Walkin’ with Suran
Suran may not be a name familiar to most until recently, but when it was revealed that her single “Wine” was produced by BTS’s Suga, she skyrocketed up the charts. Although she has only recently become somewhat well known, she’s an R&B singer that has been running with your favorite hip-hop crew since 2014.
The Most Famous Unknown Voice in the R&B Genre
Suran initially debuted in duo Lodia in 2014 with single “I Got A Feeling.” Since that time she has been promoting as a solo artist, releasing a series of singles and drama OSTs until her latest first mini-album release of Walkin’ this past spring. The list of artists who have been featured on her songs since 2014 is impressive to say the least, including well-known names like Beenzino, Hwasa of MAMAMOO, Changmo, Swings, DEAN, and Crush.
Though she hasn’t released a ton of music under her own name, Suran has been featured on a surprising number of tracks with well-known artists such as Primary’s “Mannequin,” Agust D’s “So Far Away,” and even Block B’s leader ZICO’s “Pride and Prejudice.” She’s also quite active in features on songs on music variety shows like Show Me the Money and Unpretty Rapstar, racking up names such as Code Kunst, BeWhy, Hanhae, Yuk Jidam, Mad Clown, and Woo Wonjae on her impressive collaboration list.
Suran may be the most well-known yet unknown vocalist in the R&B movement, as most of the songs she was involved in did not chart very high and were often overshadowed by much larger K-Pop releases. Thus far, “Wine” is her highest charting single, reaching all the way to 2nd place on the Gaon Digital Chart with 500,000 digital downloads. She even won awards in “R&B/Soul” and “Hot Trend Award” at the MelOn Music Awards for the single, her first award received as an artist and producer. Her most recent release “Love Story” takes 17th place and is her second highest charting single.
One thing that makes Suran’s brand of music stand out is her incredibly unique vocals. Her voice is very distinct, to the point that I would classify her as the female Zion.T: unique yet outstanding vocal power best fit for the R&B genre. Her talents really shine through in her live performances compared to studio versions, to the point that it’s almost inevitable that you will get goosebumps from her performances.
Walkin’ is her first album release. The album as a whole has a wonderful flow to it, with a balance of chill and relaxing tracks mixed with bright and upbeat songs. She is also unique in the sense that she is a producer of her own music, keeping up with the other big names in her genre that are predominantly male.
Suran is a vocal powerhouse with versatile talent in a male-dominated genre and has been gaining attention for it, especially in 2017. If you haven’t had the chance to check out her music, now is the time as she continues to soar into 2018.