THE PLAYLIST: keshi’s Big Swing For Mainstream Success
Five new tracks by API artists to stream right now, including brynne’s “CPR” and Sarah Kinsley’s “Starling”
keshi. Island Records
keshi: “Say”
Riding off the most accessible beat of his career, keshi’s new single “SAY” is a statement: He is swinging hard for mainstream pop stardom. Though the Vietnamese American singer-songwriter has been a star for Asian American listeners for the past five years, keshi has largely been relegated to the underground. But “Say” shows that he and Island Records are thinking on broader, bigger terms. This time, he is aiming for international pop stardom.
brynne has been one of my favorite rising independent artists of the year. Within the past six months, he’s gained over 100,000 streams for his single “why do i still see you?” and climbed to 11k monthly listeners on Spotify. With the help of his producer stvphn, brynne has created a banger of a track with “CPR”. It’s the best kind of music: sugar coated ear candy with an edge.
As one of the most recognizable and popular members of TWICE, NAEYEON’s success as a soloist was almost assured. But her latest mini-album “NA” rises to the test of proving that she could also compete with any mainstream popstar. The lead single “abcd” is a bouncy pop track that is accompanied by an incredibly fun music video. “You’ve come into my fantasy,” NAEYEON teases in the chorus and welcomes you into a frothy pop dream.
“How do I open my heart? I’ve been hurt too many times,” stvphn asks in the opening of “the middle”, a raw new single that is the most stripped down track in his discography. As an independent artist currently based in Los Angeles, stvphn has worked with several friends of Bias Wrecker including HOHYUN and brynne, but his experimental solo work is more than worth diving into. On “the middle”, stvphn’s biggest punch is the lyrics. “I’ve always been stuck in the middle,” he admits as he wonders how he can ever learn to love himself. At once heartbreaking and searing, “the middle '' signifies a new, exciting direction for stvphn.
In Sarah Kinsley’s new single “Starling”, off her forthcoming album “Escaper”, she promises she’ll marrry her best friend if they’re still single at 45. “To meet another one is a miracle/ Let alone you and I,” Sarah Kinsley sings in a line that easily describes the magic of friendship. “If you don’t marry someone, then neither will I/ Say you’ll be mine,” Kinsley sings as a sweep of strings builds. Rarely has platonic love sounded so beautiful.
