Janelle Monae Debuts High on Billboard 200, Announces Tour & Earns 5 Soul Train Nods

Bad Boy/Wondaland/Atlantic recording artist Janelle Monáe has made a spectacular chart debut with her acclaimed new album, “The Electric Lady.” The collection arrived at #5 on the Billboard Top 200 — Monáe‘s highest chart entry to date — as well as #3 on Billboard’s “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums” ranking.

The phenomenal success of “The Electric Lady” follows an intensive promotional schedule that included highly viewed appearances on NBC’s TODAY, BET’s 106 & Park, and CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman, an electrifying performance which saw Monáe dancing atop the host’s iconic desk.

Monáe is currently poised to embark on a major North American headline tour, set to get underway October 13th at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory and then continue through late November (see itinerary below). Her show at the historic Apollo Theater on October 22nd is already sold out. Other sold out dates include: Washington, DC and Phoenix, Az. For complete details and ticket information, please see www.jmonae.com/tour.

On the heels of a remarkable release week, Monáe has also racked up 5 nominations for the Soul Train Awards. Nominations include Best R&B/Soul Female Artist, Video of the Year, Best Dance Performance, Best Collaboration, and The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award.

In addition to its popular success, “The Electric Lady” has received extraordinary critical acclaim from all corners of the globe. “A show-stopping display of force and talent,” declared Pitchfork in its “Best New Music”-rated rave, while The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis hailed the collection as “audacious, intrepid and brilliantly executed.” “The record sparkles with personality and élan,” said Britain’s The Observer, “a supercharged collection of funk, soul, and jazz.” “(Monáe) maintains her chill over skillet-hot tracks like the disco-rocking ‘We Were Rock n’ Roll’ and the jumping ‘Dance Apocalyptic,'” noted Entertainment Weekly. “Fantastic,” applauded NME, “another entertaining showcase for Monáe’s many gifts.” “(‘THE ELECTRIC LADY’) weaves hiphop soul, Seventies funk, gospel, jazz and rock while dropping references to sci-fi author Philip K. Dick and ghetto-revolutionary politics,” wrote Rolling Stone, “but Monáe holds it together through sheer force of freakadelic will and a radical feminist’s sense of self-exploration.” Perhaps SPIN said it best: “Our ears and eyes remain affixed to this brilliantly realized persona.”

As if that weren’t enough, Monáe — who is an official CoverGirl spokeswoman — received unprecedented media attention in the weeks surrounding the arrival of “The Electric Lady.” Among the many high profile highlights are starring roles on the covers of such international publications as Billboard, Vibe, ELLE Canada, Vibe Vixen, Bust, and The Fly.
With “THE ELECTRIC LADY,” Janelle Monáe more than affirms the rapturous acclaim that greeted her now-legendary 2010 debut, “THE ARCHANDROID.” The album — which includes the breakthrough singles, “Primetime (Feat. Miguel),” “Q.U.E.E.N. (Feat. Erykah Badu),” and “Dance Apocalyptic” — sees the inimitable singer/songwriter/producer/performer/CoverGirl creating an epic new “emotion picture” inspired by her raw personal dreams and experiences and the stories of such courageous, powerful women as groundbreaking icons Dorothy Dandridge, Sally Ride and Cindi Mayweather. The musical language is equally innovative, an urgent, inventive future-pop fraught with mind-melting funk, rebel raps, punk energy, soaring guitars, day-glo synthesizers, psychedelic soul string arrangements, and Monaé’s own astonishing, utterly idiosyncratic artistry.

In addition to the aforementioned collaborations with Badu and Miguel, “The Electric Lady” further sees Monáe teaming with such like-minded artists as Solange (“Electric Lady”), Esperanza Spalding (“Dorothy Dandridge Eyes”), and her lifelong hero, the one and only Prince (“Given Em What They Love”). “The Electric Lady” was co-produced by Monáe alongside her fellow Wondaland Arts Society members, Deep Cotton (Chuck Lightning & Nate Wonder) and Roman GianArthur. Monáe, Lightning, and Wonder Executive Produced with Sean “Diddy” Combs; the Co-Executive Producer is Antwan “Big Boi” Patton; Asscociate Album Producers are Mitch “Mitchowski” Martin and Roman GianArthur.

JANELLE MONÁE “THE ELECTRIC LADY” NORTH AMERICA 2013

OCTOBER
13 Philadelphia, PA Electric Factory
14 Washington, DC Lincoln Theatre
16 Boston, MA House of Blues
18 New York, NY Apollo Theater
22 Minneapolis, MN Skyway Theater
24 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre
29 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
30 Seattle, WA Showbox SoDo

NOVEMBER
1 San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre
2 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia @ L.A. Live
5 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
6 San Diego, CA House of Blues
7 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom
9 Dallas, TX House of Blues
13 Houston, TX House of Blues
15 Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
17 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
19 Raleigh, NC The Ritz
20 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore Charlotte
22 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
23 Miami Beach, FL Fillmore Miami Beach @ The Jackie Gleason Theatre
26 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle