Alas, the wait is over! Willow’s self-titled album is finally here — and no, she’s not whipping her hair back and forth.
The alternative R&B singer dropped her new album “WILLOW” on Friday, just weeks after her brother Jaden released his own, “ERYS.”
“WILLOW” is the artist’s third studio album. It follows “ARDIPITHECUS,” released in 2015, and “The 1st,” in 2017.
Interestingly, her first two albums were released under her name stylized as “Willow.” However, her latest album lists her name in all capital letters. It’s not clear what the change means — maybe she forgot to turn off caps lock?
The new album shot straight past mainstays on the Apple charts. She’s holding steady at #13 overall and even beat out alt-powerhouse Billie Eilish for #1 on the Alternative chart.
The album’s summery island sound has moments of surprising sharpness — Willow’s subtle edge gleaming atop of breezy beats. It even features Jaden on the slow tempo dreamscape track “U KNOW.” Conversely, Willow is featured on Jaden’s new hit “Summer Time in Paris.”
If you last left off at “I Whip My Hair,” Willow’s pre-teen record, you may have missed her meteoric rise to fame. After releasing “ARDIPITHECUS,” Willow was a featured performer at the 2017Afropunk fest with such artists as Erykah Badu, Janelle Monáe and Solange. She then quickly dropped “The 1st.”
Clearly, Willow has inherited her parents Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s star power, and put her own alt spin on it.
