Shaya Zamora Confronts Grief in New Single “Stars”
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Editorial Dept.
Key Takeaways
On the heels of a string of viral hits and global streaming success, rising alternative singer Shaya Zamora mesmerizes the listener with his most personal songwriting to date, with the high-powered “Stars.” Produced with longtime collaborator Mxwell, the track melds acoustic understated layers with celestial keys around themes of grief and survivor’s guilt. Bolstered by a streak of viral hits and success in the global streaming world, Zamora solidifies his status as an emotive storyteller whose narratives latch emotional unfiltered energy with universality.
According to a press release from Shaya Zamora’s management, “Stars,” is available now via Atlantic Records.
Listen to Stars
Underpinned by a steady backbeat, the song’s soundscape pairs echoes of gentle acoustic guitar with sparse, yet celestial keys. He wrestles with loss and confronts survivor’s guilt head-on, “Why, why do I have to survive? While you’re in the dirt.“ Emotion overflows on the refrain, and he turns his gaze towards the heavens for answers, “When I look up into the stars, I still wonder where you are. Was it meant to be everything you put me through? Maybe I never understood what I meant to you.“
“Still left with 1,000 questions, ‘Stars’ is a song about being numb to a cold truth,” shares Zamora. “I never realized what I meant to them until I lost them.”
Watch the lyric video for “Stars”:
![Shaya Zamora - Stars [Lyric Video]](https://livemusicblog.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-youtube-lyte/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FsxXH8CqUUwU%2F0.jpg)
Keeping busy, the new song lands in the wake of the recent fan favorite “Chemicals.” In less than a month, the latter has already eclipsed 1 million Spotify streams. “Chemicals” followed the intensely intimate “Numb” and the haunting “Dark Sea,” the latter of which drew praise from Out Now as “a cinematic reflection on inner battles and the resilience it takes to survive them. With stirring lyrics and an ambient, melancholic tone, ‘Dark Sea’ reinforces Zamora’s ability to translate personal vulnerability into universal connection.”
Recent months have also seen collaborations such as colby! x Shaya Zamora’s “Monster” and Tommee Profitt x Sam Tinnesz x Shaya Zamora’s “Lament,” while a pair of fan favorites have garnered new audiences thanks to soundtrack appearances on Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia (“Cigarette”) and The Waterfront (“Sinner”).
Shaya Zamora has swiftly become a worldwide phenomenon with his raw emotion and vibrant acoustic melodies, built upon a singular strain of intimate songcraft and deeply spiritual storytelling. Raised in rural Washington, Zamora began writing songs at an early age, chronicling what he considers “just real down-to-earth things.” The gifted young artist quickly found a following, earning him millions of worldwide streams and an increasingly fervent fan base since his summer 2023 debut. Indeed, Zamora’s profile has continued to rise dramatically since the January 2024 release of his debut EP, Eulogize, which has garnered close to 50M total streams thanks in part to tracks like “Cigarette” (now boasting over 40M streams to date).
Zamora ascended even higher with 2024’s breakthrough release of “Pretty Little Devil,” available HERE. Now with more than 70M global streams (including over 2.8M US streams in its first week alone), the track rose to #2 on iTunes’ Alternative Chart while also ranking among the upper reaches of Apple Music and Shazam’s US and Global charts. “Pretty Little Devil” further earned over 200K creates and more than 400M views on TikTok (where it was added to TikTok’s #NewMusic global discovery hub and earned Zamora influential status as an Emerging Artist) as well as over 100M views via IG Reels. An official lyric video currently boasting over 12M views is streaming now on YouTube HERE.
“Pretty Little Devil” was swiftly followed by Zamora’s official label debut single, “Sinner,” available HERE. The profoundly moving track – which was first unveiled alongside Zamora’s signing in a Billboard exclusive – proved a viral sensation through a series of hugely popular social media teases, generating more than 60M views on TikTok thus far. “Sinner” is joined by an official lyric video now with over 4M views on YouTube HERE. Last fall saw the premiere of the introspective “Never Knew,” available HERE. Now, with “Stars” and more music to come, Shaya Zamora is sure to soar to even greater peaks of popularity and artistic connection.
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