Looks like the ‘Over it’ era is… finally over. R&B singer, Summer Walker, is releasing her third studio album, “Finally Over It”, on November 14th and it’s got the internet buzzing over the features, album cover, the rollout, and the end of an era-defining trilogy.
Please check on your family members and friends who are long-time fans of Summer Walker. We’re not okay! Summer Walker has announced that she is releasing her third album, “Finally Over It” on November 14th. Fans are excited to hear another album from Walker, considering her last album, ‘Still Over It”, was released in 2021. In this article, we will explore Summer’s evolution as an artist and the buzz around her new album.
Evolution
As a long time fan myself, I have followed Summer Walker’s musical journey from the the release of her first EP, “Last Day of Summer”, to her debut, “Over It”, and through both her “Clear” EP’s to now. Summer Walker started off as, what many would consider, an alternative R&B singer and could be compared to the early and even more current sounds of SZA, who stepped into the spotlight around the same time as Walker. The Atlanta singer bravely stepped onto the scene with her face tattoos and shy persona, which added to the mysterious allure of her music. However, Summer established herself as a traditional R&B artist with her debut album, “Over It”, which released in 2019. The album consisted of themes about heartbreak and the hardships of being in love with the melodic sounds reminiscent of the 90s R&B singers who defined what R&B truly is. For her first album, Summer was surprisingly able to recruit some notable features such as Jhené Aiko and Bryson Tiller. Her collaboration on her song “Come Thru” featuring Usher, a renowned R&B act, and samples his song “You Make Me Wanna”. This cosign only further cemented Walker’s spot as R&B’s newest star.
Her second album, “Still Over It”, continues her R&B momentum, but after becoming a mother and going through a public cheating scandal with her child’s father, the heartbroken lover girl theme of the first album disappears in the second. “Still Over It” tells the story of broken trust and brings a new perspective on Summer’s love life as a new mother. Beginning with “Bitter”, a song that chronicles the scandal Summer dealt with during her relationship and directly calls out her child’s father for his infidelity, sets the tone for the rest of the album. In this album, Summer is growing from the shy R&B singer we were introduced to in “Over It”, and she is no longer afraid of calling it like it is.
“Finally Over It”, even though it’s not out at the time this article was written, seems to continue Summer’s story on her love life, but now she’s a mother of three and is coming out of another relationship. Summer is still a pretty private person, so this album will catch fans up on Summer’s commentary on her past relationships and life lessons she has learned since the last album. A difference I’ve noticed about the rollout of the three albums is that Summer is more involved in this album’s rollout. The first two albums had a more simple rollout and were announced on social media and were followed by performances and music videos. However, Summer is pulling out all the stops with this album, including visiting the Atlanta University Center (AUC) with a dump truck to donate clothes, a radio show, short promotional films, and showing up to red carpets with an older man whose role in this album we’re still not sure of.
Feature and album cover Controversy
This past week, Summer released the list of features on the album in a promotional video and well… it’s receiving some mixed reactions. The list includes Mariah the Scientist, Glorilla, Bryson Tiller, and Chris Brown. From those names alone, I’m sure you can tell why people may be upset. Some fans took to social media to share their disappointment with some of the names listed in the video. Summer is no stranger to collaborating with fellow R&B artists, however, “Finally Over It” has more features than the last two albums. It’ll be interesting to see how Summer incorporates the sounds of these features in her new album. My guess is that some of these names may be writing credits and not everyone will be on a song.
There was also an issue fans pointed out with the album cover as well. Summer posted a picture of what fans believed was the official cover. The picture was of Summer in a white wedding dress and an elaborate veil covering her face. Later, Summer posted an official announcement of the album’s cover on social media. This picture showed Summer in a wedding dress, but this time she was standing next to an elderly man, similar to the one she was seen with on the red carpet, seemingly paying homage to Anna Nicole’s infamous wedding pictures. Still, fans were not impressed.
Despite the controversy surrounding the collaborations and the album cover, I’m sure “Finally Over It” will be just as iconic as the last two albums. From the rollout, fans can expect Summer to deliver her impressive vocals and songwriting that will have us ready to tell our exes that we’re finally over it.
what does this mean for the future of Summer’s career
Considering this is the last album of the “Over It” trilogy, it begs the question, “What will Summer do next?” What can we expect from the singer now that the trilogy that catapulted her into the spotlight is now over? Through Summer’s career, she has given her fans plenty of EPs that experiment with sounds different from those in the three “Over It” albums. If Summer plans to release another album, it will probably follow the neo-soul sound from her “Clear 2” EP released in 2023, which I personally think follows closely to the earthy, bohemian aesthetic she has adopted over the past few years. This EP kind of hints the attitude she has picked up concerning her love life. In the EP, she sings about wanting and deserving a “soft life” and choosing herself when it comes to love. It wouldn’t be a surprise if “Finally Over It” expands on this idea, hence the name and theme of finally being over the issues love brings into her life and wanting to experience a love that centers her and treats her well.
Overall, I’m very excited to hear this album. Summer Walker was one of the first female artists that girls who grew up shy or constantly found themselves to be different from others could relate to. The singer debuted with face tattoos and a quiet demeanor that was unlike other R&B singers who came before her. With this final album, Summer will surely secure her spot as one of the most brilliant R&B artists to define the genre.