Emily Brooke seems like an all-around country sweetheart with her increasingly famous melodies and honeyed vocals. But don’t let her sound fool you—this singer/songwriter has a hard edge of determination and she knows exactly what she wants from the music industry. On Friday (May 28), Brooke released her single “Whiskey Side of Me,” which showcases her charming musical prowess.
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“[‘Whiskey Side of Me’] is about starting to notice someone is messing with your head in a relationship,” Brooke tells American Songwriter. “It’s an empowering song using the comparisons of sweetness from white wine to how you may seem like I’m so sweet all of the time and the power, or kick, of whiskey because, If you’re gonna play me baby just quit, cause I can promise you now you don’t wanna see the Whiskey Side of Me.
“My mom actually gave me the thought,” Brooke continued. “I love SUPER sweet white wines but I also love whiskey. She was telling me one day, ‘Em, you should really write a song about white wine and whiskey, I don’t know what that sounds like but it could be really cool’ and that was all I had.”
Brooke took this concept to songwriters Blane Mitchell and Lauren McLamb and created “Whiskey Side of Me.” The trio spun Brooke’s pre-1989 Taylor Swift aura into a track with a hint of grit. “Whiskey Side of Me” consequently, knocks perfection for a more sustainable set of emotions.
“It’s so relatable and personal to me as well because it’s happened to me. I seem like I’m so sweet all of the time but then there’s my ‘Whiskey Side of Me’ cause I got a side that don’t take shit,” Brooke concluded.
The specific lyrics that Brooke is referring to are as follows: Got the kinda kiss that keeps ya coming right back/ Just like Moscato right from the bottle/ But I got a side that don’t take shit/ so if you’re gonna play me baby just quit/ ‘Cause I can promise you now/ That you don’t wanna see the whiskey side of me.
These lyrics also happen to be Brooke’s favorite lines due to their confident and powerful emotion. “It’s sweet in confidence in the beginning and then just bold, in your face, this is how I am, take or leave it kinda thing,” Brooke clarified. “Which I think is so important for people to embrace in themselves.”
“Whiskey Side of Me” then proved to be a relatable personality song when Brooke’s single amassed thousands of views on Tik Tok (and still climbing), similar to her earlier single “Easy On Me.” Her message is straightforward and remarkable: “Be authentic to yourself, embrace your white wine or whiskey side. Or both for me! I hope this song makes you feel like you can do anything and be confident in doing whatever that is.”
Brooke, while just getting started in her career, found her confidence in songwriting when she was only 10 years old. After visiting Nashville for the CMA Fest, she fell in love with the Music City and wrote a song about moving there. After that initial spark and since 2017, Brooke has evolved rapidly as an artist. Listen to Emily Brooke’s “Whiskey Side of Me” here.
Photo courtesy of Emily Brooke
