American soul icon, Diana Ross has released as well as shared the details of her first album in 15 years.
‘Thank You’ is the follow-up to Ross’s 2006 album;‘I Love You’, and was recorded entirely in her home studio during the pandemic.
The former Supremes singer in a statement noted that;“This collection of songs is my gift to you with appreciation and love.
“I am eternally grateful that I had the opportunity to record this glorious music at this time”.
That notwithstanding, a press release said the album;“offers a powerful, inclusive musical message of love and togetherness” and that “with its songs;of happiness, appreciation, and joy, it wholeheartedly acknowledges that we are in this all together”.
It is worth noting that this will be Diana Ross’s 25th solo studio album and her 43rd album overall. It can be recalled that her last album of original;material, ‘Every Day Is a New Day’, was released in 1999.
Details about the album
The 13-track album includes songs such as: ‘Thank You’, ‘If the World Just;Danced’, ‘All Is Well In Your Heart’, ‘Just In Case’, ‘The Answers’, ‘Always Love’, ‘Let’s Do;It’, ‘I Still Believe’, ‘Count On;Me’, ‘Tomorrow’, ‘Beautiful Love’, ‘Time To Call’ and ‘Come Together’.
Recorded in Ross’ home studio, she co-wrote and collaborated on every ‘Thank You’ track, working alongside a host of leading songwriters and producers including Jack Antonoff, who has become a key collaborator for female artists like Taylor Swift, Troy Miller, Triangle Park, Spike Stent, Prince Charlez, Amy Wadge, Neff-U, Freddie Wexler, Jimmy Napes, Tayla Parx, Fred White, and Nathanial Ledgewick.
That notwithstanding, the song’s cast list also includes Jimmy Napes (Alicia Keys, Sam Smith), Tayla Parx (Ariana Grande, Khalid), and Mark “Spike” Stent (Spice Girls, Beyoncé, Madonna), and Amy Wage (Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Of You).
Musical career of Diana Ross
Now aged 77, Ross started her career at Motown in the 1960s, achieving stardom with The Supremes, on hits like ‘Baby Love’, ‘Stop! In The Name Of Love’ and ‘You Keep Me Hanging On’.
However, she later split from the group in 1970 and went on to score more than 50 UK chart hits, including ‘Upside Down’, ‘Endless Love’ and ‘Chain Reaction’.
Ross has sold more than 100m records worldwide. In 1993, she was inducted into the Guinness Book of Records as the ‘most successful female musician of all time’.
That notwithstanding, her last hit single in the UK was the Westlife duet ‘When You Tell Me That You Love Me’, which reached number two in 2005.
As if that was the end of Diana Ross topping charts. In 2020, she was back in the charts and the headlines when the Eric Kupper remix of her 1976 classic ‘Love Hangover’ went to number one on the Dance Club Songs chart, 44 years after the original hit number one on Billboard’s Pop, R&B and Dance Club Play charts.
That slice of chart history triggered the Supertonic project, a collection of Diana Ross remixes which dropped in mid-2020.
It is also worth mentioning that the star was also due to play Glastonbury’s coveted “legend slot” in 2020 before Covid-19 forced the festival to be scrapped.
Read also: Burna Boy set to make debut headline appearance at The O2