Sade Adu Honors Her Trans Son on New Song ‘Young Lion’: Listen

Sade Adu, the frontwoman of the band Sade, has returned with a new song, “Young Lion,” her first in six years.

She co-produced the song with Aaron Taylor Dean and they co-wrote it with Ben Travers.

“Young Lion” is a heartfelt ballad that honors Adu’s transgender son, Izaak, and offers him a sincere apology.

“Young man / It’s been so heavy for you / You must have felt so alone / The anguish and pain / I should’ve known / With such a heavy burden / You had to carry all on your own / Forgive me, son / I should’ve known,” Adu sings. 

Leading up to its release, Adu stated, “Trans people have always existed, with many different names across time and culture, often as spiritual healers and leaders. As global systems continue to fail humanity and all life on Earth, the journey taken by trans people – and all peoples who have been oppressed – is a blueprint of possibility. May this be a glimpse of our collective liberation, and the light inside all of us.”

“Young Lion” appears on Transa: Selects, a compilation by the Red Hot Organization, a non-profit established in 1989 dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.

Billed as the first installment, Transa: Selects lasts for 47 minutes and features thoughtful songs that celebrate transgender people.

Additional contributing artists include André 3000, Sam Smith, Lauren Auder, L’Rain, as well as participants from the New York City Trans Oral History Project and others.

The full Transa: Selects album will release Friday, Nov. 22. 

“Young Lion” is not the first taste of new music from Adu’s anxiously awaited seventh studio album with her bandmates.

It follows Adu’s output of intermittent, non-album song releases over the years, including “The Big Unknown” from Widows and “Flower of the Universe” from Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, both of which were released in 2018.

Sade has not released new material for an official album in over a decade — 14 years, to be exact. However, fans of the band have celebrated them by creating faithful remakes of their songs over the years.

Victoria Monét reimagined “Love Is Stronger Than Pride,” Alex Isley and Terrace Martin reimagined “Paradise,” and Norelle covered “Like a Tattoo.”

Moreover, Alicia Keys sampled Sade’s “Cherish the Day” for her hit 2021 single, “Best of Me.” 

In July 2018, Stuart Matthewman, Sade’s longtime collaborator and an original member of the band, exclusively told Rated R&B, “We’re working on a new album.”

He mentioned that a lot of material has been recorded, and their label, Epic Records, understands not to pressure for a release date.

“The record company knows there’s no point in nagging us or giving us deadlines. It doesn’t really help the process,” he said. He added, “[Sade’s] not interested in the fame or any of that other stuff. She likes to put out art. So when it’s ready, it will come out.”

Following this announcement, Sophie Muller, an acclaimed music video director and frequent collaborator with Sade, told Rated R&B in 2020 that an album could have been released had the pandemic not occurred. “Well, I think it would have been this year,” Muller shared. “Of course, there have been a series of events that have slowed everything down. Maybe next year.”

After several discussions about the band’s recording process, Sade released a career-spanning box set titled This Far.

The last update on the album came from a Billboard cover story featuring Oscar-winning actor Brad Pitt and French composer and producer Damien Quintard discussing the renovation of Miraval Studios in Correns, France. It was revealed that Sade was among the first artists to record in the legendary studio.

In other news, Sade was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2023. They also were on the shortlist of 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees.

Listen to Sade Adu’s new song “Young Lions” below.