Chaka Khan has only felt “comfortable” singing ‘I’m Every Woman’ in the last decade.
The 69-year-old star – who recently dropped the single ‘Woman Like Me’ – has confessed that it took her many years to feel at ease singing about being “feeling like every woman”.
Asked what she was feeling when she recorded her 1978 debut solo single for E!’s ‘Tales From the Top’ series, she said: “Actually, at that point in my life, I wasn’t feeling like every woman, and it took me a minute—some years, actually—to grow into a comfort zone singing lyrics like ‘I’m every woman, it’s all in me.’ That’s a lot to take on. And I feel my songs, I have to sell them, I have to believe it. I’m now very comfortable with it—but only in the last, maybe, 10 years.”
The pop classic was covered by and became a hit for the late Whitney Houston in 1992.
Chaka – who was married by the age of just 17 – admits she’s been through a lot and is grateful her loyal fans have stuck by her.
Quizzed on why her music is so timeless, she said: “God only knows, and I’m only thankful to God that people still are. I’m thankful that I can still do this and that people still love me and listen to me. Only by the grace of God could I be here today. I’ve had a tough life, but I’ve made it through – to this point. And I so love my people, the audiences that love me. I’m doing it for love of you, and this is the truth.”
After releasing ‘Woman Like Me’, Chaka teased plenty more new music is on the way.
Asked if there would be a new album, she said: “I may be blooming more than once a year—’cause I got to bloom fast—so I may just step it up a bit. There’s more stuff coming, absolutely.”
Chaka’s last studio album was 2019’s ‘Hello Happiness’.