Seasoned Korean vocalist and performer Sohyang has returned with her first single in two years!
“Stay,” which she released on August 16th KST, is a song that expresses the affectionate heart that stands in the memory of love for a while and misses that time. The calm and dreamy ballad is different from anything the gospel singer has shown before in her over 20-year career.
Usually known for belting out the high notes with immense control, the lyric soprano uses her voice in a softer, more restrained way, commanding attention through vocal dynamics to convey a deep emotional atmosphere.
“Stay” was written with Sohyang’s band POS. She has been a part of the group, alongside her husband who plays as band’s drummer, since shortly after her 1996 debut. Seoul-based Swedish music producer Simon Petrén, who has worked with K-pop groups since 2015, wrote and composed the track with the team.
The music video was filmed last year in Palm Springs, California and features two American actors/models who impressed Sohyang so much that she recommended putting in more shots of them than herself in the final edit of the MV.
Sohyang is one of Korea’s most celebrated female vocalists, often cited as one of the best in the industry. An influential CCM (Contemporary Christian Music) artist, she has been labeled by the international media as the “Korean Mariah Carey.”
Most recently, Sohyang appeared in the fourth season of the Korean television program “Begin Again,” alongside other popular singers including Lee Sora, Hareem, Henry Lau, Lee Hi, AKMU’s Lee Suhyun, Jukjae, Jung Seunghwan, and Crush.
The singer has a long list of impressive achievements to her name, spanning different areas of the entertainment industry.
In 2014, she was the first South Korean artist to sing the American national anthem at an NBA game, also touring with Michael Bolton months later as per his request after he watched her win his special episode of “Immortal Songs 2.”
Sohyang provided the singing voice of “Moana” in the Korean-dubbed version of the 2017 Disney film and, in the same year, became the first female contestant on “King Of Masked Singer” to achieve 6 consecutive wins — the highest ever at the time (a record that was later broken by singer Son Seungyeon).
Not bad for an artist who has stated that her only goal is to use her voice to comfort people who are going through difficult times.
Check out the mysterious ambience of “Stay” below!
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Justin is a K-pop fanboy from Australia who loves underrated and lesser known groups. Lately he’s been engrossed in a first-time watch of the tv show E.R, as well as about his 900th rewatch one of his all-time favourites Desperate Housewives. He’s also spending his time making playlists and playing remastered versions of his favourite video game series which most recently has been Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2.
MEDIA: JM Entertainment