NewzNEW YORK (AP) — Victoria Monét won’t take it personally if you call her upcoming album a comeback, even though it has only been a three-year break. “It should be normal to take time to create your next album. I know we live in a world where we want everything fast,” the three-time Grammy winner said in an interview with The Associated Press.
For inspiration, she said she had to let life take its course. “I’m OK with people asking for more music or feeling like, ‘Dang, I missed her.’ Or this is a comeback, because that makes me feel like there was a gap in time where they noticed that I was gone,” the artist said. The “On My Mama” singer returns Friday with “Frequency of Love,” a 22-track studio project that follows her Grammy-winning “Jaguar II,” which she made in 2023.
The new album is powered by singles like the house-flavored “Reach Out,” yacht R&B-inspired “Juicy” and “Let Me,” which is a slow jam that already reached No. 1 on Billboard’s adult R&B airplay chart. Some of the new work features heavyweights Bruno Mars and SZA, as well as R&B hitmakers Bryson Tiller, Leon Thomas and Chlöe Bailey.
“I’m really, really, really passionate about love. … A lot of it was just reflective of what I was going through or feeling while dating,” said Monét, who originally considered creating a yacht-R&B album. “The album covers many bases, including love for my daughter, love for the world, what I want to see for it.” Monét aimed to channel Michael Jackson’s risk-taking artistry “Frequency of Love,” executive produced by Camper, takes listeners on a sonic excursion beyond romance, with several interpolations of classic ’90s R&B songs skillfully peppered throughout.
“Almost,” which includes a reference to Brandy’s “Almost Doesn’t Count,” is a sensual take on feeling sexually unsatisfied, while “For You” reimagines Kenny Lattimore’s classic romantic ballad. “Care for Somebody (Interlude)” is Monét’s rendition of a song she first encountered as a child while watching Halle Berry in “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge” with her grandmother. Michael Jackson’s musical growth between “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” inspired Monét’s creative process.
While she’s quick to halt any comparison to the commercial and critical acclaim of one of music’s most prolific artists, she aimed to channel the same risk-taking artistry. “I did not make ‘Thriller,’” Monét said. For inspiration, she said she had to let life take its course.“I’m OK with people asking for more music or feeling like, ‘Dang, I missed her.’ Or this is a comeback, because that makes me feel like there was a gap in time where they noticed that I was gone,” the artist said.The “On My Mama” singer returns Friday with “Frequency of Love,” a 22-track studio project that follows her Grammy-winning “Jaguar II,” which she made in 2023.The new album is powered by singles like the house-flavored “Reach Out,” yacht R&B-inspired “Juicy” and “Let Me,” which is a slow jam that already reached No.
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