The Uptown Lounge

When Alicia Keys chopped off her signature flowing locks and unveiled a cleanly coiffed bob a few weeks ago, I knew a brand overhaul was in progress.

I was right.

Today, via her blog, Mrs.  Swizz Beatz revealed the title of her forthcoming album: 

Girl On Fire

Here’s the explanation in her own words:

I’m not holding it back anymore! It is called Girl on Fire!!! And that’s exactly how I feel!!! You’ll be learning more about it soon… but let me just say before making this record, in some ways I felt like a lion locked in a cage…I felt like a girl misunderstood that no one really knew, I felt like it was time to stop making excuses for any part of my life that I wanted to change. Once I made that choice I became a Girl on Fire, the lion broke free!! Girl on Fire is about new beginnings, new perspectives and fresh starts… stripping away all the bad energy in your life and taking full control of the reigns and how you want to live. There is something really empowering about finding yourself and your own inner strength. On one song, One of the lines I wrote says, “I’ll never be perfect, but at least now I’m brave!”

I think it’s a dope concept. I also see Alicia trending toward a younger audience for this project (a.k.a. sexing up the image as seen in the image above)… the success of that effort will be revealed in time. I will say that her first buzz single “New Day” is dope, but hasn’t been performing well chart wise. Take a listen below:

What do you think? Are you looking forward to a new Alicia Keys album?