SOUTH AFRICA’S FIRST BOYBAND IN TWO DECADES

DEBUTS WITH HOLIDAY EP

- By CHARMIE JOY PAGULONG

The newly formed boyband Dey Say from South Africa just dropped their “Christmas Wish” EP in time for the festive season.

Made up of Elim (19), Dre (20), Chad (16) and Jo (20), the group is the “first South African pop boyband in nearly two decades to emerge outside of a reality-TV format.”

Their EP features Christmassy tunes, Mistletoe, Let The Snow Fall and Hold Me Close with Sweetest Gift as the lead track.

In a Zoom interview with The STAR, the quartet performed a quick snippet of Sweetest Gift and described “Christmas Wish” as their “quintessential EP for a Christmas album.”

Jo: “I think there’s a lot of elements in it that represents A-pop (African pop) and I think that’s the most exciting part of it and it’s something new to us and something new to the world. So, we're really excited about it.”

For Elim, the record is like a gift to their country and to the world. “We just wanted to give the people something to listen to when they’re hanging the decorations or making the Christmas food or driving to the beach.”

Their Christmas wish is to embark on a world tour, with a stop in the Philippines. They haven't been to the Philippines but they’ve heard a lot of good stuff about the country. They’re also familiar with Morissette and hope to collaborate with her someday in the future.