Sean Kingston Still Loves the Beautiful Girls
We speak to Jamaican-American singer Sean Kingston ahead of his weekend in Hong Kong performing for a private event at Play.
Jamaican-American singer Kisean Jamal Anderson, known as Sean Kingston, has survived a tumultuous decade: Bursting onto the scene in 2007 with debut success in the mid-noughties with hit song "Beautiful Girls," club banger "Fire Burning" and a host of collaborations such as "Eenie Meenie," with Justin Bieber, and "Letting Go (Dutty Love)," with Nicki Minaj. The singer suffered a near-fatal jetski accident in 2011, and despite having to undergo two open heart surgeries, the event gave him time to regroup and work on his third studio album, "Back 2 Life." Three years later, he's coming back with a fourth, and has released three singles in anticipation. We catch up with the singer ahead of his set at a private event at Play this month.
Regarding your best known hit "Beautiful Girls," released in 2007 ("Damn all these beautiful girls / They only wanna do you dirt / They'll have you suicidal, suicidal / When they say it's over"): How much truth is in the lyrics? What do you have against beautiful girls? Nooooo! [laughing] I love all the beautiful girls!
How would you compare the hip hop and R 'n' B scene now to when you first started out? Now, it’s all about a hit record… less about new artists, and more about the song.
How do you feel about Justin Bieber, with whom you collaborated when he had a much younger voice? I love Justin and am so proud of all he has accomplished. He has always been a great friend to me.
With your latest 2016 singles "One Away" and "All I Got," do you feel that your style has changed? Those records aren’t indicative of my style changing. They are more me showing another side of myself. I can do the feelgood pop music but still be relatable to the urban crowd.