Janelle Monáe Returns With "Lipstick Lover" Single, Confirms New Album Coming Soon

It's been a long five years since Janelle Monáe delivered her Dirty Computer project, featuring appearances from Grimes, Pharrell Williams, Zoë Kravitz, and more. To kick off 2023, she shared a single called "Float" with Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, and now, she's following that with more heat. After announcing her latest release with a tantalizing wet t-shirt video on Twitter, Monáe has now unveiled her "Lipstick Lover" single, along with the announcement of her next album.

While speaking with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, the 37-year-old admitted she wishes she wrote the song sooner. "Today, I don't have on any red lipstick, but I'm always in red lipstick. And there have been so many instances where I've made out with somebody at a party and it's dark. Nobody notices it. But when the lights come on, whoever I've made out with, lipstick all over their face," she explained to the host.

Janelle Monáe Glows in New "Lipstick Lover" Visual

Elsewhere in her chat with Lowe, Monáe dished on her upcoming album, The Age of Pleasure, noting that every song on the tracklist was "written from such an honest space." The Kansas City native went on to say, "Listen, I've had my age of depression. I've had my age of anxiety. I've had my age of struggle. And again, it's not like life is pleasurable every single day, but I think I have actively just sought out... How do I create a space for myself? How do I redirect my mind on how I'm thinking about things?"

"How do I realize that right now in this present moment, moments that we'll never get back, this is where you need to find your pleasure? This is your moment. Don't let it get confused that five minutes later, we're going to try to go into doing something different," she advised listeners. Check out Janelle Monáe's "Lipstick Lover" visual on YouTube above, or add the catchy track to your playlist on Spotify/Apple Music. Are you looking forward to the R&B starlet's upcoming LP? Let us know in the comments, and tap back in later this weekend for more HNHH release recommendations.

Quotable Lyrics:

I like lipstick on my neck
Leave a sticky hickey in a place I won't forget
I like lipstick on my neck
Baby, I'm obsessed, get me undressed

[Via]