Following on from “say i’m sorry”, Indonesia’s biggest star Afgan links up with K-Pop superstar Jackson Wang on their seductive joint single “M.I.A.” – out via EMPIRE.
Teaming up with the globally adored and Afgan’s close friend Jackson Wang, the pair’s natural chemistry on the sultry “M.I.A.” shines through, Afgan’s mellifluous harmonizing setting the tone for Jackson’s confident swagger, in a match which is bound to take the international scene by storm.
Co-written with Benny Mayne and Emily Vaughn, “M.I.A.” continues on themes of love and vulnerability from previous singles, hearing the duo make devoted statements and confessions of love over a noughties styled R&B beat helmed by Tha Aristocrats with subtle trap flavors.
Speaking on the track, Afgan shared: “My producer, Tha Aristocrats, were showing me a selection of beats, and the intro of “M.I.A.” came across and it instantly felt like my sound. It’s a feel-good song and I think at this time in the world, we need more songs like this. It was a dream come true to be able to collaborate with Jackson on this song. I’m a big fan of his, he really inspired me as an Asian artist to step up my game. I love how organic the collaboration came about; we met backstage at an event in Seoul back in 2019 and we had a conversation about the possibility of us working together. I sent him over “M.I.A.” and he loved it. I hope that one day we get to perform this song together. The MV shoot was so much fun, we got to play out fantasies and we showed a more seductive side in this video, which is something I’ve never done before.”
Of “M.I.A.”, Jackson Wang says: “Afgan and I met in Korea and then we linked and we talked about stuff on the phone. It was a very natural conversation, we thought it would be interesting and fun to make music together and Afgan is such a great artist, he’s dope. After hearing the final version of M.I.A, I personally think it’s perfect and very smooth, that everyone should listen.”
“M.I.A.” displays a slowed down, moodier vibe compared to February’s “say i’m sorry”, demonstrating his versatility as an artist. “M.I.A” is sure to keep Afgan in the international spotlight, with “say i’m sorry” praised by the likes of CLASH and NME; CLASH commending that the song is “built for stadium use” as a “piece of futuristic soul”. The single has also racked up millions of streams already and secured support from Spotify’s key editorial playlists, including eight New Music Friday placements.
Born Afgansyah Reza, his heavy influences from soul royalty such as Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston and Brian McKnight can be heard heavily in his recent releases. However, Afgan first made his mark on the Indonesian music scene back in 2008 with his debut album, Confession No. 1. He then went on to perform a whole host of sold out shows across Asia, building his repour across the continent.
Adored by fashion houses including Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci, Afgan has acquired nearly 60 respected music awards during his career from the likes of World Music Awards and MTV Indonesia. With a vast reach of 17M+ engaged followers across social media, Afgan is a true household name across Asia, with major brands like VLIVE, ViVo Smartphone and Oriflame enlisting him to be a brand ambassador, while amassing well over 100M+ Spotify streams alone – a testament to the huge influence that Afgan has not only over the Indonesian music scene, but internationally too.
With his first English album coming soon and eagerly anticipated by his millions of fans, Afgan is surely poised to make waves all around the world with soulful music created for an international audience in mind.
