At just 19, Sebastian Horton steps onto the scene with a debut that doesn’t ask for attention, it commands it. ‘Stay (When The Light Goes Down)’ is a slick, high-gloss fusion of R&B-pop and dancefloor energy, laced with just enough emotional gravity to keep your feet moving and your head thinking. It’s one of those late-night tracks that hits differently depending on when you hear it, sweaty club anthem at midnight, quiet reassurance on the walk home at 3am.
The record carries a polished pop sensibility, nodding gently to the 2010s era of Drake’s vocal smoothness and Clean Bandit-style songwriting precision. But listen closely and there’s something far more personal beneath the production. Sebastian has lived through more than most artists twice his age, leukaemia, brain surgery, chronic health conditions, and yet the music never feels heavy. Instead, it pulses with a quiet resilience. You don’t hear sorrow; you hear survival.
The groove lands with bright confidence, flashes of funk surfacing between the beat and bassline. His voice, cool, controlled, with a maturity he hasn’t had time to grow into, floats effortlessly above the rhythm. It’s the kind of vocal delivery that says: this doesn’t define me, but it did shape me.
With this debut, Sebastian is making a statement. ‘Stay (When The Light Goes Down)’ is the work of an artist who has fought to keep moving forward, and now creates music that does the same. It’s energising, emotionally articulate, and quietly fearless.