After seven years of patiently waiting, fans will be rewarded this fall with brand new music from Anita Baker.  The soul songstress is currently putting the finishing touches on her first album in nearly a decade titled Only Forever, which is due out on October 23rd.

To make the wait for the full release a little more bearable, Baker has just released the first single from the album called “Lately.”

Songs on Only Forever are inspired not only by love, but come from a new place in Baker’s life as a mother transitioning into a world without her children at home now that her youngest son is college-bound.

“Lately, I’ve been writing odes to my family,” Baker says in an interview with USA Today. “So I’m an empty-nester now. There’s a song, ‘Free,’ that just came through me, watching them go out into the world. I want them to hear my voice and to have advice readily available to them.”

Baker is set for the stage at The Hollywood Bowl for her anticipated performance Aug. 22. just before the release of Only Forever. Who knows, maybe she’ll surprise the audience with a sneak preview of the album!

- Britt Bickel, 94.7 The WAVE