''Velvet'' (stylized in

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) is the fourth studio album by American singer

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...

, released through More Is More and

Empire Distribution EMPIRE Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. (marketed as EMPIRE) is an American distribution company and record label founded in by Ghazi Shami with offices in New York City, London, Nashville, and Atlanta. It has released albums in vario ...

on March 20, 2020. It features the singles "Feel Something", "

New Eyes ''New Eyes'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music group Clean Bandit, released on 30 May 2014 by Atlantic Records in Germany and Ireland, and 2 June 2014 in the United Kingdom, after suffering from several setbacks. The album i ...

", "Comin in Hot", "Superpower", and "Roses" with

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

, as well as all the tracks featured on the '' Velvet: Side A'' EP, released in September 2019. Lambert was scheduled to promote the album with five appearances at

the Venetian Las Vegas The Venetian Las Vegas is a luxury hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States, on the site of the old Sands Hotel. Designed by KlingStubbins, the hotel tower contains 36 stories and rises . The Venet ...

on April 18, 19, 22, 24 and 25 (postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

) before embarking on a European tour from August to September 2020.

Background

Lambert described the album as "thirteen slinky numbers to catch a vibe to".

Critical reception

''Velvet'' received highly positive reviews from critics, with some calling it Lambert's best work to date. The album has a score of 84 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

indicating "universal acclaim." Mike Wass of ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'' described ''Velvet''s sound as a "wild ride that incorporates everything from

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

", while Stephen Daw of ''

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'' stated that the record was "continuing in the same vein of late '60s

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer sta ...

that's fueled his latest releases". Writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Matt Collar called the album a "new and delightfully retro direction", as well as a "dazzling, glitter-dipped exercise in '70s disco-era

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

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, and

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". A.D. Amorosi of ''

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'' praised the record, writing "the 38-year-old out singer goes for something less glamorously amorously entertaining and more grimily soulful and sleekly funky than we’re used to hearing from him" and "Adam Lambert has made "Velvet" a testament to finding his way, personally and professionally, in what is his most accomplished solo work to date".

Track listing

Notes * "Love Dont" is sometimes written as "Love Don't", with an apostrophe.

Charts

References

2020 albums Adam Lambert albums Empire Distribution albums Albums produced by Fred Ball (producer) Albums produced by Tommy English (producer) Albums produced by Steve Booker (producer) Albums produced by Butch Walker {{2020s-album-stub