Exclusive Interview: Sonia Stein Shares the Emotional Meaning Behind Her New Single, “Every Time Africa Plays”

London-based pop songstress Sonia Stein has a voice that is mesmerizing listeners around the world. She’s performed at sold-out arenas around the world, released several successful EPs, and established herself as one of music’s most exciting voices.

This August, she releases her emotional new single, “Every Time Africa Plays,” a tribute to one of her close friends.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Sonia about her career, “Every Time Africa Plays,” and more!

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Sonia: I have been interested in singing ever since I can remember. When I was a teenager, I started putting some of my overflowing feelings into song and found it incredibly satisfying. From then on, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Sonia: I think learning how to collaborate with producers in order to take my songs out of my bedroom and into formats that can be ingested on so many other levels definitely changed the game for me. Also, it created a whole new world of ways to explore who I am and how I express myself.

PC: You’ve always been incredibly vulnerable in your craft. Has that always come easy for you?
Sonia: In short, yes. Only because hiding parts of myself or writing about things that don’t mean anything to me was way harder. It just feels impossible to me to be creative without being vulnerable.

PC: Tell us about “Every Time Africa Plays” and the inspiration behind the song.
Sonia: This song is about losing one of my best friends and remembering her through one of her favorite songs. It’s about those moments when you feel someone’s presence and get the sense that they’re all right, even though missing them feels unbearable.

PC: The single is off your upcoming EP, Lessons From Earth Part 2. What can fans expect from the release?
Sonia: I am so excited about Part 2. The songs feel the most personal ever. They really document my struggles and thought processes through different aspects of my life and relationships. But they also explore themes that are a little more flirty and playful too.

PC: Of all the music that you’ve released, if you had to pick one song that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Sonia: This is an impossible question to answer. I always talk about how my songs are like aspects of me—different times in my life, different moods, different expressions of who I am. To choose one would feel like choosing to eat one thing for the rest of my life. [laughs[

PC: As we look ahead to the rest of 2022, what can fans expect from you?
Sonia: New song releases, a very exciting music video, a couple more epic Stein Away Sessions! More vulnerable shares and all-around goodness.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Sonia: The In the Heights soundtrack.

PC: First album you bought?
Sonia: Can’t Take Me Home, P!nk.

PC: First concert you attended?
Sonia: Kelis.

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Sonia: A Fine Frenzy’s One Cell in the Sea. This was the first time I heard someone with a soft voice playing piano and singing songs that felt just like the ones I was writing in my school music room. It changed my whole perspective on what I could do and who I could be as an artist.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Sonia: Terminal 5 in NYC. Not sure why, but I remember seeing Temper Trap play there and thinking to myself I really wanted to play there one day.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Sonia: Lots of varieties of herbal teas.

To keep up with Sonia, follow her on Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music. Pick up or stream “Every Time Africa Plays” today.