Janelle Monáe Promises Poolside Pleasure in ‘Lipstick Lover’ Teaser

Janelle Monáe is teasing a new single, “Lipstick Lover,” which is set to arrive tomorrow, May 11.

The musician posted a short but scintillating clip on Twitter that features a snippet of the song’s slinky groove. In the video, Monáe leaves little to the imagination — appearing in a pool, wearing a white shirt emblazoned with the word “Pleasure,” while slowly stepping out of the water and towards the camera.

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“Lipstick Lover” will follow Monáe’s most recent track, “Float,” which dropped back in February. That song featured horns from Seun Kuti and Egypt 80, and took inspiration from an array of subjects (per a press statement at the time): Muhammed Ali talking shit in Zaire, Mary Poppins’ umbrella, Aladdin’s magic carpet, Bruce Lee’s philosophy on being “shapeless, formless,” excerpts from Paramahmsa Nithyananda’s talks on levitation, and much more.

“Float” had actually been floating around since late 2022, when the song first popped up in promos for ABC/ESPN’s NBA Saturday Primetime campaign (which Monáe also narrated). It then reemerged in another NBA video celebrating LeBron James becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. (Capping off her basketball bona fides, Monáe took part in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in Salt Lake City back in February, as well.)

“Float” and “Lipstick Lover” will ostensibly appear on Monáe’s next album, which is set to be her first since 2018’s Dirty Computer. She also released two singles in 2021, “Stronger” (from Netflix’s We the People) and “Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout).”

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