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If you are wondering why? miguel Having not released a studio album for nearly a decade, his response is simple: life.
“I needed to do some growth. I needed to get my (expletive) together.”
Since 2017’s “War and Leisure,” the world has experienced a variety of world-impacting events: a second Donald Trump presidency, a coronavirus pandemic, a American There has been a war going on for three years between the social justice movement Russia And Ukraine, and two years of Israel-Hamas The war which recently entered into a ceasefire.
“We’re just seeing, I think, a huge question mark of humanity being asked in real time every day,” Miguel said. “I needed to step away and reexamine and just get in touch with my anger and figure out how to move forward with it in a productive way… I’m really glad I did that because it’s informed this album.”
“CAOS” is a far cry from the superstar’s vibrant, sensual sound that made her a hit-making staple in R&B. The singer-songwriter’s fifth studio project, adapted from his 2023-scrapped “Viscera” LP, was released Thursday to coincide with his 40th birthday. He wrote on all 12 tracks and handled the bulk of the production with Ray Brady. The only feature is Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoree George Clinton of Parliament-Funkadelic fame.
Led by the singles “RIP,” “New Martyr (Ride 4 U),” “El Pleto,” and “Angel’s Song,” the album channels its trendsetting fusion of alternative rock, R&B, and electronic sounds, but in unfamiliar, darker tones. Music creates feelings of urgency, protest and rebellion.
“This album is the most angriest, angriest album I’ve ever made. But I think underlying and underwriting the message and the subject matter is the core need to express dissatisfaction in a healthy way that creates the feeling and the future I want.”
thief of joy
Miguel also faced internal predicaments: divorce, family death, and industry disillusionment.
“The value of my work was more about external appreciation rather than internal gratitude,” said the artist, who has earned four top 20 tracks on the Billboard 100. This admission comes from a Grammy winner who has created new-age classics like “Adorn” and “Sure Thing” and fan-favorite mood-setters like “All I Want Is You” and “Skywalker.”
“When you see something is really successful in the culture… you can start to compare… and it’s a very slippery slope,” said Miguel, who released musical pieces like the EPs “Te Lo Dije” and “Art Dealer Chic 4” during his hiatus and “Don’t Forget My Love” with Diplo in 2022 and “Sweet Dreams” with BTS’s J-Hope earlier this year. Released songs. “It’s about connecting more deeply with my audience and having deeper conversations, not about wanting to make bigger songs.”
it’s not a sure thing
During their hiatus, Miguel and Nazanin Mandi divorced. The singer started dating Mandy when he was 19, before marrying her in 2018. They divorced after four years.
“It was a painful thing to go through,” said Miguel, who wrote “Always Time” to address the breakup. “If you really love it, there are some things you have to let go, and I thought that was a good sign that I needed to take some time for myself.”
Last month, in celebration of his son’s first birthday, Miguel publicly revealed that he has become a father for the first time with filmmaker and former Vogue China editor Margaret Zhang. “Angel’s Song” is dedicated to his child.
spanish language songs
“CAOS,” Spanish for chaos, also features another twist from the genre-bending artist: Spanish-language songs. While 2019’s “Te Lo Dije” consisted of Spanish recordings of previous songs, this project includes original tracks such as “El Pleto” and “Perdarme”.
“It was always said that ‘You should lean toward Latin as a marketing (strategy).’ …It didn’t feel natural,” said Miguel, whose mother is African American and father is Mexican American. “Now I’m here, and it’s about my identity and who I am and what I’m proud of.”
back to the future
Miguel, who serves as this year’s Scholar-in-Residence at NYU’s Steinhardt School, is also focusing on his S1C venture to provide development and financial support to Black, Mexican, and Latino creators. He also appreciates the futuristic-R&B sound that emerged during his absence, which he is largely credited with helping to introduce.
“I love that I can hear my influences in some of the music today,” said Miguel, who gained young fans in 2023 after “Sure Thing” went viral on TikTok and Instagram more than a decade after its release. “You’re like, well, we were in the right place.”
Despite struggling to stay true to himself and his music and not being tied to the charts, Miguel feels appreciated by his fans, and centers himself in gratitude.
“I’m very fortunate to have a core audience that really follows me through all my evolution,” he said. “I feel appreciated. And I think there’s an opportunity for it to be more, and more importantly, deeper.”
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Follow Associated Press entertainment reporter Gary Gerard Hamilton on all his social media platforms at @GaryGHamilton.