Em Beihold @ La Machine du Moulin Rouge, Paris - May 18th, 2026


Being from a different generation, cough old fart cough, one can perhaps be forgiven for approaching artists who break through via social media, especially TikTok, with a certain amount of suspicion. Begrudgingly, however, it must be admitted that Em Beihold’s viral breakthrough “Numb Little Bug” is an excellent pop song, and that her album Tales of a Failed Shapeshifter is even better: a sharp, inventive collection of songs about anxiety, alienation, self-image and emotional survival, wrapped in bright melodies and arrangements clever enough to avoid the usual pop music autopilot. In that sense, she occasionally recalls Regina Spektor, whose “Us” she covers during the set. At times, there are even distant echoes of Sparks in the way her songs flirt with music hall theatricality while her lyrics fixate on the minutiae of everyday existence.

At La Machine du Moulin Rouge, Beihold is accompanied by a drummer, a violinist-guitarist, a few discreet backing tracks and, on most songs, her own piano playing. Her stage presence is magnetic precisely because it never feels overly calculated. She speaks to the audience with the relaxed confidence of someone who understands that the songs are already doing most of the heavy lifting. The crowd responds accordingly, singing along to nearly every line and reacting to the emotional pivots in the set with remarkable attentiveness

Naturally, the biggest reactions are reserved for the hits. “Hot Goblin” lands beautifully, while “Numb Little Bug,” teased mischievously early in the evening, detonates exactly as expected at the end of the set. One amusing moment sees Beihold letting the audience vote between “Groundhog Day” and “City of Angels”; Paris overwhelmingly chooses the latter, though apparently other cities have made different decisions on this tour.

More than anything, the evening serves as a useful reminder that contemporary pop music does not have to be cynical, algorithmically optimized sludge designed for passive consumption. Em Beihold writes actual songs, filled with personality, odd details, melodic sophistication and genuine emotional observation. Judging by the reaction inside La Machine, young audiences still respond to that sort of thing.