Ros Sereysothea (Ros Sothea)

Ros Sereysothea, born Ros Sothea, was a famous Cambodian singer, active from 1967–1975. Sothea made her first hit song in 1967 with the single “Stung Khieu (Blue River)”, and quickly became popular across Cambodia. She was renowned for her high and clear voice, and eventually became a regular partner with Sinn Sisamouth, the era’s leading singer, resulting in many popular duet recordings. Romantic ballads emerged as her most popular works, but she also sang in many different genres, including psychedelic and garage rock.

Like most of Cambodia’s pre-1975 singers, Ros Sereysothea disappeared during the Khmer Rouge genocide, and it is unlikely she survived. Her sisters allege that Sothea is likely to have been executed immediately after the Khmer Rouge seized control of Cambodia in April 1975, and other sources claim she died from overwork or execution in a Khmer agricultural camp after being evacuated to the countryside. Like Pan Ron, it’s also claimed she might’ve survived until the Vietnamese invasion of late 1978/early 1979, but soon died in a hospital from malnutrition.