Is D'Angelo returning to the spotlight? After years of relative silence – marked by addiction, legal trouble and several cancelled releases – the R&B singer has announced concerts in London, Amsterdam and Paris. His third studio album, partly recorded with Questlove, may be due next year.
It was 2009 when D'Angelo first announced the follow-up to 2000's Voodoo – one of the h-h-h-hottest R&B records ever recorded. The album was to feature Prince, Cee Lo Green, Raphael Saadiq and Mark Ronson, but it was never released, and some of the vaunted collaborators – including Prince – denied involvement. More than a year later, in August 2010, Ronson said they were still "working non-stop". But now even Ronson seems to have dropped out. More recently, there are rumours of sessions with Russell Elevado and the Roots' Questlove, who told Billboard D'Angelo is "in the home stretch".
In Europe at least, fans may soon have the chance to judge for themselves. D'Angelo has announced three dates in 2012: London's Brixton Academy on 3 February, Paris's Le Zénith on 29 January, and Amsterdam's Paradiso on 31 January. Tickets for the London concert are still available.
