Spindle Radar: Empara Mi Returns With Heartbreaking New Single ‘I Can’t

Captivating, enigmatic, and boldly unconventional, Empara Mi continues to carve her own lane in the music sphere. Since making her debut in 2016, the young talent has captivated listeners worldwide with her immersive lyrics and genre-bending sound – which draws inspiration from cinematic scores, operatic grandeur, and the grit of hip-hop. Due to her dynamic artistry, Empara Mi has racked up over 30 million streams and landed tracks – like ‘Blood in the Water’ and ‘Ditch’ – in global Netflix hits such as Ginny & Georgia and Behind Her Eyes. In 2024, she sang on Coldplay’s recent rework of ‘Paradise’ for the show Mammals.’ Most recently, her rendition of ‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down’ for Day of the Jackal sparked widespread acclaim.

With 2025 in full swing, Empara Mi shows no signs of slowing down her upward trajectory. Earlier this month, the singer-songwriter returned with her brand new single ‘I Can’t.’ Described as a “heartbreak anthem,” the record explores love and loss through poignant lyrics, soaring melodies, and an ethereal production. Amidst the start of her new music era, we were able to chat with Empara Mi about her latest single, ‘I Can’t,’ creative process in the studio and what else she has planned for 2025. Check out our full interview below.

Hey Empara Mi! Thanks for chatting with us. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m Empara Mi – singer, songwriter, professional emo gal. I like to make music that makes me feel like the main character of the saddest movie ever made. I don’t believe in keeping to one genre of music but I do believe that my dogs are my children. 

You just released your brand new single ‘I Can’t’, congratulations! What does this song mean to you, and how does it feel to have it out in the world?

Thank you so much! This song means a lot to me, I have a weird process when I write, I like to freestyle the whole song as a first pass to see if anything comes naturally on a first instinct. Regardless of if it’s a sad song or not, I tend to get this little lump in my throat or shed a tear when I can feel that I’m being honest. I actually balled my eyes out writing this one and it’s still one of the only songs that came nearly entirely the first time as it is now.

I was especially emotional as I was writing about the thought of losing the one thing I couldn’t bear to live without, and now I have to. I actually couldn’t stomach listening to this song for a long time after and as I knew what it meant, it still knocks the air out of me sometimes, but like I say in the song ‘the world’s spinning, I look around and nothings stopped’, but I’m still trying to move on.

You’ve had your music featured in incredible films and TV shows, including Transformers, Riviera, Dynasty, and most recently The Day of the Jackal. How does it feel when you hear your songs appear in such massive shows?

I’ve got to be honest, you don’t really get used to it, my favourite part is when my parents’ friends ring them up to tell them they’ve heard me again on tv, you can’t pay for that kind of PR. I already feel like I’m writing music for movies in my head so it’s incredible when I get to hear them being brought to life in such a huge way. I don’t know if other people will get this, but when you make music and listen to it back yourself you know you are only listening through your own ears, but when you listen again even with someone else in the room or when its out on streaming platforms, you can listen again and know you are listening through other people’s ears, hearing yourself on a tv show or movie is that feeling times a million, you get to step back and experience it through the ears of everyone watching, which makes it feel so special. 

Your sound draws inspiration from cinematic scores, operatic grandeur, and even a bit of hip-hop. How would you say your sound has evolved since you first started making music?

It does indeed, my sound has evolved a lot since I started. I’ve always loved writing and producing but I’ve definitely honed my production from then till now, knowing there’s songs on this project I’ve written and produced alone is something I would have never had the confidence to do starting out. I now absolutely love experimenting with different genres, it feels like a challenge to me, now my favourite thing I wait for is someone to say after I’ve played them a track, ‘who produced this?’. 

It also helps to be married to an incredible film composer and the most talented musician I have ever met. I thought I had a flair for the dramatic before but after watching him I now want an Orchestra on everything! I am lucky enough to actually have the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra on five of the tracks on the upcoming album, so I definitely feel like I’ve pushed the cinematic grandeur to new levels.

How do you get inspired in the studio?

I had to stop the session ring. I feel like other singers might be able to relate. Sometimes we feel like we need to be in every room with every producer/ writer to feel like you are actively writing but for me that doesn’t always work and it can end up draining your creative juices. If I’ve had a really good day in a studio session we’ve usually spent the entire day chatting and then write something in the last 5 minutes or it can be someone who knows me might send me a couple of ideas and I end up writing to my favourite immediately. When I’m writing alone I won’t sit down to write, I will either be watching a film, or reading about something or hear something that will immediately inspire me then it’s like an itch that can’t be scratched until I can get into my studio and write something. I don’t believe in forcing it. I think I spent so many years not enjoying making music when I was signed, that I forgot how truly lucky I am to do this for a living, and there’s no better feeling than being inspired and getting to express yourself in the way that we do.

What has been your biggest career highlight to date?

I would say it’s every time I’ve heard my music on a tv show I love, but what really gets me going is dance videos. Seeing the most incredible dancers from all over the world feel inspired enough to move their bodies to my music makes me so happy. I sit there and watch them all and wonder how they got so bendy. I think that’s why I’ve subconsciously focused a lot on lyrical dancers throughout the new music videos I’ve just shot. It feels like they are the other half of the music in a way, I can sing it but they act it out. 

Your songs tell beautifully vivid sonic stories, what do you hope listeners take away from your music?

Thank you! I hope they feel something. I hope they feel like they can escape into their own world for even a minute and if they feel alone, I hope they feel a little bit less alone with me.

If you could give any advice to budding musicians in the industry, what would you say?

Oh god, what would I say…… I’ve actually had a lot of conversations recently with other artists where I’ve shared some stories of my journey, which of course sound like horror stories to the normal person, but I’m always been very careful to caveat it with ‘this is my story, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be yours’. 

It’s tempting to try to save people from making the same mistakes and to stop them from having to travel the same path you had to but the reality it is, I was never going to have the career I wanted at the major label I was at, but it’s not easy doing everything independently as I am, so I can’t tell anyone what is best from them. I love the control I have over my career which is something I craved before but at the same time some people want more guidance so it’s not one size fits all. All I can say is, remember who you are, try not to choose the easy path as that tends to be the path that leads nowhere, and never forget that no one knows you or your music better than yourself, so trust yourself always..

And finally, what can we expect from Empara Mi for the rest of 2025?

A LOTTTT. I’m ready to go, expect a lot of singles, sad songs, angry songs, even some sexy songs if you play your cards right, a lot of videos, a lot of genres and even more surprises. 

Check out Empara Mi’s latest track, ‘I Can’t’ here or below.