# Chakzilla
**Chakzilla** is the thirteenth full-length studio album by the American singer [Chaka Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/chaka-khan) (born 1953), released on September 18, 2026 by her own EarthSong Records under exclusive license to [BMG Rights Management](https://www.edgepedia.org/bmg-rights-management) (UK) Limited. It is her first album of new material since *Hello Happiness* (2019), and it was written with the Australian songwriter Sia and produced by [Greg Kurstin](https://www.edgepedia.org/greg-kurstin), with guest appearances from Sia, Snoop Dogg, and Lenny Kravitz.[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/chakzilla/6774651333) • [2](https://los40.com/2026/09/18/chakzilla-el-primer-album-de-chaka-khan-en-mas-de-7-anos-con-la-colaboracion-de-sia-snoop-dogg-o-lenny-kravitz/) One Brazilian account counts it as her 23rd studio album, a discrepancy with the "13th full-length" figure given by Apple Music.[3](https://africanizeoficial.com.br/chaka-khan-lanca-chakzilla-e-transforma-mais-de-cinco-decadas-de-carreira-em-um-novo-capitulo)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Chaka Khan, American soul, funk, and R&B singer, 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/chakzilla/6774651333) |
| Released | September 18, 2026; 10 songs, about 33 minutes (33:51 on CD)[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/chakzilla/6774651333) • [4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/chakzilla-mr0007079784) |
| Label | EarthSong Records, under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/chakzilla/6774651333) |
| Production | Produced by Greg Kurstin; co-written with Sia, who sings backing vocals across the album[2](https://los40.com/2026/09/18/chakzilla-el-primer-album-de-chaka-khan-en-mas-de-7-anos-con-la-colaboracion-de-sia-snoop-dogg-o-lenny-kravitz/) • [5](https://simonsweetman.substack.com/p/chaka-khan-chakzilla) |
| Guests | Snoop Dogg ("Boogie's in My Soul"), Sia ("Cool You Down"), Lenny Kravitz ("Bring the Party")[6](https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/2RdNJxJm0qY6ikGEL5eunO?context=spotify%3Aprerelease%3A2RdNJxJm0qY6ikGEL5eunO) |
| Preceding singles | "Chakzilla" (May 7, 2026), "Boogie's in My Soul" (June 19, 2026), "Curious Subject" (August 20, 2026)[7](https://www.wbls.com/news/chaka-khan-debuts-her-new-song-chakzilla/) |
| Khan's honors around release | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2026); Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction (2023)[2](https://los40.com/2026/09/18/chakzilla-el-primer-album-de-chaka-khan-en-mas-de-7-anos-con-la-colaboracion-de-sia-snoop-dogg-o-lenny-kravitz/) |
## Background
Khan had released no new studio album since *Hello Happiness* in 2019, so the title track, issued on May 7, 2026, was her first new music in more than seven years.[7](https://www.wbls.com/news/chaka-khan-debuts-her-new-song-chakzilla/) The partnership with Sia grew out of the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where Sia joined Khan on "I'm Every Woman"; Khan became Sia's godmother, co-wrote and was featured on Sia's "Immortal Queen," and the two continued writing with producer Greg Kurstin for *Chakzilla*.[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/chakzilla-mr0007079784) Kurstin, known for his work on Adele's *25* and a decade of Sia hits, plays almost all the instruments on the record.[8](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-chakzilla-by-chaka-khan)
Sia came up with the title. Khan told *People* that she loved the Godzilla films as a child and that the name "made a lot of sense" once proposed; Sia later called Khan "the Godzilla of chanteuses alive."[7](https://www.wbls.com/news/chaka-khan-debuts-her-new-song-chakzilla/) • [2](https://los40.com/2026/09/18/chakzilla-el-primer-album-de-chaka-khan-en-mas-de-7-anos-con-la-colaboracion-de-sia-snoop-dogg-o-lenny-kravitz/) In the title track's music video, a skyscraper-sized Khan moves through an urban jungle repairing damaged structures rather than destroying them; Khan described the character as "a monster of a person who does good things."[8](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-chakzilla-by-chaka-khan) • [9](https://www.complex.com/music/a/bernadette-giacomazzo/chakzilla-single-chaka-khan-sia)
Khan framed the album's themes as joy, freedom, self-love, and resilience: "This music is about being human, feelin' good, and stepping into our power."[10](https://via.tt.se/pressmeddelande/4556722/ny-skiva-musikikonen-chaka-khan-slapper-albumet-chakzilla?lang=sv&publisherId=3237313) She co-wrote all ten tracks, and the album was recorded at No Expectations in Los Angeles and Sound Notion in [Rochester, New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/rochester-new-york).[10](https://via.tt.se/pressmeddelande/4556722/ny-skiva-musikikonen-chaka-khan-slapper-albumet-chakzilla?lang=sv&publisherId=3237313)
