Kinney, who is best known for her role as Beth Greene in The Walking Dead, says that music is a place where she gets to “be the lead”. And with her latest album, Supporting Character, which came out earlier this year, her message is clear.
How Emily Kinney’s road to stardom began
Like most young performers, it has taken a lot of perseverance and persistence for Kinney to make her mark in the indie community in Hollywood. And she has certainly come a long way from growing up in Nebraska, USA.
According to Kinney, even though she was surrounded by the scene of a typical small town, her aspirations were always set for the big city. With inspirations coming from The Carpenters, little Emily would become a regular song leader at their church.
And when she was seven she took things into her own hands and would enter each year into a talent show.
“But I filled it out in the newspaper and sent it in. I did that almost every year and the first one, I got second place and a little trophy. All those things trigger the thought, ‘Oh, I must be good at this, you know?’”
The Supporting Character
And now skipping a few good years forward, here she is with the release of another album. The Supporting Character can be described as “a collection of charming and reflective indie pop and folk songs”.
The release of the album was delayed due to the pandemic, however, Kinney says it all worked out perfectly.
“I felt this album was really special and I wanted to give it a proper release and the right attention.”
Inspiration for the album came from The Walking Dead
According to Kinney, she got the idea for the album after she attended her on-screen father’s funeral.
“I got the idea for the concept of this album when I went to my friend Scott Wilson’s funeral,” she says. “He was such a mentor for me, he played my dad [Hershel Greene] on The Walking Dead. Much of his funeral and memorial service was about his life as an actor. Everyone there were people he had worked with—all of his actor friends—and how that shaped his life so much. The next day I wrote this song “I Went Looking for You.” So from there, I started writing.”
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