It took four long years, but we are finally just days away from a new PartyNextDoor album. The singer’s fourth album, aptly titled PartyNextDoor 4 (P4), will arrive on April 26 and serve as the long-awaited follow-up to his 2020 third album PartyMobile. PND spent the better part of the last year teasing P4 as the album was first announced during a spring 2023 concert in his hometown of Toronto. The rollout for the project officially began four months prior when PND released “Her Old Friends,” a record that served as the lead single for P4.
This is the second time in PND’s career that he’s taken about four years to release a new album, a duration that can feel like centuries in today’s streaming era. PARTYMOBILE arrived about four years after his second album PartyNextDoor 3 (P3). Still, PND delivered songs to fans in that time span. There was 2017’s Colours 2 and Seven Days EPs, the former which spawned the fan-favorite “Freak In You.” Following PARTYMOBILE, things were a bit quieter. Fans received collaborations with Trippie Redd, Drake, OG Parker, and others as well as uploads of unreleased favorites to streaming services through 2020’s PARTYPACK and 2021’s COLOURS. In a recent interview with Billboard, PND explained his absence over the years.
“I get into relationships and then music becomes second,” he confessed to Billboard‘s Heran Mamo. “I think I’m going to take a break from relationships, a long break, and just get back to making music.”
We’ll see if PND sticks to this promise in the years after P4, but for now, we can enjoy the music we’re about to get. In celebration of P4, here are four wishes we’d love to see come true on the upcoming album.
Restore The Classic Feeling Of P1 and P2
PartyNextDoor is one of the pioneers of today’s contemporary R&B sound, a world that he, The Weeknd, and Bryson Tiller emerged from and heavily influenced in the early- to mid-2010s. PND’s first two project, PartyNextDoor (P1) and PartyNextDoor 2 (P2) helped cement him as one of the greats of modern-day R&B. Churning out hits like “Break From Toronto” and “Recognize,” PND proved that he was a name to respect. Furthermore, P1 and P2 went down as classic R&B releases from the 2010s. With four singles out — “Her Old Friends,” “Resentment,” “Real Woman,” and “Lose My Mind” — PND seems to be channeling the same energy from P1 and P2. It would be amazing if P4 was a return to those glory days. At just 14 songs, it appears that PND is focused on delivering a great album as opposed to the 20+ song streaming traps that we see from artists nowadays. Give us another classic Party, we’re begging you.
It’s (Almost) Summertime, Give Us A Dancehall Track!
Nearly a decade ago, PND wrote “Work” for Rihanna and sprinkled some dancehall flavor into his own music with “Only U” and “Not Nice.” The three songs joined “Controlla” and “One Dance” to make for a sizzling summer of 2016 as fans dance their way through the year’s hottest months. Eight years later, it’s only right that fans are treated to this experience once again and PND can certainly be a contributor to that. One or two (I won’t be greedy) dancehall-inspired songs on P4 will be perfect and prove to be a bright spot on the album, especially with it coming from someone who’s shown his ability to do so time and time again (see: Popcaan’s “Twist & Turn”).
It’s Time For Another Classic Drake Collaboration
Every PartyNextDoor album has featured a collaboration with OVO Sound boss Drake. “Over Here,” “Recognize,” “Come And See Me,” and “Loyal” are all highlights in PND’s discography, but the latter most record, which was housed on his 2020 album PartyMobile, was not up to par compared to their first three collaborations. With P4, it’s time for Drake and PND to get back to the old formula. Just last year, they proved they could do that with “Members Only,” the duo’s most recent collaboration from Drake’s album For All The Dogs. Now it’s time for PND to lead the way and add another gem to his and Drake’s run of strong collaborations.
A New Album Cover (Please!)
On April Fool’s Day, PartyNextDoor took to social media to reveal the album cover for PartyNextDoor 4, and it’s risqué, to say the least. The NSFW image is a first-person view of a woman face-down on a bed with her backside arched in the air. A “4” tattoo can be seen on her lower back, while four long braids are sprawled out in various directions on the bed. The artwork is a bit of a jump scare, warranting a side-eye from those who may catch the image sitting on your phone as you play the album (Flashback to Lloyd’s Tru album cover). This actually happened to me as my roommate saw the tweet of PND revealing the album cover open on my computer and asked, “What’s going on over there?!” There was certainly some explaining to do.
In all seriousness, the current cover for P4 is awkward and seemingly leans more into garnering a reaction than presenting the project in its true essence. This isn’t to say that PND has blown us away with album covers in his career, but another edition of the singer looking into the distance would’ve sufficed. Worse comes to worst, I’ll just edit the metadata and change the artwork myself to avoid any further questions from my roommate.
PartyNextDoor 4 (P4) is out 4/26 via OVO Sound/Santa Anna Label Group. Find out more information here.
