Rita Wilson has found her voice, and ‘Sound of a Woman’ is the proof. The actress, producer, and singer-songwriter announces her sixth studio album, due May 1 via Sing It Loud Records, alongside the title track and lead single, accompanied by a stunning music video directed by Steven Sebring. Co-produced by Wilson and nine-time Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton) and recorded at the historic RCA Studio A in Nashville, this is the most visionary and revealing work of her musical career.
“Sound of a Woman” sets the tone immediately. Co-written with Grammy Award-winner Amy Wadge, who penned Ed Sheeran’s eighteen-times-platinum “Thinking Out Loud,” the track opens with a majestic swell of strings before receding to spotlight the quiet intensity of Wilson’s voice. A piano-driven arrangement builds through scenes of hidden pain and heartbreak toward a glorious crescendo graced with gospel harmonies. “The choir on this song feels like an exaltation,” Wilson says. “Their voices represent all the people who’ve helped you get to a place of self-acceptance.” It’s a breathtaking entry point for an album that demands to be heard in full.
The album follows the arc of a woman’s life across all its triumphs, missteps, and unseen turning points, equal parts unfiltered memoir and nuanced observation of the world. Wilson describes arriving at a place of radical self-awareness after years of feeling muted by her own sense of propriety as a private person in a very public life. “Finally, I asked myself, ‘Does anyone actually know what I think or how I feel about anything?'” she says. The answer, across the full length of ‘Sound of a Woman,’ is an emphatic yes.
Wilson’s musical journey has taken her to Disney Concert Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, the Sydney Opera House, and a headline concert with The Nashville Symphony. Her previous album ‘Rita Wilson Now & Forever: Duets’ featured Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, Jackson Browne, Tim McGraw, Elvis Costello, Keith Urban, and more. ‘Sound of a Woman’ arrives May 1.