Today, Chinese-New Zealand singer, musician, and visual artist Crystal Chen shares her new single, “Stop.” and announces her debut studio album You can call me CC releasing on Friday 5th September 2025.
Since 2022, Crystal Chen has been carving out a space uniquely her own, crafting songs that reflect her most authentic self with each release. Her 2024 standout singles “Love Letter” and “Kiss It Better” are powerful testaments to that evolution, ushering in a bold new chapter: the beginning of her debut studio album, You can call me CC.
Stop. is a slow-burning, tender ballad that glows with lush live instrumentation, capturing the intimacy of Crystal’s jazz and soul influences. Inspired by the emotional core of cult classic movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the song explores the desire to forget someone and escape the weight of their memory, yet ultimately surrenders to the beauty and ache of having loved at all. Rather than avoiding the pain, “Stop.” embraces it, offering a touching reflection on loss, memory, and acceptance.
Drawing inspiration from the soulful elegance of Minnie Riperton and the classic charm of Burt Bacharach, the song blends ‘70s ballad nostalgia with a modern emotional edge – a seamless fusion of Crystal and producer Joe Kaptein’s shared vision and artistry. Originally written with Noema Te Hau with New Music Development funding from NZ On Air as an intimate acoustic piece about heartbreak, the track found new life in Joe’s hands. His lush arrangement, sparkling with delicate percussion and expressive keyboard solos, beautifully frames Crystal’s tender harmonies as she explores themes of longing and disconnection with raw vulnerability.
The cover image of the song features a self-portrait of CC alongside the rare annual-night-blooming flower ‘The Queen of the Night’, which was grown and cared for by her own mother since she was a child. Crystal says “Stop.” is inspired by this special moment when the flower finally blooms, saying that, “Love to me feels like ‘The Queen of the Night’ flower. I adore and cherish its presence, yet I face the grief of its loss when I wake up the next day and the flower has wilted. I can find comfort that it may or may not bloom year after year, because everything is a cycle. Just like how when I first wrote this song I was heartbroken, but eventually found myself in a new relationship after the song was completed with the album”.
“Stop.” is the final single before her debut studio album You can call me CC releases on Friday 5th September, with an upcoming live show planned for early September.
Watch KISS IT BETTER music video out now — made with support from NZ On Air.
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