blue water road

blue water road is the third studio album by R&B singer-songwriter Kehlani. It was released on April 29, 2022, and follows their 2020 album It Was Good Until It Wasn’t.

On September 14, 2021, the album title was announced via Kehlani’s social media accompanied by a cinematic trailer of the singer emerging from the rubble with a broken leg—a reference to the cover of their last LP, IWGUIW, where she is seen escaping the chaos on one side of a brick wall. After a fan on Twitter pointed out this theory of continuity in the imagery, Kehlani responded with the bullseye emoji and then tweeted, “Coming out of the rubble of It Was Good Until It Wasn’t and into the light, on to the road.”

Hours after the album announcement, Kehlani announced the release of the lead single, “altar,” on September 17—a song “dedicated to all those [they]’ve lost” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In February and March 2022, Kehlani released their second and third singles, respectively “little story” and “up at night” featuring Canadian singer Justin Bieber.

On December 15, 2021, Kehlani announced via their Instagram account that blue water road will be “pushed back [due to] a lot needed before finishing.” It is during a March 2022 Lollapalooza concert in Argentina that Kehlani finally announces their album for the next month. A few days later, they revealed the date and cover art via Instagram. In a March 2022 statement, the Oakland native shared about the story behind the album:

blue water road is a destination in my mind. I’m giving everyone access. It’s an emotional journey, a sexual journey, and a spiritual journey. To me, the album is like a glass house. It’s light, transparent, and the sun is shining right through it.

On April 11, 2022, Kehlani finally unveiled the tracklist of blue water road on their social media, unveiling featurings with Syd, Jessie Reyez, Ambré, Thundercat and Blxst.

Additionally, it is in a February 2021 interview with Rolling Stone that Kehlani had first detailed the plans for blue water road—initially written as a deluxe version for IWGUIW.

We just did so much cool stuff, and it was so different from what I would consider being able to be on the deluxe because it didn’t sound like that at all. I was just like, “Fuck it, this is a brand new project.”

Then, she decided to finish the album and described the new songs as having a “lighter” tone than the last project.

Everything going on right now is heavy. Now, not only am I not in a heavy period, but I’m starting to get out of the mindset of “When are we going to get back to normal?” and more like, “This is our new normal.” It’s a privilege to say that, as I’ve never had a loved one die or get the virus. I think people need some form of warmth, and I’m in the mindset of centering positivity.