Dancing between being an introvert or extrovert as an artist is something London-based singer Sonia Stein knows all too well. It’s that craving for appreciation without all the attention and is the root of her latest single, “Passerby,” from her upcoming EP See Me Now.
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Even though Stein just wants to be a passerby, her recent world tour with DIDO, pushed the soulful pop artist into another scope, including an uptick of Spotify followers and more than six million YouTube views capturing some of the essence of the singer’s captivating performances.
Working with longtime producer Liam Howe (Adele, Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding), See Me Now, Stein’s second release since debut One of Those Things in 2017, showcases the singer’s poetic lyrics telling her stories of travel and relationships through tracks like first single dance-y, R & B-fused “London Used to Feel So Cool,” or the more soul-pop-fusion of “Coexist.”
Taking new single “Passerby” in a different direction, Stein stripped it down to acoustic—something she also did to transform previous, See Me Now single “London Used to Feel So Cool”—revealing a more delicate build, blanketed by the lush fragility of her vocals through lyrics Watch me but don’t look right at me / From the corner of your eye / I don’t know why, don’t want to ask you for it /Love me as a passerby.
“Every song I write begins with just a piano and vocals so coming back to playing it like this after the produced song already exists is always special,” Stein tells American Songwriter. “The song is about the dichotomy of wanting to be seen/heard/understood but not wanting to show myself or ask for attention. It also explores how comparing myself to others has been holding me back.”
