You might not know Sophia Somajo (or Soso) by name – unless you’re a true pop nerd, and/or a fellow PopJustice stan – but you most certainly already know some of her work.
Under her own name and, much more often, pseudonyms like Tiffany Amber, the Swedish singer-songwriter has co-written smashes for our pop faves alongside the Pop God himself Max Martin: Robyn‘s “Time Machine,” Britney‘s “3” and “Criminal” and Legendtina‘s “Your Body,” among others.
“It’s nothing to do with me being ashamed of these projects, she told PopJustice.
“if you listen to my first album and think ‘Max Martin’, my music will come off as unfinished and unpolished and, well, just badly executed. If you listen from the perspective of ‘here’s a DIY artist with little or no budget experimenting in her bedroom and she has no professional training’, you can maybe hear something.”
After dropping Freudian Slip in 2017 (get into “Klein Blue” ASAP), she emerges once again this year as her own artist, both with an upcoming follow-up EP called Freudian Slip II and a seemingly about-to-be massive dance hit – thanks to some persuasion – called “Diamond Heart” with Alan Walker.
Like a Sia or an Ina Wroldsen, Sophia assumed this song was going to be passed off to a pop star. But instead, her voice remains on the final version, which doubles as the final release from Alan’s World Of Walker trilogy following “Darkside” and “All Falls Down,” as well as prequel “Tired.” (If you’re not entirely immersed the EDM world, you might still at least be familiar with his debut single, “Faded,” which boasts a super casual billion-plus views on YouTube. Also, he’s still only 21 years old.)
In any case, the two came together in the form of “Diamond Heart,” a solid, sweeping tears-on-the-dance-floor electronic anthem that manages to feel both festival-friendly and deeply intimate, thanks to the wistful songwriting skills of the talented Ms. Somajo.
“I wish that I did not know where all broken lovers go / I wish that my heart was made of stone / Yeah, if I was bulletproof, I’d love you black and blue / If I was solid like a jewel / If I had a diamond heart / I’d give you all my love…”
If the song tickles your pop fancy, check out Sophia’s full interview at PopJustice for more of her worldview as a writer and artist, and then dive deeper by listening to her stripped-down take on Tina Turner‘s classic “Private Dancer.”
“I want ‘Private Dancer’ to be something you can listen to if you want to know more about me,” she said. “I realized that in my career and in life in general I’ve been dancing, quote unquote, for men…you have to dance, in a way, to be heard. You have to strip. Many times in my career I’ve had meetings with very powerful men where I feel like their interest in me has a lot to do with that energy. The possibility of…something.”
Between this and Cher‘s ABBA album and the return of Robyn, Swedish pop excellence is really having quite a moment once again. (Well, isn’t it always? We’re so lucky to have Sweden.)
“Diamond Heart” was released on September 28. (iTunes)
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Photo credit: Rikkard Häggbom / RCA / @sophiasomajo