As Markets Media Group gears up for its 10th annual U.S. Women in Finance Awards in New York on November 21, the evening’s entertainment will be headlined by Emergency Tiara, a band known for their unique fusion of sultry soul, French noir and Japanese pop influences.
The WIF event, to be held at the Hard Rock Hotel, will also include performances by flamenco dancers the Alegrias and traditional Indian dancer Jayshree.
Markets Media caught up with Juri Jinnai, the lead singer and creator of Emergency Tiara, to learn more.
Juri Jinnai
Where does the name Emergency Tiara Come from?
I was looking for a band name, I wanted to have some boundary between my personal self to my stage persona because I love my privacy and my private life, I think that’s very important. A friend of mine has always kind of treated me like a princess, and one day when we were hanging out, he just handed me a tiara and said “Hey Juri, I found your emergency tiara” and I thought that was a perfect name for my band! After the fact, I tried to reflect on what emergency tiara means to me. My answer is that life can be very stressful, especially as a woman, so if you ever feel stressed or feel overwhelmed, just put Emergency Tiara on so that you’ll be reminded of how special and amazing and capable you are.
What is the band all about? What message would you like to send through your music?
I think it has evolved a lot. I’ve been doing this now for a little over a decade, so in the beginning, when I was a little bit younger and a little bit more optimistic, I was writing a lot of happy songs hoping to make people happy. But there are plenty of happy songs out there, and through this journey of doing my Emergency Tiara project I have also been learning about myself and who I am, and I discovered that I’m quite an angry person. I’m still happy, but I have a lot of underlying anger. So I pivoted my style of music, and now my recent work is a place to express female anger in what we strive to be feminine in playful ways. Because as I’m sure you know, as women we are somehow expected to never be angry, to always be happy. So that’s where my music is at right now.
You recently came out with two new singles, “Custom Made” and “Yum”, what would you say is your most requested song and what song do you enjoy performing the most?
Well, it’s so funny because my experience with my most requested song seems to be what it is for many artists. I hear stories that Celine Dion hates performing “My Heart Will Go On” or you know, Radiohead wasn’t performing “Creep” for so long. So, for me that’s “Bacon and Egg” which is a song I released last year. It’s a catchy, bubbly love song so it’s more digestible. That’s the song I get requested the most although it’s not my most favorite song to perform. I’m happy to perform any of my songs, they’re all my babies and they represent different eras of my life, but the one I enjoy performing the most now is “Yum” because it’s quite silly and very simple and usually halfway through the audience can sing along and be part of it.
How do you feel about performing at an awards ceremony that is celebrating women?
I’m so excited, I’m obviously pro-woman, but there are not many events that focus on women and their achievements. I am truly very honored to be a part of something that celebrates all the incredible things that women are doing, it means a lot to me. I’m so psyched up, and I’m pumped about performing at these awards.
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
And receive exclusive articles on securities markets