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2025 has barely begun, and yet the music industry has already surprised and enchanted the world with unexpected collaborations and crossover songs. From Bruno Mars and Sexxy Red’s raunchy collaboration “Fat Juicy & Wet”, to Aleissa Cara teaming up with John Mayer for her new album Love & Hyperbole, artists are joining forces left and right to show off their versatility and range, with the bonus of appealing to a broader audience.
And these partnerships are even happening on an international level: American R&B sensation VEDO teamed up with Korean-Canadian R&B artist JUNNY to collaborate on “Lonely Lover”, a song originally produced by R&B legend Pink Sweat$ and released on January 7th, 2025.
VEDO is an American multi-platinum R&B singer-songwriter, known for his soulful and smooth vocals and collaborations with big names such as Chris Brown and Tink. In addition to his fame in the U.S. music scene, VEDO is also known for writing for K-Pop stars like NCT and EXO. The past couple of years have been pivotal for VEDO’s career, from working on “Warm Embrace” with Chris Brown on the latter’s 2023 Grammy nominated album Breezy (Deluxe), to landing on Billboard’s list of R&B/Hip-Hop Fresh Picks of the Week in 2024 with “Take It Slow”, the first single from his upcoming album.
Hailing from Seoul, South Korea, JUNNY is an R&B hitmaker who has written songs for himself and other artists, including major K-Pop acts like IU, NCT, and EXO. In 2024 JUNNY returned after a two-year hiatus with the release of his much-anticipated EP dopamine, and delighted his international fans with a collaborative single “CLOUD 9” with French singer-songwriter Levent Geiger. No doubt, JUNNY is on the path to becoming huge in the global R&B scene. Building on the success of his blanc Tour in 2023, which brought him to the U.S. for the first time, JUNNY embarked on his dopamine North America Tour in 2024, hitting big cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Brooklyn, San Francisco, and Seattle.
The pairing of these two R&B artists from opposite sides of the world seems unlikely at first glance, but it turns out that the stars were aligned for VEDO and JUNNY to meet. VEDO says that he actually knew of JUNNY before “Lonely Lover”. “I’ve always thought highly of him as an artist and vocalist,” VEDO says of the Korean-Canadian R&B singer-songwriter.
The first in-person meeting between the two R&B phenoms happened in January 2024, when VEDO was visiting Korea for a K-Pop songwriting camp at SM Entertainment. VEDO was in between writing sessions when JUNNY came by for a chat. JUNNY describes the meet-up as something that came out of the blue: “[We] exchanged contacts through Instagram and talked briefly over text. Then we met up at SM (Entertainment) when VEDO visited Korea for a song camp. [I] decided to drop by and meet up in person that day.” And VEDO concludes the story, “So in between sessions we sat down and chopped it up and the rest is history.”
Obviously, music was the first thing the two discussed when they finally got to meet. Despite being from opposite sides of the world, the two had much in common and the conversation was overflowing with things to talk about. “Surprisingly we both had known of each other, our stories are similar as well. The independent grind, working to find our sounds, the love for music as a kid,” VEDO recalls. “At that point we decided ‘Hey we have to do a record, the fans would love it.’”
“It was interesting to get his perspective as an artist in the U.S., but having similarities in writing for other K-Pop artists,” muses JUNNY. He adds that the chat inspired him to stay motivated as well; the importance of “staying consistent and striving for greatness” is his biggest takeaway from the conversation with VEDO on that fateful day.
Working together on a song while living in different countries definitely posed a challenge. Not only did the two record in separate studios, but they also had to overcome differences in time zones. As JUNNY puts it, “Having busy schedules, it was difficult to record around the same time. Yet we kept in touch and made sure we were in sync.”
Regardless of the challenges, both VEDO and JUNNY had an amazing time working together on “Lonely Lover”. The overall process was smooth as butter for VEDO: “It’s easy, very professional. I was able to put my own spin on it […] I loved the record so it was easy for me.” VEDO’s ease with the song comes from working on his connection with the lyrics. “I just had to listen to the song over and over to really study it. Once I did that I was able to really connect with the lyrics,” explains the American R&B musician.
As for JUNNY, the best part of the collaboration was getting to witness VEDO’s songwriting talent in motion. Asked about the most memorable moment from the collaboration process, JUNNY chooses to talk about VEDO’s part in the song: “I think it was when VEDO wrote his own verse. Being so versatile, it really finished the song and I’m really happy with how the song came out.” In fact, JUNNY was the one who encouraged VEDO to change the verse from Pink Sweat$’s original demo and re-write it in his own style: “Knowing how much of an amazing writer he is, I wanted him to do his own verse rather than the demo, and it was definitely a good move.”
Both artists agree that collaborations like this take work, but the experience is worth it. VEDO has a special tip on how to best work with another artist: “For me I approach the record as if I am creating it for myself. I’ve learned over the years that if you go in trying to sound like the artist or try to think like the artist you tend to overshoot. Go in with the mindset of creating an undeniable record and it will find a home.”
The fact that the two are from different sides of the globe elevated the experience for both R&B stars. “It was a great experience to collab with an artist from another part of the world. So different but yet the same in many ways,” enthuses VEDO about the partnership with JUNNY. “One thing I’ve learned is that no matter what you have done career-wise, how many awards you may have, you can always learn something new.”
And JUNNY is glad to have had VEDO as a partner as well: “There were adjustments we had to make along the way like any other song we put out, [but] it was fun to finish this song and awesome to be on it with VEDO.”
The collaboration left both artists with mutual respect for each other and a lasting bond that will hopefully lead to more projects together. VEDO’s favorite JUNNY song is “By My Side” (“absolutely a smash”, in VEDO’s words). If VEDO had to describe JUNNY with one line, he would say “Next Big Artist coming out!!!!” JUNNY’s favorite VEDO song is “Do You Mind.” If JUNNY had to describe VEDO with one line, he would say “Humble yet confident.”
Following the success of “Lonely Lover”, VEDO and JUNNY have high hopes for the rest of 2025. In the upcoming year of music and creation, VEDO shares, “Absolutely more music on the way. 2025 is the year of ascension. We are going above and beyond all that we have done up to this point.” And JUNNY is right there with him: “I’m constantly writing and prepping. This year is going to be a lot of fun with lots of new music coming soon! My 2025 goal is to be healthy physically and mentally so I can put out new music for everyone.”
