East Kilbride independent singer Emilie Leslie 'phoned HMVs across the UK' to arrange country-wide tour

An up-and-coming Scottish musician has told of the feelings behind her latest ballad and her upcoming UK-wide tour.

Emilie Leslie, 20, moved away from her family and home in East Kilbride when she enrolled at a music programme in Liverpool before the pandemic.

Her latest single Two Worlds, due to release on March 10, highlights her powerful vocals and is designed to evoke a feeling of belonging despite big changes.

The track will be performed live for the first time on March 11, when she returns to Glasgow for a special gig at the city’s Argyle Street HMV.

“I started performing live in March of last year, gigging and releasing tracks myself – it’s difficult to do it while unsigned, but not impossible,” she told STV News.

Emilie has been working to get herself out there since March last year. Supplied

“I noticed that my local HMV had a sign, offering local, unsigned artists an opportunity to showcase their talent – and just had to put my name up.”

Emilie then took to phoning up HMV franchises across the UK, and arranged a country-wide tour – as an opportunity to get out there and showcase her skills.

The tour will kick off at the Glasgow franchise on March 11, and run through to June 24, ending at the store in Aberdeen.

Emilie said the idea for Two Worlds came to her from a place of homesickness after she moved to Liverpool, as well as being in love with the city.

“It was a fantastic opportunity and I am so glad to be a part of it, but a part of me is always longing for home,” she said.

“My sister and I are extremely close, we call each other around three times a day – and there frequently are times where she’s having a bad week, and I just want to give her a hug.

“That’s where it gets difficult, and that’s what the song is about. I love her, and my family, but I don’t know if I’ll ever move back there.

“It’s about the feeling of wanting to be back home, but not being able to leave when I am – the new life I have built.”

Two Worlds is available to pre-save on Spotify and Apple Music here, and will be released on March 10.