The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two is the thirty-seventh studio album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released June 27, 2025 on Columbia Records. Consisting of duets with other singers, it is a companion to her 2014 album Partners.

The album's sales extended Streisand's record on the Billboard charts for a top-40 album in every decade since the 1960s. The Secret of Life was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.

Background Barbra Streisand began recording vocals for her new album shortly after completing the audiobook narration for her memoir My Name Is Barbra—a project that may have influenced the introspective tone of some tracks. The album cover, which captures Streisand gazing thoughtfully through a screen door, was photographed by her daughter-in-law Kathryn Boyd Brolin, marking a familial assist behind the scenes.

Among the album's notable collaborations is a duet with Bob Dylan, who had first invited Streisand to work together decades prior, finally bringing the long-awaited pairing into the studio. The project also features Ariana Grande, reuniting with Streisand after their live performance together at Chicago's United Center in August 2019. The guest lineup includes Josh Groban, who first recorded with Streisand in 2002, and is the only artist to appear on both Partners (2014) and this 2025 sequel.

Promotion The album announcement on April 30, 2025, coincided with the release of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", the lead single with Hozier. The Paul McCartney duet "My Valentine" followed on May 16, 2025, as the second single. The third single, "Letter to My 13 Year Old Self" with Laufey, was released on June 6, 2025.

Commercial performance The album debuted at No. 31 on the Billboard 200 for the week of July 12. With this, Streisand extended her record as the woman with the most top 40 albums in the chart's history — now totaling 55 titles — surpassing artists like Aretha Franklin and Madonna, who each have 26. The record also debuted at No. 4 on the Top Album Sales chart (for 18,000 physical copies sold), demonstrating her commercial relevance after more than six decades in the music industry. According to Luminate the album sold 25,000 copies in the first two weeks in United States. In its second week, it sold 4,262 CDs and Vinyl on Amazon.com, and was number 1 in the website sales.

Track listing All tracks produced by Walter Afanasieff and Peter Asher.

Personnel Credits adapted from Tidal.

Musicians

Barbra Streisand – vocals Bruce Dukov – concertmaster William Ross – conductor Everton Nelson – orchestra Jochem van der Saag – programming Leland Sklar – bass (tracks 1–3, 5, 7–9) Russell Kunkel – drums (1, 2, 5, 9) Dean Parks – acoustic guitar (1, 2, 5) Hozier – vocals (1) Paul McCartney – vocals (2) Walter Afanasieff – keyboards (3, 6–11), piano (3, 6, 7, 10, 11), organ (3), arrangement (4) Andrew Synowiec – electric guitar (3, 6) Allie Feder – background vocals (3, 9) Baraka May – background vocals (3, 9) David Loucks – background vocals (3, 9) Waddy Wachtel – guitar (3), electric guitar (9) Sam Smith – vocals (3) Grégoire Maret – harmonica (4) Randy Waldman – piano, arrangement (4) Bob Dylan – vocals (4) Lenny Castro – percussion (5, 9) Laufey – vocals (5) Mariah Carey – vocals (6) Ariana Grande – vocals (6) John "JR" Robinson – drums (7, 8) Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar (7) Tim McGraw – vocals (7) James Taylor – acoustic guitar, vocals (8) Leonardo Amuedo – acoustic guitar (9) Pedro Eustache – recorder (9) Sting – vocals (9) Josh Groban – vocals (10) Seal – vocals (11)

Technical

Peter Asher – production Walter Afanasieff – production Jochem van der Saag – mixing, mastering, recording Paul Blakemore – mastering Alisse Laymac – engineering Colby Donaldson – engineering Daniel Cullen – engineering Dmytro Gordon – engineering Dylan Waterhouse – engineering Erik Swanson – engineering Greg Foeller – engineering Josh Kay – engineering Kristina Fisk – engineering Marta DiNozzi – engineering Mirza Sheriff – engineering Nick Hodges – engineering Nolan Bacardi – engineering Erik Lutkins – recording (all tracks), vocal engineering (7) Brian Garten – recording George Oulton – recording Michael Aarvold – recording Nathaniel Kunkel – recording Shawn Murphy – recording Simon Rhodes – recording Steve Genewick – recording Steve Orchard – recording Wesley Seidman – recording Adrian Bradford – recording (2–11) Lou Carrao – recording (6) Byron Gallimore – vocal production (7)

Charts + Chart performance for The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two Chart (2025) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 63 Greek Albums (IFPI) 54 Japanese Western Albums (Oricon) 12Taiwanese Western Albums (G-Music) 2

See also Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway (2016)

References

External links Barbra Streisand on The Secret of Life June 13, 2025 segment for The New Yorker Radio Hour At 83, Barbra Streisand Has Plenty Left to Say June 27, 2025, Vanity Fair