Jorja Smith announces third album with dance track featuring Wizkid

Jorja Smith has announced her third studio album. What Are The Odds drops on 21 August through FAMM and features twelve tracks. As a first taste, the British singer released the single 'Alive', which features Nigerian superstar Wizkid. The accompanying music video, directed by Gabriel Trautmann, follows the two artists as they dance, sweat and flirt through a summer night in Paris.

The album was produced entirely by P2J, the same producer Smith worked with on her 2023 second album Falling or Flying. According to Smith, conversations about a dance focused album began shortly after they wrapped up their collaborative hit 'Little Things' from that year. Working with Wizkid on 'Alive' came naturally: "Making this with P2J and WizKid felt really easy," Smith told Billboard. "We wrote and recorded it together in London. I think we captured that feeling when you're at the beginning of something with someone and everything feels exciting. I've always loved WizKid's music and the way he's opened so many doors for Afrobeats around the world, so it feels really special and a big honor to have a song with him."

On the album as a whole, Smith told Billboard it came together without any grand plan: "This album came together really naturally. There was never a big plan; it was just me making music that felt right in the moment." She and P2J experimented with a range of British styles, including UK garage, grime and various forms of house such as funky house and Afro house. Lyrically, the songs deal with growing up, love, loss, friendships and searching for something to hold onto, with the music carrying an uplifting feel while the words sometimes carry a more melancholic undertone.

Besides Wizkid, there is one other guest artist on the album: British grime rapper Devlin, who appears on 'This City'. That track is a rework of his own 2010 song 'London City'. The rest of the album is a solo effort from Smith and P2J.

It is a busy year for Smith. She already contributed an original track to the soundtrack of Bait, the Prime Video series from actor Riz Ahmed, and performed during the inaugural season of Saturday Night Live UK. She also celebrated the tenth anniversary of her breakthrough hit 'Blue Lights'. On the day What Are The Odds comes out, she will be playing London festival All Points East as co headliner alongside Tems.