Kiey's Phan Thiet Turns a Coastal Drive Into Loss
The Vietnamese Producer’s Dream-Pop Lead Single Opens His Third Album METROMIRAGE
Kiey wrote phan thiet on the road, between the beach town it is named after and Ho Chi Minh City. The self-producing songwriter turned it into a dream-pop and R&B single about love, memory and loss. It is the lead single from his forthcoming third album, METROMIRAGE, out since 1 July 2026.
You can listen to our full playlist which contains the artist’s music, and know more about the artist’s work by scrolling down the page.
Where The Song Came From
The single carries a simple Vietnamese name while the music reaches for an international, English-language pop sound. That contrast is the point. phan thiet was born during the Lunar New Year of 2026. Kiey was travelling the coastal road from Phan Thiết back to Ho Chi Minh City with his family. Caught by the waves and the sea breeze, he opened his phone and noted the first melodies.
He has said the goal was simple: translate that loose, unhurried feeling of the ocean into a song. No title fitted better than the place where it began. Lyrically, the track follows a young man replaying a dreamlike seaside trip with someone he loves. In the end, he wakes to the truth that she is gone. He is left holding the memory rather than the person, and the mood sits with loneliness and grief.
The Sound Of phan thiet
Kiey handled the record himself as producer, mixer and mastering engineer. He spent close to two months finishing it, the longest he has taken on any release. You can hear where that time went. The production leans on soft, roomy textures and a patient tempo that lets the vocal sit close. As a result, that restraint keeps the heartbreak legible rather than overplayed.
If you follow The Weeknd, the mix of glossy R&B production and a genuinely bleak story will feel familiar. Frank Ocean is the other clear touchstone, less for sound than for method. Like Ocean, Kiey lets a song wander through remembered detail before it lands on a hard truth. And like Joji, he sits outside the Anglophone pop world yet writes and sings in English. Instead, he folds a melancholic R&B sensibility into songs built for a wide audience. Those are stylistic comparisons, not claims of shared history, but they map the lane phan thiet drives in.
Early coverage has picked up on that same blend. Good Music Radar and Apollo’s Harp both featured the single soon after its release.
A Music Video Built Like A Short Film
The visual side is where Kiey placed his biggest bet. The video was shot over two days on location in Phan Thiết. It was directed by FA Châu Trần, who was director of photography on the Vietnamese box-office hit Phí Phông. In fact, much of that film’s crew reunited for the shoot. They built sets that run from a futuristic laboratory to a coastal finale. The lead role went to actor Sỹ Hậu, recently seen in Phí Phông and Ma Xó, alongside actress Millie Vũ.
The story is pure science fiction. A young scientist tries to bring his late partner back. He builds a humanoid robot and loads their shared memories into it. Every attempt fails until a sudden electrical surge wakes the machine. She returns as a cold, emotionless copy of the woman he loved, while he unravels under his own obsession. Still, it is a bold frame for a pop single, and Kiey stays out of it entirely. Believing the story needed trained actors, he stepped behind the camera. He sat beside the director at the monitor for the full shoot.
Who phan thiet Is For
This song wants a little weight. It is the kind of record you play after midnight, not at a party. Put it on with headphones and it rewards the attention. Overall, the mood sits next to the more introspective end of contemporary R&B and dream-pop.
PopHits.News curator team: “What sells phan thiet is restraint. Kiey resists the urge to make grief loud, and the song is stronger for it. It is a slow-burning study of memory that trusts the listener to feel the weight on their own.”
It also says something about Kiey as a maker. He has been open that every release on this scale is a gamble. As long as he keeps creative and financial control, his aim is to put out the best work he can. Ultimately, on phan thiet that ambition shows in the detail. You hear it in the two-month mix and a video most independent artists would never attempt.
Keep up with Kiey across platforms: Spotify, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, and his YouTube channel.
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