Kehlani is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Kehlani. It was released through Atlantic Records on April 24, 2026, in tandem with Kehlani's 31st birthday. The album features guest appearances from Lil Wayne, Clipse, Brandy, Missy Elliott, Usher, Lil Jon, T-Pain, Cardi B, Big Sean, and Leon Thomas. The album serves as the follow-up to their previous projects, Crash (2024) and While We Wait 2 (2024), and was preceded by three singles: "Folded", "Out the Window" and "Back and Forth". Kehlani is supported by the Kehlani World Tour, which began in August 2026.
Background and composition After the publication of their fourth studio album Crash (2024), Kehlani confirmed a follow-up record project. On June 11, 2025, they published the solo single "Folded", for which they won their first two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song. At the award ceremony the singer announced they were working in a recording studio for new material and closing their fifith record project. Kehlani also revealed that during the two years spent recording and producing the project, they went through a difficult personal period, including being diagnosed with and treated for mental health issues.
Singles and promotion The lead single of the album, "Folded", was released on June 11, 2025. The second single, "Out the Window", was released on November 7, 2025. On March 17, 2026, Kehlani announced the album, along with its cover art and release date. The third single, "Back and Forth", featuring Missy Elliott, was released on April 10, 2026. The fourth single, "Shoulda Never", was serviced to Italian radio on April 24.
Critical reception
Kyle Denis of Billboard wrote that the tracks "painstakingly mine '90s and '00s R&B for both inspiration and guidance, while still feeling totally singular" and although the reviewer noticed there are too many features, "Kehlani deftly uses her collaborations to flaunt her expert grasp on different R&B song archetypes", concluding the review by stating that "Kehlani stands as more of an examination of its creator’s relationship to R&B than a reflection of where the multihyphenate currently is in her personal life". In a positive review, Steven J. Horowitz of Variety also explained that the singer "subsuming herself in the aesthetic and conventions of her influences while adapting them into one of her most powerful mission statements to date", finding Kehlani "at the peak of her artistic powers".
Commercial performance Kehlani debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with 69,000 album-equivalent units, which included 24,000 pure album sales in its first week. Also, this was their first No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, making it their 7th consecutive top 10 album on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album also accumulated 45.37 million on-demand audio streams in the United States.
Track listing
Notes indicates someone credited for primary and vocal production indicates a co-producer indicates an additional producer indicates a vocal producer
Personnel Credits are adapted from Tidal. Musicians
Kehlani – vocals Johnny May – strings (tracks 2, 4, 8, 13, 14, 17) Khris Riddick-Tynes – keyboards (2, 5, 7, 8, 13–17), background vocals (2, 7, 8, 13–15, 17), drum programming (2), drums (5, 7, 8, 13–17), synthesizer (7, 8, 15–17), guitar (7), instruments (10), bass (14) Alex Goldblatt – bass (2, 8), guitar (11, 13, 15), programming (13); drums, keyboards, synthesizer (15) Tom Levesque – horn (2, 8, 13) Rich Harrison – background vocals, drum programming (2) Ashton Norful – keyboards (2) Lil Wayne – vocals (2) Clipse – vocals (3) Deanna Stewart – background vocals (5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 17) Antonio Dixon – bass, keyboards, synthesizer (5, 17); instruments (10), drums (17) Jimmy Jam – bass, synthesizer (5) Brandy – vocals (5) Erick Walls – guitar (6) Jeremy Reeves – drums, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer (7) Jonathan Yip – drums, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer (7) Ray Romulus – drums, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer (7) Missy Elliott – vocals (7) Dixson – background vocals (8, 13, 15, 17); drums, string arrangement (11) Usher – vocals (8) Jayme Silverstein – bass, drums, guitar, keyboards (9) Oak – drums, keyboards (9) Camper – drums, keyboards (11) Roy Cotton – string arrangement (11) T-Pain – vocals (12) Lil Jon – vocals (12) Cardi B – vocals (13) Allen Ritter – background vocals (14) Big Sean – background vocals (14) Leon Thomas – vocals (15) Daniel Church – background vocals (16)
Technical Jenna Felsenthal – engineering Ronald "RD" Dominic – engineering (7) Neal Pogue – mixing (all tracks), vocal mixing (7) Brad Puette – immersive mixing Zachary Acosta – mixing assistance Harvey Mason Jr. – vocal mixing (7) Mike Bozzi – mastering Manny Galvez – vocal engineering (2) Rob Ulsh – vocal engineering (3) Dixson – vocal engineering (5, 8, 11, 13, 14, 17) Todd Bergman – vocal engineering (5) Ben "Bengineer" Chang – vocal engineering (8) Evan LaRay – vocal engineering (13) Milan Becker – vocal engineering (14)
Charts + Chart performance for Kehlani Chart (2026) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 18 Australian Hip Hop/R&B Albums (ARIA) 1 Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) 12 Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) 66 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 10
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