Check Out Nanée Emmerich’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nanée Emmerich.

Hi Nanée, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a singer-songwriter and speaker from Hamburg / Germany. I was born with the rare pigment disorder CMN (Congenital Melanocytic Naevi). Meaning that hundreds of birthmarks (so-called naevi) of all sizes are sprinkled over my body. The largest nevus covers my neck and upper body. Today I love to be on stage and inspire people with my music and keynotes, but it was a long way. Especially as a teenager, this meant that I was often stared at, bullied and marginalized. When I was 16, I even stopped playing the keyboard in our school band because I couldn’t stand the eyes looking at me while playing. I felt torn between the desire to live my music and the desire to be invisible to escape the stares.

The stone that started everything rolling for me was when I was 30 years old and lived and worked in San Francisco for six months. There, in the melting pot under the Californian sun, I suddenly experienced an undreamt-of lightness and freedom. I made friends with the San Fransico Motorcycle Club and discovered the windy roads, Route 66 and the adventure of “being myself” on a motorcycle, leaving my turtleneck off for the first time.

Almost fateful was a visit to the San Francisco Glide Church Choir, which captivated the audience so much that there was nothing to keep them in their seats. We sang, celebrated life, love and diversity and I knew: Music is my path! I took this enthusiasm back to Hamburg, started to sing in a soul and gospel choir. After my first solo performance, I knew I wanted more. I became lead singer, started writing my own songs and finally stepped outside the shadow into the rime light of the stage with my own songs and my own band.

Today I know: It’s never too late to take the first step into your new life! All you need is a burst of courage for ONE short moment! This one moment when the will is bigger than the fear!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Apart from the personal challenges of being born with the pigmentary disorder CMN, it is also not easy as an independent artist to become successful with one’s music. You need a lot of power, long perseverance and also a lot of money to become visible with your music. A friend once said: “The difference between the successful and the unsuccessful is that the successful get up once more.”

With every gig I didn’t get because I’m still too unknown, with every rejection for a funding that would have paid for my next music production, I try to think of this sentence and find new ways to make my dreams come true.
Another and particularly tough challenge were COVID. It was the end of 2019. I just released my debut CD, I had many plans for concerts to play, wanted to take off. Then everything changed…

But true to the motto “There’s no giving up!”, I looked for and found ways to make music anyway. I invented my concert streaming format “Cookies & Concert” and used the time to expand my commitment as a body revolution activist in developing my first “I am perfect the way I am-workshop”.

Despite the economically uncertain times, I even reduced my office job to have more time for my music. Because as a one power woman show, the day always has far too few hours.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
With my music, I am inspiring and motivating others to stand up for themselves and go their own way. No matter if we think we are too big/too small, too fat/too skinny, or born with a genetic defect like me! Because it is precisely this diversity that makes our world so colorful and lovable and worth living in. I am very proud that I could produce and release my new CD “Tausend Farben” (Thousend colours) with the help of crowdfunding. These songs are the result of my very own revolution and invite you to break out and pause and to celebrate life with all its facets. My first single from it, “Geh deinen Weg!” (Go your way!) was even shown in a female empowerment show on German TV.

It’s important to me to empower people to go their way, so today I am not only a singer-songwriter but also working as a speaker. And I am engaged in the Nävus-Netzwerk Deutschland e.V., a non-profit association that supports people with CMN.

Lately, I’ve also launched my own German podcast. It’s called “HAUT Couture – ICH BIN ICH und das ist gut so” (“HAUT Couture – I AM I and that is good”). Because with my skin, I am virtually my own work of art. And at HAUT Couture, I share my experiences and insights I’ve made on my journey to more self-confidence. So that others might find their way to more self-confidence a little faster.

Because always keep in mind: “Be proud of who you are and not ashamed of how others see you.”

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
https://naevus-netzwerk.de https://www.caringmattersnow.co.uk
https://www.caringmattersnow.co.uk/awareness/how-do-you-c-me-now/

Contact Info:

• Website: https://en.nanee-music.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanee.music/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nanee.music/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/nanee-music
• SoundCloud: https://open.spotify.com/artist/569mp5pGX6xZ216Navbcs7?si=1WGV0lo_RT-7pqze8WQI5Q
• Other: https://www.nanee-music.com/podcast-haut-couture

Image Credits
Elena Zaucke Bernd Hellwage Marleen Schenk – Unruhestand Events