## Songs
The album runs ten tracks in a pop-dance direction Khan herself described as "on the pop dance side."[6](https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/2RdNJxJm0qY6ikGEL5eunO?context=spotify%3Aprerelease%3A2RdNJxJm0qY6ikGEL5eunO) • [7](https://www.wbls.com/news/chaka-khan-debuts-her-new-song-chakzilla/) The opening title track declares "I know that I am great / I'm a giant, I'm a giant," and turns self-celebration into a longing for an equal partner.[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/chakzilla/6774651333) • [8](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-chakzilla-by-chaka-khan) "Boogie's in My Soul" features [Snoop Dogg](https://www.edgepedia.org/snoop-dogg) echoing [Melle Mel](https://www.edgepedia.org/melle-mel)'s chant from Khan's 1984 hit "I Feel for You"; the reggae-tinged "Cool You Down" is a duet with Sia; and "Bring the Party," with [Lenny Kravitz](https://www.edgepedia.org/lenny-kravitz) on guitar and vocals, carries the album's rockiest guitar lines.[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/chakzilla/6774651333) • [11](https://www.rollingstone.de/reviews/chaka-khan-chakzilla-review/)
## Reception
Reviewers agreed on the scale of Khan's voice and divided over the material around it. The Gigshack review called the record "a late-career flex" rather than a nostalgia lap, praising the physicality of her phrasing against contemporary production.[12](https://www.gigshack.co.uk/albums/chaka-khan-chakzilla) Rolling Stone Germany found the midtempo soul songs strongest and judged the songwriting and mixing short of the catchiness of her classic catalog.[11](https://www.rollingstone.de/reviews/chaka-khan-chakzilla-review/) A second Rolling Stone review, by the American writer Mosi Reeves, noted that the album trades the saturated bass foundation of *Hello Happiness* for bright, shimmering textures, and lacks the ballads her catalog is known for.[13](https://www.rollingstone.de/chaka-khan-chakzilla-album-review-3192995/) Simon Sweetman criticized the "sugary pop" and disco-pop leanings while conceding that Khan, at 73, "still sounds pretty great."[5](https://simonsweetman.substack.com/p/chaka-khan-chakzilla) A recurring critical point was Sia's heavy presence: backing vocals across the whole album, duets on two songs, and co-writing credits throughout, which some reviewers found overindulgent or too safe for an artist of Khan's standing.[5](https://simonsweetman.substack.com/p/chaka-khan-chakzilla) • [14](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/blancoblk/album/1808748-chakzilla/)
The release capped a busy stretch for Khan: a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2026, a jukebox musical of her life, *I'm Every Woman: The Chaka Khan Musical*, starring [Alexandra Burke](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexandra-burke), and renewed viral attention from a COLORS SHOW performance of "Through the Fire."[2](https://los40.com/2026/09/18/chakzilla-el-primer-album-de-chaka-khan-en-mas-de-7-anos-con-la-colaboracion-de-sia-snoop-dogg-o-lenny-kravitz/) • [9](https://www.complex.com/music/a/bernadette-giacomazzo/chakzilla-single-chaka-khan-sia)
## References
1. [Chakzilla - Album by Chaka Khan, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/chakzilla/6774651333)
2. ["'Chakzilla', el primer álbum de Chaka Khan en más de 7 años", Los40 (September 18, 2026)](https://los40.com/2026/09/18/chakzilla-el-primer-album-de-chaka-khan-en-mas-de-7-anos-con-la-colaboracion-de-sia-snoop-dogg-o-lenny-kravitz/)
3. ["Chaka Khan lança CHAKZILLA", Africanize (September 24, 2026)](https://africanizeoficial.com.br/chaka-khan-lanca-chakzilla-e-transforma-mais-de-cinco-decadas-de-carreira-em-um-novo-capitulo)
4. [Chakzilla - Release Info, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/chakzilla-mr0007079784)
5. [Simon Sweetman, "Chaka Khan: Chakzilla", Sounds Good! (September 24, 2026)](https://simonsweetman.substack.com/p/chaka-khan-chakzilla)
6. [Chakzilla - Upcoming Album, Spotify prerelease](https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/2RdNJxJm0qY6ikGEL5eunO?context=spotify%3Aprerelease%3A2RdNJxJm0qY6ikGEL5eunO)
7. [Rashad Grove, "Chaka Khan Debuts Her New Song 'Chakzilla'", WBLS (May 7, 2026)](https://www.wbls.com/news/chaka-khan-debuts-her-new-song-chakzilla/)
8. ["Album Review: Chakzilla by Chaka Khan", Shatter the Standards (September 23, 2026)](https://www.shatterthestandards.com/p/album-review-chakzilla-by-chaka-khan)
9. [Bernadette Giacomazzo, "Chaka Khan Unleashes 'Chakzilla' With Sia on New Dance Anthem", Complex (May 8, 2026)](https://www.complex.com/music/a/bernadette-giacomazzo/chakzilla-single-chaka-khan-sia)
10. ["NY SKIVA. Musikikonen Chaka Khan släpper albumet 'CHAKZILLA'", Clap Your Hands AB press release (September 18, 2026)](https://via.tt.se/pressmeddelande/4556722/ny-skiva-musikikonen-chaka-khan-slapper-albumet-chakzilla?lang=sv&publisherId=3237313)
11. [Ralf Niemczyk, "Chaka Khan: 'Chakzilla'", Rolling Stone Deutschland (September 18, 2026)](https://www.rollingstone.de/reviews/chaka-khan-chakzilla-review/)
12. [Alden Corv, "Chaka Khan: Chakzilla Album Review", Gigshack (September 23, 2026)](https://www.gigshack.co.uk/albums/chaka-khan-chakzilla)
13. [Mosi Reeves, "Chaka Khan trotzt den Erwartungen auf 'Chakzilla'", Rolling Stone Deutschland (September 24, 2026)](https://www.rollingstone.de/chaka-khan-chakzilla-album-review-3192995/)
14. [blancoBLK, "Chaka Khan - Chakzilla" review, Album of The Year (September 18, 2026)](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/blancoblk/album/1808748-chakzilla/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › R&B and soul albums › 2020s R&B albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license