Chaka Khan Reveals the Inspiration Behind Anthemic New Single 'Woman Like Me' (Exclusive)
The 69-year-old music icon has a message for young women of today and says the new standards of beauty 'saddens me'.
by Sophie Schillaci
Interview snapshot
Chaka Khan is offering a poignant message for young females today with her brand new single, "Woman Like Me."
In an exclusive interview with ET's Kevin Frazier, the 69-year-old icon says the anthemic song touts connection over competition between women.
"Its always been crucial for women to connect with one another. And we often have in the wrong ways," she says, referencing a biological drive to compete for available partners dating back to the dawn of time, while calling the current era of online commentary among women "bizarre."
"When I go online and I look at what some of the girls are saying, and I look at what some of the girls are singing about, and look at some of the girls are presenting themselves," she explains, "and I look at what is beauty today. It saddens me."
Seth Neblett
In stumbling upon inspiration for her own next musical chapter, Khan says she went down an internet rabbit hole of modern music -- and didn't love what she was finding.
"I was online looking at something and I got looking at young women singing today, you know, a lot of the girls that are singing and doing videos, and I was looking at a lot of crazy s**t," she says. "I gotta just say it like that, 'cause that's what I was seeing. I was seeing some crazy stuff up there and I mean, I'm an open minded, modern woman. I can take a lot, but I couldn't take a lot of what I was watching and a lot of what I was hearing. I was hearing not enough self-respect at all.
"I just felt like somebody needs to talk to them," she continues. "Someone needs to be a voice that they can listen to and maybe see life differently and see themselves differently -- or see themselves for what they really and truly are, not some warped sense of who knows what wants them to be."
Listen to the new song here:
"Woman Like Me" was written by Gregg Pagani, Francesca Richard, and Jeffrey Anderson and produced by Pagani.
"By the grace of God, the music comes to me," Khan tells ET. "Either I write it or I don't, or someone plays a song for me that I feel like I should have written or could have written. I feel that kind of connection with the song."
"The words were really what moved me," she says of "Woman." "So It was it was that easy, I was in the studio the next week recording."
The "I Am Every Woman" singer says fans can expect more new -- or maybe not so new -- music in the next year.
"I'm feeling like I shouldn't have to go to the studio and sing a damn thing, I mean, I have lots of stuff no one's heard yet," she says. "I think I might just pull all this stuff together and just put it out there and see how I fly, because it's good music. I have a lot of good stuff, a lot of little hidden pearls that can put out there -- or maybe a Greatest Hits might be in order."
"Woman Like Me" will be available to stream and download on Friday, July 29.
