Award-winning Nigerian Afropop star musician and producer SIMI has achieved a significant milestone in her career by accumulating over one billion global streams. This accomplishment follows the release of her latest album, the critically acclaimed “To Be Honest.” Additionally, it was recently announced that she would be joining Grammy Award-winning superstar Alicia Keys on her ‘Keys To The Summer‘ North American tour in July.
Now, SIMI is back with an upcoming single titled ‘STRANGER,’ which is scheduled to be released on June 9 via her independent label, Studio Brat. ‘STRANGER‘ is a captivating pop-soul ballad written, composed, and engineered by SIMI herself, with production by the talented Louddaa (known for working with artists like Ayra Starr, CKay, and Amaarae). The song features Simi’s emotive voice and heartfelt songwriting, accompanied by lush piano arrangements and a beautiful string section. In ‘STRANGER,’ Simi explores the influence of love and how it can cause us to behave unexpectedly in our relationships.
Simi shares her inspiration for ‘STRANGER,’ describing it as a story about the risks and consequences of love. Love brings both joy and pain, and the song narrates the experience of someone who has loved and suffered as a result. It questions whether the pain is tolerable because of the excitement love brings or if it would be better for the butterflies in one’s stomach to disappear, leaving emptiness behind. Simi ponders how to handle a situation where the same thing that makes one’s heart race is also responsible for breaking it.
Expanding on the theme of ‘Stranger,’ Simi explains that, “The power of love renders you powerless, and may the heavens help you, if you’re powerless for someone undeserving. Is it love when it transforms you so strongly, you find you’re becoming different from the person you always thought you were – the person you thought you were capable of being. Is it love? The song is about love that changes you for the worst”.
Regarded as one of the driving forces behind Nigeria’s new Afropop wave and recognized as one of the most distinctive female voices in African music today, Simi has enjoyed a successful career on the continent. She has released five acclaimed projects, including a Billboard world chart top 5 album, and has delivered afropop classics such as ‘Duduke‘ and ‘Joromi.’ Her impressive discography has amassed over one billion global streams. With a strong online presence and a dedicated fan base of over 25 million followers, Simi’s supporters eagerly anticipate the new musical era she is ushering in with ‘To Be Honest‘ and now ‘Stranger.’
