- 4,335
- 73
Sade, the "quiet storm" R&B group featuring vocalist Sade Adu, has completed its long-awaited sixth studio album. "Soldier of Love," the band's first collection of new material since 2000's "Lover's Rock" will be released Feb. 8, 2010 worldwide on Epic.
As first revealed on Billboard.com in July, Sade and her longtime bandmates including Stuart Matthewman, a.k.a. Cottonbelly, regrouped in a U.K. recording studio in June and were recording and mixing into October.
Though no details about Sade's new music have yet been revealed, one artist heard early versions of several songs: Maxwell, a fellow Sony recording artist and longtime friend and collaborator with Matthewman. The R&B singer sent a message to fans in March via his private Facebook page in which he indicated that he'd heard some of his labelmate's new recordings. "Trust me, it's so monolithic it'll shake you in your shoes!" he wrote.
Sade's 2000 release, "Lovers Rock," sold 3,881,000 copies in the U.S. and the prior album, 1992's "Love Deluxe," sold 3,407,000. Since 1985's "Diamond Life" debut, Sade has sold nearly 17 million units in the U.S. alone according to Nielsen SoundScan.