It’s been close to three years since Jorja Smith has issued a follow-up project to her acclaimed debut album Lost & Found. In that time, though, the British singer has dished out a handful of one-off tracks to keep her fans engaged. On May 14, Smith will end her project hiatus with Be Right Back.
Instead of flooding the eight-track project with too many already-released tracks, Smith gives her fans six unheard songs, including the most recent cut, “Gone,” produced by Rahki.
“There’s something about being able to write about one thing and for it to mean so many different things to others. I love that this song, well any of my songs really, will be interpreted in different ways, depending on the experiences of the people listening. This one is just me asking why people have to be taken from us,” Smith expressed in a press statement about the new song.
Smith told Zane Lowe of Apple Music that Be Right Back wasn’t the original title. “I really was going to call it, This Is Not My Second Album. I was actually going to call it that. These are songs that I love and that I’ve written in the past two years. I’m not ready to do an album. I want to tour my album when I can tour my album. And also I just know that there’s just another level that I feel I can get to musically in all aspects. Creatively as well, vision, everything.”
Smith eventually settled on Be Right Back because it allows her the freedom to “dip in dip out” until she is ready to issue her long-awaited sophomore album.
Along with “Gone,” Be Right Back will include the previously shared track “Addicted” It arrived in March along with a supporting music video.
Earlier this month, Smith appeared on Sonder’s new song “Nobody But You.”
Listen to Jorja Smith’s new song “Gone” below.