connection to performance began long before her original songs gained attention online. Growing up in New Jersey, she listened to Chinese pop, took vocal lessons, and discovered musicals through her parents’ West Side Story CD.

Her grandmother was central to that childhood. They shared a room and spent summers traveling to China together, building a relationship that helped shape Emei’s connection to her culture.

After her grandmother died in 2024, Emei began working through emotions that would inform Night at the Opera. Alongside grief, she was navigating changing friendships and a growing sense of disconnection from herself.

“The project was born from grief,” Emei said in the release.

Returning to musical theatre offered a way to express those feelings with greater freedom. Rather than holding back the intensity, she made room for it in the music.

‘Noah’ takes aim at performative romance

Alongside the EP, Emei released an official visualizer for “Noah,” a song she describes as the project’s diss track.

The track addresses men whose romantic behavior feels rehearsed rather than sincere. Emei frames it as a message to her younger self and to other women who might encounter someone more interested in performing the role of a good partner than being one.

Its reference to Noah from The Notebook gives the song a familiar cultural starting point while questioning the behavior behind a romantic image.

That mix of humor and frustration fits the EP’s wider approach: using expressive pop songwriting to explore feelings that can be difficult to untangle.

Five tracks, one personal return

Night at the Opera includes:

1. Night at the Opera
2. What’s The Point!
3. Noah
4. Bloom
5. Simple Request

The project follows songs such as “Late to the Party” and “Scatterbrain,” which helped introduce Emei’s music to a wider audience.

Here, the focus turns toward reconnecting with the performer she has always been. Her theatre background becomes a way to bring emotional detail, personality, and a willingness to try openly into her pop music.

For listeners navigating loss or changing relationships, that gives the EP a relatable center: the process of recognizing yourself again after a difficult season.

Night at the Opera is available now through Atlantic Records and Nice Life. Listeners can also watch the official visualizer for “Noah.”

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