DOLLA’s debut album under the label, “New Classic,” was released digitally, as proudly announced by Universal Music Malaysia. The album, which features seven tracks—five new tracks and two previously released tracks—was produced by both domestic and foreign producers, most notably South Korean producer Hyuk Shin. The tracks deftly combine a variety of genres, from Dance-Pop to R&B. With a wide range of emotions and musical styles, each member’s musical versatility is showcased on the album, which features both upbeat and soulful mid-tempo tracks.
Comprising of Angel, Sabronzo, Syasya and Tabby, DOLLA burst onto the Malaysian music scene in 2020 with their debut single, ‘DOLLA Make You Wanna’ and have been making waves ever since. Known for their dynamic, compelling, ambitious, and unapologetic approach towards their music and visual expression, DOLLA truly embodies the vibe of the current generation. To date, the group has released seven (7) solo singles and five (5) collaboration songs that have managed to capture the attention of local music fans and a global social media following.
The album is set to redefine the essence of a classic bringing with it a new attitude, a fresh perspective of DOLLA’s unique sound and the narrative of empowerment honing on female strength. According to Tabby, other than being a highly entertaining album, ‘New Classic’ is ultimately about making a statement, “The new generation has a responsibility to make songs that will be the classics of the future. In that sense, DOLLA is on a constant mission to push the boundaries and put out songs that can be considered as ‘the new classics’ for generations to come”.
She further explains, “We had about a year on average to work on the album. DOLLA as a group are heavily involved with the album’s creative process. For example, the song ‘drip’ is the first song that witnessed DOLLA members writing lyrics and composing the melody. For the album, we worked with some of the best writers and producers in the industry and collaborated with the producers to make the songs more customised to DOLLA. In short, we collectively ‘DOLLA-fy’ them, thus making the album a lot more personal to us”.
As further asserted by Syasya, the youngest member of the group, “The recording process is pretty challenging as all songs in the album are very different from each other and have their own vibe that requires specific attention by each member of DOLLA. Thankfully, everyone that we worked with during recording process helped us a lot”.
The seven (7) tracks that made up ‘New Classic’ are ‘CLASSIC’ (Title track), ‘DAMELO’, ‘MASA’, ‘drip’, ‘best side’, ‘BO$$ UP’ and ‘DAMELO (English version)’. The title track, ‘CLASSIC’ and ‘BO$$ UP’ are produced by Hyuk Shin, an A-list multi-platinum South Korean producer and songwriter. He has worked with global superstars such as Justin Bieber, Anderson Paak, Blackbear, Dean, NCT, Super Junior, TXT, Exo, Monsta X, Shinee, Girls’ Generation and many more.
‘CLASSIC’ in particular is written to set the tone for the album as a whole. Armed with an infectious beat and catchy lyrics, ‘CLASSIC’ is an empowering song about owning your power and standing out from the crowd. The music video for ‘CLASSIC’, also released today on YouTube, was fully filmed on location in Thailand. Essentially, this requires all four members of DOLLA to travel to Thailand and work with a production team made up of the country’s professional film crew.
When asked about ‘CLASSIC’, Angel confessed that the song could be said to be one of her favourites from the album. She explains, “As a song, ‘CLASSIC’ truly represents DOLLA and where the group is currently heading. With lyrics that manifested a sense of dominance and power, it is also DOLLA’s first song with an anti-drop chorus and a cheerful bridge. I think it’s definitely a different approach to DOLLA’s usual type of song. On top of this, we are extremely excited for the release of the music video for ‘CLASSIC’. It’s a new experience for us to be shooting overseas for the first time and the production crew did not disappoint! Positively a remarkable work exposure for all of us”.
Also included in the album is DOLLA’s most recent release, ‘DAMELO’, written and produced by Hard Lights. Meaning ‘Give It To Me’ in Spanish, it is a techno-Latin inspired track with a strong female empowerment message. Upon release, ‘DAMELO’ trended at #1 on overall videos and #2 in the music category on YouTube Malaysia. It accumulated over 200,000 views in 24 hours and over 500,000 views within 4 days. Since it was released three (3) months ago, ‘DAMELO’ has garnered 2.4 million views on YouTube. The song charted in Spotify Top 200 and Apple Music Top 200 within 7 days of release. These noteworthy achievements have cemented DOLLA’s status as one of the most impactful groups in the country’s music scene.
Sabronzo says, “We think ‘New Classic’ perfectly represents the evolution of DOLLA and our signature sound. We’re excited to let our supporters in on what we’ve been brewing up this past year. Each member was super involved in the track curation as well as the creative process, which makes it very much our “baby” and we absolutely LOVE IT – and hope you all do too!“
In acknowledging the writers and producers of the album, Sabronzo expressed, “We are truly honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate with so many talented and experienced individuals on this project who are true professionals. We learned so much from them and the experience has definitely encouraged us to be better artists, for ourselves and for our fans. We hope you would enjoy ‘New Classic’ as much as we have enjoyed creating it for you”.
Kim Lim, Managing Director of Universal Music Malaysia, commented, “I am extremely proud of DOLLA’s achievements and at Universal Music Malaysia, we have high hopes that this album will take them further in the music industry both locally and internationally. They have proven to us that DOLLA is a force to be reckoned with and looking at their tremendous effort and tenacity, despite being new, I am confident that these songs are future classics, and DOLLA is well on their way to become icons of the new generation”.
‘New Classic’ is available now on all streaming platforms. DOLLA is also set to launch their album at #DOLLAVILLA on 21 November 2023. Built within the confines of a luxurious villa, #DOLLAVILLA will feature various immersive activations such as a stage built on a pool and a smashing performance by DOLLA for local and regional guests invited to the one-of-a-kind event. Also, to be revealed at #DOLLAVILLA is DOLLA X CERM Classic Perfume – a limited edition Huile de Parfum, marking one of DOLLA’s first-ever exclusive releases. This scent translates DOLLA’s Album beats into a beautiful scent, resulting in a uniquely modern fragrance, a true collector’s gem. A must have for enthusiasts of unique fragrances, and especially DOLLA’s die-hard fans. This fragrance will be available for purchase at cermskin.com/dolla from 30th November onwards.
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