Misunderstood are an English duo from London consisting of Stephan Jenson and Jeff Okyere, who competed in series 15 of The X Factor, as part of the Groups category mentored by Robbie Williams.
Stephan Benson and Jeffrey Okyere are both BRIT School graduates who have been performing as a Pop/R&B duo since 2010, and have collaborated with Little Mix and Britney Spears songwriter, Maegan Cottone to produce singles such as, ‘Ghetto Style’.
Amy Bell had the pleasure of speaking to them about their new single, Ride, their time on X Factor, and their 2020 plans.
Hi Stephan and Jeffrey, thank you for talking to essentially pop today, how are you both?
We’re very good thank you!
Jeff – Super excited for Christmas!
Stephan – Can’t wait to EAT! Haha!
So, you were on X Factor 2018, and have built up an amazing fanbase from there, how was it being on the X Factor?
Steph – Being a part of the X Factor 2018 was incredible, such a great way for us to showcase our original music to millions and see what they think.
Jeff – Luckily they loved it 🙂
Of course, you had the lovely Robbie Williams as your judge, how was that for you?
Jeff – Robbie is a LEGEND, he’s like the fun uncle you always want to hang out with lol
Steph – Robbie just got us! and always let us have the freedom every artist asks for.
Do you think that X Factor has given you a lot more opportunities than you might have had previously?
Steph – I would say 100% yes. Although we had a lot of great opportunities before the show, in the past year we haven’t stopped performing in and out of the country and are constantly at different events, which is dope!
Okay, some exciting news, you are releasing your new single ‘Ride’, tell me a bit about the new single?
Jeff – Ride is just a BOP haha. It’s a different sound than we have done before, more chilled laid back which is exciting for us.
Steph – plus it was one of the quickest & easiest songs we’ve ever written lol
You dropped a teaser over on Twitter, it sounds amazing, is there a message behind the song? If so, what do you want the fans to take away from this song?
Steph – Aww thank you 🙂 The message behind ride is very simple, sometimes in a relationship or in life, you rush through certain moments in time trying to get to the next and then wish you took advantage of that moment more, so with Ride we’re just saying, can we just chill for a minute? take in where we are in life or in that moment, enjoy it and not rush past it to fast.
Your last single ‘Juicy Fruit’ was amazing, in terms of that song and ‘Ride’ is it different or is it very similar?
Jeff – ‘Ride’ and ‘Juicy Fruit’ are very different. ‘Juicy Fruit’ is very high energy, very in your face. Where-as Ride is more relaxed and easy to digest. Plus it’s a different side to ‘Misunderstood’ that people haven’t been able to see just yet.
What do you describe your style as?
Steph – I would say, fun, cheeky, soulful and just like food with a lot of goooood seasoning. Haha!
Tell me a bit about the recording process and the songwriting process of ‘Ride’?
Jeff – Ride was sooo much fun to create. We were finished in the studio after already writing 2 songs that day and just before jumping in the car, Steph called “shotgun” for the front seat. Whilst celebrating his win Ahah. He just started singing “Can we Rideee for a minute, vibe for a minute.” And we all stopped and was like naaa we need to put that down as an idea. We ran back into the studio and wrote/recorded the demo within the hour, and ‘RIDE’ was born haha
Will we get another high energy music video for ‘Ride?’
Jeff – Hmm you’ll have to wait and see hehe!
What are you most proud of on this single release?
Steph – ah that’s a hard one, as we’re always proud of and honoured that we are alive and able to keep releasing music. I would just say I’m proud of our team for being absolute legends for without them this wouldn’t be possible. Also proud of myself and Jeff for trying something different and pushing our artistry.
5 words to describe ‘Ride’?
Jeff – Chilled, Cheeky, Real, Cool and vibeyyyyy.
When will ‘Ride’ be coming out? I personally can’t wait for it!!
Jeff – Ride is available on all platforms – Friday 29th November 2019.
Are there going to be any tours planned in the future?
Steph – Oh 100% we have a few things in the works at the moment and will announce when it’s the right time hehe
What are your plans for 2020?
Jeff– Releasing a lot of new music, and the rest you’ll have to wait to find out 😉
What are you most proud of in 2019?
Both – Being able to perform at the BRITS after part with Nile Rodgers & being apart of the headlining Hyde Park summertime festival alongside Robbie Williams.
You can check out their teaser for ‘ride’ here.
Who will be listening? Let us know in the comments!
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