Diana Ross returns with 1st album of original, new music in 22 years

Diana Ross returns with 1st album of original, new music in 22 years

Ladies and gentlemen, Diana Ross is back in the house!

The legendary singer, who started out in the 1960s with the Supremes and moved into a supremely successful solo career later on, has returned with her first new original music album in 22 years, as she revealed on several social media platforms Thursday.

AHF's Dallas 2019 World AIDS Day Concert Starring Diana Ross (Rick Kern / Getty Images)
AHF's Dallas 2019 World AIDS Day Concert Starring Diana Ross (Rick Kern / Getty Images)

Ross, 77, released "Thank You" yesterday, and promised in a statement in the YouTube Visualiser video caption that a new album of the same name was coming Sept. 10 on Decca Records/Universal Music Group.

"This collection of songs is my gift to you with appreciation and love," she wrote in the caption. "I am eternally grateful that I had the opportunity to record this glorious music at this time."

According to the caption, the album was recorded in Ross' home studio and "offers a powerful, inclusive musical message of love and togetherness... In this special moment, it is time to step into the light."

This may come as news to those who don't follow Ross assiduously, but her fans have been fielding teases for days already, thanks to tweets and Instagram posts like these:

"Let love lead the way," reads the caption.

"New single coming Thursday," she promised on Tuesday.

And on Friday she tweeted:

"I have so much I want to share I am just filled with gratitude ,their songs on this album are dedicated to each of you from my heart I guess we have to do it a little bit at a time. Love you so much," she wrote.

Ross was a member of the Supremes, the iconic all-women Motown group who hit the charts with songs like "Baby Love" and "Can't Hurry Love," from 1961 to 1970. After that, she moved into releasing a series of powerful solo hits like "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," grand, epic songs that showcased her multi-octave range.

The Supremes (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
The Supremes (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

Later that decade and onward she segued effortlessly into disco tunes and ballads like "Love Hangover," "Swept Away," "Missing You" and "Muscles." Meanwhile, she also starred on screen in films like "The Wiz" and "Mahogany." Her last full album of original tunes, "Every Day Is a New Day," was released in 1999. A handful of albums have followed, but they were either covers, remixes or a release of music originally recorded in the 1970s.

She did appear at the 2019 Grammys with a performance, and her grandson totally stole the show. But shockingly, despite 12 Grammy nominations, she has but one of the awards: a Lifetime Achievement. And her daughter, Tracee Ellis Ross, has been keeping us laugh on "Black-ish" since 2014.

So it sure seems like time for a comeback, even if it's at an age when many musicians are long since retired. "Thank You" will feature 13 songs, which she co-wrote and collaborated on with artists and producers including Jack Antonoff, Troy Miller, Triangle Park, Spike Stent, Prince Charlez, Amy Wadge, Neff-U, Freddie Wexler, Jimmy Napes, Tayla Parx, Fred White and Nathanial Ledgewick.

"I dedicate this songbook of love to all of you, the listeners," she wrote in the YouTube caption. "As you hear my voice you hear my heart."

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