After being nominated for Golden Globes, winning Oscars and Grammys for her songs from soundtracks and protests, and working with some of the biggest names in music, HER is finally set to release her debut album, Back Of My Mind, on June 18. The singer revealed the release date with an insightful, black-and-white trailer she posted to social media. A voiceover reveals the creative process behind the album’s concept and title cards echo HER’s words as she explains herself.
“People always ask me, ‘What’s the message? Where does this come from? Is it personal experience?'” she says. “And it’s always the thoughts that sit in the back of my mind. It’s always things that I’ve been through, things that I go through, or what I feel, and all those thoughts that I’m afraid to say sometimes… Things that feel too honest or too vulnerable or too emotional or too aggressive… It’s all of those things that have been in the back of my mind for the past few years since my first project. It’s like a peek into my soul.”
It could be odd to think that the singer has so many projects out yet is only just releasing her debut album, but prior efforts H.E.R. and I Used to Know Her were both compilations of EP tracks she’d released as she slowly revealed her identity and shed the shadowy air of mystery she cultivated early in her career. Now, she’s performing alongside Chris Stapleton at the CMT Music Awards — a sure sign of her crossover appeal — and working with perennial pitchman DJ Khaled. Now, it seems she is finally ready to deliver the album that she’s spent a lifetime working toward.
Back Of Mind is due 6/18 via RCA.
