Em Beihold's single "Numb Little Bug" is a hit on radio and on the Billboard charts; it's gone Gold, and has led to her performing on TV and for audiences around the world. But she says it really took awhile for her to believe there were real, live people out there enjoying her song.
While "Numb Little Bug" first blew up on TikTok back in February, Em says it wasn't until April, when she went on tour opening for singer Anson Seabra, that she realized she was starting to have fans of her own. "I was so nervous because it was 300 people and I had never played for a room of that size," she tells ABC Audio about that first show of the tour.
"And so I did my little set. It went OK. And then I went out to the merch table to, like, just be there. I didn't expect anyone to talk to me because they're there for Anson," she continues. "But there's, like, a little line of people who wanted me to sign things! And [they] were like, "Oh, I knew of you before 'Numb Little Bug' -- I was listening to 'Groundhog Day'" -- the song she put out in 2021.
Em laughs, "I was like, 'Oh my gosh, they're not just DMs! They're real people, and they come out to see you!'"
Em, who performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon earlier this week, will be opening for King Princess on tour this fall.