Janelle Monae Announces THE ELECTRIC LADY Tour; to Kick Off 10/13 in Philadelphia

Bad Boy/Wondaland/Atlantic recording artist Janelle Monáe has announced plans for her upcoming North American headline tour. The dates which celebrate the acclaimed artist's eagerly anticipated new album, "THE ELECTRIC LADY" get underway October 13th at Philadelphia's Electric Factory and then continue through late November (see below itinerary). Additional dates extending into 2014 will be announced soon. Ticket sales begin at most venues on Friday, August 23rd please check local listings.

"THE ELECTRIC LADY" is set to arrive on September 10th. Today, Ms. