Back in October 2023, when Samia was still promoting her sophomore album Honey, she stopped by NPR for her debut Tiny Desk concert. That performance would be a pretty significant one -- not only because it was the final episode Bob Boilen produced before his retirement, but also because it's just now gone viral on social media nearly two years later.
Samia closed her Tiny Desk concert with "Pool," the opener to her 2020 debut album The Baby. The studio version is an ambient pop tune that shrouds Samia's powerhouse vocals in overdubs and reverb. The Tiny Desk version, of course, is way more hi-fi, and you can really hear her belt and enunciate each lyric. Last week, someone decided to share a snippet of "Pool" from the Tiny Desk on TikTok, where it spread like wildfire. According to a press release, Samia has gotten over a million new streams and counting in the past few days, with 90% of those being "active and intentional." That means the vast majority of people who are just now listening to Samia are looking her up on their own instead of discovering her music through an algorithmically curated playlist. Imagine!
Also at some point in the past few days, Samia hopped in the studio to record a "stripped" version of "Pool." (She can't release the Tiny Desk version on DSPs because NPR owns that recording.) This version splits the difference between the minimal drone of the original and the raw, undoctored of the Tiny Desk concert. Check out the new "Pool (Stripped)" below along with the Tiny Desk performance that started it all.
Samia's recent release Bloodless was our Album Of The Week back in April.
