The album marked the official solo debut of Yukika after retiring as a voice actress in Japan, and moving to South Korea in order to pursue a music career.

The album was supported by four singles, including Yukika's debut song "Neon" and the titular track, which were both released to critical acclaim.

Soul Lady was positively received upon its release; reviews regarded it as a solid debut album with compliments on the cohesive production, the thematic nod to the 1980s, and its contribution to the renewed popularity of city pop as a genre.

[4] The following year, Yukika successfully auditioned for The Idolmaster KR, a South Korean drama adaptation of the original game series.

[11][12][13][14] Yukika cited the music of Mariya Takeuchi, Tomoko Aran and Kim Hyun-chul as the stylistic references for the album's sound.

[11][14] Despite city pop's common association with "retro style", Yukika was adamant that Soul Lady had to remain sonically "modern".

"[17] Thematically, Soul Lady centers on the story of a young woman who travels from Tokyo to Seoul in search of her dreams and falls into a bittersweet romance in the process.

[11][17][19] Tanu I. Raj of NME noted the analogous nature of the album: "On Soul Lady, Yukika was a starry-eyed girl “full of curiosity”, new to Seoul and dazzled by the “endless lights”’, ready to “discover another me”.

[29][30] "Neon" received critical acclaim upon its release, with Seung Park from Kotaku commenting that the track was a "wonderful ode to [the] 80s",[31] and other reviewers praising it for being a part of the city pop genre resurgence.