Sam Fender has announced the title and release date of his highly anticipated third album, set to be released in February 2025. The announcement came just weeks after he revealed a new single, ‘People Watching’, which will drop on Friday, November 15, 2024.
The news was teased on social media, with Fender hinting at “more album news next Wednesday” following the release date announcement for his upcoming single. The message, posted on his X account, created a buzz among fans eager for updates.
buzzing man, can’t wait to hear the new songs and see u on tour!
— louis (@louisbrooks28) November 8, 2024
Fender’s first two albums, Hypersonic Missiles and Seventeen Going Under, have cemented his place as one of the North East’s most significant contemporary artists. Both albums reached the top spot in the charts, and the title track from his second album, ‘Seventeen Going Under’ was a sleeper hit, charting at number 3, six months after its release.
In October, Fender also announced an extensive UK and European tour to promote the new album. Tickets were in massive demand, with all UK dates and all but two of the European dates selling out in under 12 hours.
Fender described the process of creating the album as intensive, saying, “Me and the band have picked away at these songs for the last couple of years.” He added that the group had recorded a substantial amount of material before finalising the tracklist.
He explained, “We recorded so much material in that time and deliberated long and hard over what came next. We settled on this collection for our next outing.”
Me and the band have picked away at these songs for the last couple of years, we recorded so much material in that time and deliberated long and hard over what came next. We settled on this collection for our next outing.
— Sam Fender (@samfendermusic) November 13, 2024
‘People Watching’, the lead single, will likely offer fans a preview of the album’s tone and direction. The track release on November 15 has generated considerable excitement amongst fans, being the first piece of new material the 30-year old has released since 2022 (although he did feature on Noah Kahan’s ‘Homesick’ earlier this year).
People Watching, the album’s lead single, holds particular significance for Fender, who wrote it as a tribute to someone he considered “like a surrogate mother.” The song reflects his grief after her passing last November, which he processed while moving between her bedside and home. “I was by her side at the end, slept on a chair next to her,” he shared.
Fender noted the irony of the song’s dedication, as this figure was the one who gave him the confidence to take the stage. “She’d always say, ‘why haven’t you mentioned my name in your acceptance speech.’ But now an entire song (and album) connects to her. I hope she’s looking down saying, ‘about time, kid.’”
It’s kind of ironic because she was the one that gave me the confidence to go on stage, and used to be like ‘why haven’t you mentioned my name in your acceptance speech’. But now an entire song (and album) connects to her. I hope she’s looking down saying ‘about time kid’. — Sam Fender (@samfendermusic) November 7, 2024
The single ‘People Watching’ releases this Friday, with the full album to follow in February. Fans can pre-order the album here, and you can also pre-save the single on Spotify, iTunes and Amazon Music here.
Here’s the album’s trailer to get you excited!
