Flashback Friday: Crystal Kay - Eternal Memories | Young and grown

Thursday February 26 was Crystal Kay’s 40th birthday. So this Friday, we’re gonna flashback to her debut single “Eternal Memories”, which was released in July 1991 — when Crystal was just 13 years old.

This song has aged beautifully. It still sounds fresh. And it features what I think is still one of Crystal Kay’s best music videos.

“Eternal Memories” really evokes that energy of early 90s R&B, where Black girls were debuting with singles at the age of 15 which felt like something you’d expect from an artist twice their age. But the songs never felt inappropriate. And audiences spanning a range of ages were receptive to these songs, because they felt real and relatable. Young girls and grown women alike could relate to Monica singing about how it’s just one o’ dem days. And young girls and grown women could relate to Brandy singing about how she really wanted to kick it with a guy she liked. “Eternal Memories” is no different. At 15 you’re at that weird age where you are aware of getting older. You wanna be more ‘adult’ and act like you’ve outgrown things from your childhood. But at the same time you know deep down the comfort they bring you and don’t find it so easy to let them go. And then as you get older, you find yourself thinking about the past a lot, especially when you move into new phases of your life.

“Eternal Memories” is a pretty heavy song for a 15 year old to sing. Crystal has said a few times in interviews that she never understood the song back when she first recorded it and continued to not understand it for quite some time afterwards. It wasn’t until she was older that she really got what the song was about and connected with it.

Crystal Kay - Eternal Memories | Sony Music Entertainment Japan

It’s such a shame that “Eternal Memories” wasn’t re-recorded for All Time Best 25th Anniversary. Although given how the re-recordings for that album turned out, perhaps it was for the best. But still. To not have Crystal re-record her debut single for a Best album celebrating 25 years and for it to not be a single?

Girl. Fire the whole management, marketing and legal team.

It would be great to hear Crystal perform “Eternal Memories” more, because it really is a great song with some really poignant lyrics. And with Crystal’s vocals and ability to really convey the feelings of a song having developed like the finest of wines, she really should sing it more. “Koi ni Ochitara” is lovely. But sweetie. We need other songs from deeper in the catalogue. Thankfully she included it on the setlist of her CK25 North American tour, which had a MUCH better setlist than the 25th anniversary show she did in Japan. Doing a 25th anniversary show in your home country and not including your debut single is CRAZY to me.

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🎛️ CK mashups: Crystal Kay x Janet Jackson | Crystal Kay x Jordan Knight | Crystal Kay x Janet Jackson

💿 CK album reviews: C.L.L. ~Crystal Lover Light | 637 -Always & Forever- | Almost Seventeen | Crystal Style | 4Real | Call Me Miss... | All Yours | Color Change! | Spin the Music | Shine | Vivid | For You | I Sing | All Time Best 25th Anniversary

☕ CK tea: The ways Crystal Kay influenced and impacted J-R&B AND Japanese music that not enough people talk about