Chaka Khan has announced her 13th solo album ‘Chakzilla’ and unveiled the title track, a dance-pop collaboration with Sia and producer Greg Kurstin marking the first new studio music from Chaka Khan since 2019’s ‘Hello Happiness’.
by Paul Cashmere
Chaka Khan has entered a new chapter with the release of ‘Chakzilla’, the first taste of her upcoming album of the same name and her first full-length studio project in seven years. The single reunites the legendary singer with songwriter Sia and producer Greg Kurstin for a high-energy pop-dance track that positions Khan firmly back in contemporary music conversation while drawing on the theatricality and confidence that defined her earliest crossover successes.
‘Chakzilla’ is the 13th solo album of Khan’s career and follows 2019’s acclaimed ‘Hello Happiness’. The album is scheduled for release on September 18 through BMG Rights Management, arriving after a significant period of recognition for the singer, including her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honour and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award presented earlier this year.
The new single was written by Khan under her birth name Yvette Stevens alongside Sia and Kurstin. Sia also contributes backing vocals to the recording while Kurstin handles drums, synth bass, synthesisers, keyboards, piano and guitar. The collaboration continues a long-running creative relationship between Khan and Sia, who previously performed with her during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrations in 2023.
For Khan, the concept behind ‘Chakzilla’ reaches back to childhood memories of Japanese monster films while reframing the destructive force of Godzilla into something more restorative. Speaking about the song, Khan explained that the idea immediately connected with her sense of purpose and identity.
“When we came up with ‘Chakzilla’ as a title, lots of things just ran through my head and made a lot of sense,” Khan said. Rather than portraying destruction, she envisioned the character as “a monster of a person who does good things”.
The accompanying video extends that concept visually, presenting Khan towering over a damaged cityscape while attempting to rebuild and restore order rather than destroy it. Khan described the character as a response to what she sees happening around the world today, saying she wanted to “fix and help a lot of people who are having a really hard time in this world today”.
Musically, ‘Chakzilla’ reconnects Khan with the dance-oriented side of her catalogue that stretches from ‘I Feel For You’ through to ‘Like Sugar’. Kurstin’s production leans into pulsing electronic textures and polished pop architecture while leaving space for Khan’s unmistakable vocal phrasing and rhythmic attack. The result places the song in a lineage that includes her genre-defining fusion of funk, R&B, pop and dance music.
That catalogue has long carried substantial industry weight. As lead singer of Rufus in the 1970s, Khan helped deliver landmark recordings including ‘Tell Me Something Good’, ‘Sweet Thing’ and ‘Ain’t Nobody’. Her 1978 solo debut introduced ‘I’m Every Woman’, later reinterpreted by Whitney Houston, while her Prince-penned breakthrough ‘I Feel For You’ helped redefine the crossover possibilities between R&B, dance and hip-hop through the inclusion of Grandmaster Melle Mel’s rap performance.
Across more than five decades, Khan has accumulated 11 Grammy Awards and collaborated with artists ranging from Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder to Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande and Miles Davis. Her influence remains particularly visible in the current resurgence of disco, dance-pop and retro-funk aesthetics dominating contemporary pop production.
The release of ‘Chakzilla’ also arrives at a moment when veteran artists are increasingly reclaiming commercial and cultural relevance through collaborations with contemporary producers and writers. Artists including Kylie Minogue, Cher and Grace Jones have all found renewed visibility in dance music spaces in recent years, creating an environment where Khan’s return feels aligned with broader trends rather than nostalgia-driven revivalism.
Sia described the collaboration in emphatic terms, calling Khan “the Godzilla of chanteuses alive” and saying it was “an honour” to work with her. The partnership also reinforces Sia’s long-standing admiration for classic soul and funk vocalists, something that has regularly surfaced in her writing collaborations over the past decade.
Khan has indicated that the upcoming album will continue exploring the pop-dance direction while reconnecting with the foundations of her career. “I’m very much a forward thinker,” she said while discussing the project, adding that she hoped listeners would embrace hearing her “singing pop again”.
That perspective has consistently defined Khan’s career. From her pioneering blend of funk and rock with Rufus through to her embrace of jazz, electronic music and hip-hop collaborations, she has repeatedly adapted to changing musical climates without abandoning the core vocal style that established her reputation.
With ‘Chakzilla’, Khan is positioning herself for another reinvention, one grounded in legacy but focused on the future. For an artist whose career began in the Chicago funk scene of the early 1970s and who later became one of the defining voices of modern R&B crossover, the arrival of new music after seven years carries significance well beyond a standard comeback release.
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