Nearly five years after taking home the best newcomer award at the 2021 ARIA Awards, Budjerah is preparing to step into a new chapter with the release of his first full studio album, Gentleman.
The project, which was produced by Om’Mas Keith (Frank Ocean), is scheduled for release on Friday, July 24 through Warner Music Australia and Warner Records in the United States. The American release follows the partnership agreement made in 2021 aimed at introducing the soul pop artist to a wider audience.
The album is introduced by the recently shared single “Want You Back” along with the title song, which is being released today.
According to the Australian artist, the record reflects the person he hoped to become while growing up. “This album was almost a four-year process for me,” he says. “Between my life at home and life on the road, I experienced so much change and growth. Chasing my dreams I faced new challenges which helped me understand who I wanted to be. Every song on this album holds a piece of me. I hope little Budjerah is proud.”
Budjerah, whose full name is Budjerah Julum Slabb, is already well known across the Australian music scene. The Coodjinburra artist, celebrated for his distinctive voice, continues to establish himself as one of the country’s standout emerging talents with an impressive list of achievements already behind him.
Originally from Fingal Head in New South Wales, Budjerah released his self titled EP in 2021. That same year he became the first recipient of the Michael Gudinski Prize during a lockdown era ARIA Awards ceremony. In 2022 he earned his first APRA Music Award for most performed R&B soul work for “Higher” with Matt Corby and also won the ARIA Award for best soul R&B release.
As a performer, Budjerah joined Ed Sheeran as a support act during the British star’s 2023 stadium tour and also appeared on a remix of Sheeran’s track “2step.” His catalogue has now surpassed 60 million streams even before the arrival of his debut album. In 2023 he also secured representation in the Americas after signing with United Talent Agency. Since then he has continued building momentum through national headline tours.
Before formally revealing the album, Budjerah introduced the project on Wednesday afternoon (March 18), one day after celebrating his birthday, with a special showcase performance at Lazybones Lounge in Marrickville, located in Sydney’s inner west.
Dan Rosen, president of Warner Music Australasia and Southeast Asia, told attendees that this marks the beginning of what he called “the era of the Gentleman.” Speaking to industry guests, he described the album as “is going to be a defining moment in Australian music. We first met Budjerah six years ago with a voice that stopped the nation, a once in a generation talent.” He added that this is a “man who is finally stepping into his power and his full capacity as an artist.”
The 24 year old performer also gave a preview of several songs from the upcoming album, including the closing track “Even At My Worst,” written by Diane Warren, and his 2023 release “Therapy,” which has achieved platinum certification in Australia and has nearly 19 million Spotify streams.
The song “Gentleman” was created with writers Autumn Rowe (Alexis Jordan, Kylie Minogue), Kizzo Keaz (Jon Batiste, Ne Yo), and Philip Lawrence (Bruno Mars) and carries a classic inspired feel. Budjerah says that influence was intentional. “You have to be a gentleman and make sure your girl is treated right,” he explains. “I grew up around a lot of old people, so I was influenced by the music they played as well as watching how they treated each other, and that is what this song is about.”
Check out the Gentleman tracklist below and pre order here.
Gentleman
Want You Back
I Only Remember Your Name
Competition
Could I Be
Sinner
Pretty
Hard Time
Lonely
Let Me Know
Even At My Worst
Lizzo has made it clear that she never abandoned her album Love in Real Life.
The “Juice” artist recently responded to rumors that the project had been cancelled after fans expected it to arrive last year. Rather than putting out the album at the time, Lizzo instead released the mixtape My Face Hurts From Smiling in June.
During a new conversation with Billboard, the “Truth Hurts” singer explained that the album itself was never scrapped and is still the same body of work she plans to release on June 5 under its new title, B**ch.
“I think the biggest misconception about my album is that I shelved Love in Real Life when I didn't,” she said. “(B**ch) is technically the same album. I just changed the name. The music is the same.”
Lizzo shared that the main difference between the earlier version of the project and the upcoming release was taking away the original title track, which eventually led to the album being renamed.
“When you change the name of something, it changes its destiny,” the singer explained. “Like, when I went from Melissa to Lizzo, it changed my destiny.”
“When this album went from Love in Real Life to Bch, it changed the trajectory of its past,” she continued. “I do think that I feel like I can express myself the way that I want to express myself right now through Bch. I think Love in Real Life was really sombre and a little bit more introspective, and I think B**ch is a little bit more empowered and self actualised and bold.”
Before the newly titled album arrives, Lizzo has already released the singles B**ch and Don’t Make Me Love U.
The artist had previously spoken about stepping away from Love in Real Life during an earlier interview with Vulture, saying the project “just wasn't what I was feeling right now”.
She also mentioned that much of the album had originally been written back in 2022.
“By 2025, I've changed, the world has changed so much, and so much has happened,” she said. “I was like, ‘I need to do s**t differently, and I don't know what it is, but I'm going to just start following my instincts.’”
