NEW YORK (AP) — If you wondered why Miguel didn’t release a studio album for nearly a decade, his response is simple: life.
“I needed to do some growing. I had to get my (expletive) together.”
Since 2017’s “War & Leisure,” the world has experienced a variety of globally-impactful events: a second Donald Trump presidency, a coronavirus pandemic, an American social justice movement, an ongoing three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, and a two-year Israel-Hamas war that recently entered a ceasefire.
“We’re just seeing, I think, a big question mark of humanity being asked in real time every day,” Miguel said. “I needed to go away and recalibrate and just get in touch with my anger and figure out how best to move forward with that in a productive way … I’m really glad that I did because it’s what informed this album.”
“CAOS” is a sharp departure from the superstar’s vibey, sensual sound that made him a hit-making staple in R&B. The singer-songwriter’s fifth studio project, morphed from his 2023-scrapped “Viscera” LP, dropped Thursday, coinciding with his 40th birthday. He wrote on all 12 tracks and handled the bulk of production with Ray Brady. The lone feature belongs to the legendary George Clinton of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honorees Parliament-Funkadelic.
Led by the singles “RIP,” “New Martyrs (Ride 4 U),” “El Pleito,” and “Angel’s Song,” the album radiates his trendsetting fusion of alternative rock, R&B and electronic sounds, but in unfamiliar, darker tones. The music evokes feelings of urgency, protest and rebellion.
“ This album is the most angsty, angry album I’ve ever made. But I think underlying and underwriting the message and the themes is this core need to express discontentment in a healthy way that creates the feeling and the future that I want.”
The thief of joy
Miguel also faced internal plights: divorce, family death and industry disillusionment.
“The value of my work became about outside appreciation as opposed to internal gratitude,” said the artist who’s earned four top 20 tracks on the Billboard 100. The admission comes from a Grammy winner who’s created new-day classics such as “Adorn,” and “Sure Thing” and fan favorite mood-setters like “All I Want is You” and “Skywalker.”
“When you see something in culture be really successful … you can start comparing … and it’s such a slippery slope,” said Miguel, who released bits of music during his hiatus, like the EPs “Te Lo Dije” and “Art Dealer Chic 4,” and songs “Don’t Forget My Love” with Diplo in 2022 and “Sweet Dreams” with BTS’s J-Hope earlier this year. “It’s about connecting more deeply and having a deeper conversation with my audience, as opposed to wanting to make the big song.”
Not a sure thing
During his hiatus, Miguel and Nazanin Mandi divorced. The singer began dating Mandi at 19 years old before marrying in 2018. They divorced four years later.
“It was a painful thing to go through” said Miguel, who wrote “Always Time” to address the breakup. “Some things you do have to let go, if you really, really love it, and I think that was a good indication that I needed to take some time for myself.”
Last month, in celebration of his son’s first birthday, Miguel publicly revealed he was a first-time father with filmmaker and former Vogue China editor Margaret Zhang. “Angel’s Song” is dedicated to his child.
Spanish-language songs
“CAOS,” Spanish for chaos, also features another turn from the genre-bending artist: Spanish-language songs. While 2019’s “Te Lo Dije” featured Spanish recordings of previous songs, this project contains original tracks like “El Pleito” and “Perderme.”
“It was always floated as ‘You should lean into Latin as a marketing (tactic).’ … It just didn’t feel natural,” said Miguel, whose mother is African American and father is Mexican American. “Here I am now, and it’s more about my identity and who I am and who am proud to be.”
Back to the future
Miguel, serving as this year’s scholar-in-residence at NYU’s Steinhardt School, is also focusing on his S1C venture geared toward providing Black, Mexican and Latino creators with development and financial support. He also appreciates the futuristic-R&B sound that swelled during his absence, which he’s largely credited with helping to introduce.
“I love that I can hear my influence in some of the music today,” said Miguel, who gained younger fans in 2023 after “Sure Thing” went viral on TikTok and Instagram more than a decade after its release. “You’re like, OK, we were in the right place.”
Despite grappling with staying true to yourself and your music, not being captive to the charts, Miguel feels appreciated by his fans, and centers himself in gratitude.
“I’m so lucky to have found a core audience who really rides with me through all of my evolutions,” he said. “I do think that I’ve been appreciated. And I think that there’s opportunity for it to be more, and more importantly, deeper.”
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Follow Associated Press entertainment journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.