After previously sharing three songs from her upcoming studio album, Alicia Keys’ fans will have to wait a little bit longer before they can hear the full body of work. Taking to social media, the Grammy Award-winning musician announced the postponement of her self-titled album which was set to be released on March 20.
The decision was prompted by the coronavirus pandemic stateside that has placed a number of businesses and essentially the economy on a temporary halt. This has affected the music industry from canceled tours and festivals due to the need for social distancing as a method of slowing down the virus’ spread.
“Everyone’s health and safety is the #1 priority!” Keys wrote on Thursday (March 19). “Thank you for your deep love and support, I’ll let you know about new dates as soon as possible. Stay positive! Stay powerful! Keep your frequency high and be kind to one another. I adore u.” A book tour to support her memoir More Myself: A Journey has also been postponed but the book is still on track to be released on March 31.
The “In Common” singer’s seventh studio album follows that of 2016’s HERE project. During the production of that soundscape, Keys interviewed with Citizens of Humanity and stressed why the right timing leads to an unforgettable listening experiencing with all of her albums.
“I’ve always wanted people to hear all of my albums. I feel like they deserve to be heard all together, and I think that people actually enjoy that about my music—that they can experience the whole thing and get into it, bringing them into the world,” Keys said. “I actually care about creating a body of work that really lives in that way. But I think people find their way to it, and there’s also interesting ways now to do things that allow people to hear it the way it was intended. You’ve just got to think about it a little bit differently.”
To remain in-tune with their fans, artists have used social media to their advantage by hosting Instagram Live concerts straight from the comfort of their homes. Singers like John Legend, JoJo, Erykah Badu, and H.E.R. are just a few who’ve kept up with their lyrical exercises in a time of social distancing.