Vietnamese singer-songwriter and producer Kiey takes a major artistic leap with “phan thiet,” a dream-pop and R&B single that feels less like a conventional love song and more like a cinematic memory dissolving in real time. Serving as the lead introduction to his upcoming album METROMIRAGE, the track combines lush production with unusually intimate songwriting, turning a coastal road-trip recollection into a meditation on grief, nostalgia, and the unbearable temptation to relive what is already gone.
From the opening seconds, Kiey creates a soundscape that feels suspended between dream and reality. Glinting piano notes shimmer like sunlight on water while deep, steady beats pulse beneath the surface, giving the song both momentum and weight. His tender, warm voice enters singing with a vulnerability that immediately draws you in. The production is remarkably tactile: airy synths drift through the mix, the percussion moves like rolling surf, and every reverb tail seems to echo into an empty horizon.
The song’s emotional power comes from its gradual unraveling. At first, Kiey paints an idyllic coastal escape—windows down, sea salt in the air, waves crashing in rhythm with young love. The imagery is so vivid that you can practically feel the humid ocean breeze. Then the illusion breaks. He wakes up to an empty bed, a glowing phone screen reading 5:49, and the crushing realization that the person he’s singing to exists only in memory. The repeated plea to “take me right back” becomes increasingly desperate, transforming the chorus from a romantic refrain into a cry against time itself.
Vocally, Kiey is mesmerizing. His soft, tender register carries the song’s confessional intimacy, but it’s the falsetto passages that truly elevate the track. They soar above the instrumental with an almost ghostly quality, as if the memories themselves are singing back to him.
The accompanying music video reportedly follows a scientist obsessively trying to resurrect a lost lover through a humanoid robot, and that same obsession permeates the song. Kiey wisely stays off-screen, allowing the narrative to stand on its own while his music provides the emotional bloodstream.
With “phan thiet,” Kiey proves he’s not simply chasing international dream-pop trends—he’s shaping them through a distinctly Vietnamese lens.
STAY IN TOUCH:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | X | SPOTIFY | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
Review by: Naomi Joan