Joy Oladokun, Chris Stapleton duet for new ballad 'Sweet Symphony'
Nashville-based Nigerian-American singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun has finally released "Sweet Symphony," her long-anticipated, stirring ballad duet with eight-time Grammy winner Chris Stapleton. Oladokun's star is on the rise. Three studio albums plus co-signs from an influential crew of fellow Music City creatives in the past five years -- including Jason Isbell, plus Highwomen members Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Maren Morris -- have heightened the mainstream music industry's awareness of her talents. This single increases that notion.
Regarding the track, Oladokun notes, "'Sweet Symphony' is a song I wrote about the love that I got to witness my parents share as a kid. It's about the vulnerability, the fear, and the ups and downs that come from loving someone. Showing all of yourself so that someone else can accept and celebrate you is what it's all about. I'm excited to have Chris Stapleton on this song not only because he has one of the most iconic voices on the planet, but also, he's just an incredible songwriter, artist, and instrumentalist. I feel very lucky and honored he considered this song worthy enough to be a part of."
In the past year, Oladokun is one of very few artists anywhere who has appeared on NPR Music's "Tiny Desk Concert" series, plus "CBS Saturday Morning," "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," the "Today" show and PBS' "Austin City Limits." These appearances accompany being a host on Apple Music Radio, as well as festival showcases at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Hangout, and Newport Folk Festival.
"I have minimal awareness of what happens outside the moment I finish creating things to the best of my ability. There's the same feeling in creating for the function of good, meaningful work that my 90-year-old grandmother had in selling vegetables until she died or how a carpenter approaches crafting chairs," Oladokun told the Tennessean before playing Bonnaroo.
"For me, simplicity comes from a pure, tangible, vulnerable and intentional place. I want to open the door to connecting my experiences as a Black, queer woman to universal hopes, dreams and fears that we all feel. I hope people realize that whatever space I'm in — be that posting on Instagram or Twitter, playing music on Apple Radio, or at Bonnaroo — I'm always authentically myself."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Joy Oladokun, Chris Stapleton duet for new ballad 'Sweet Symphony'
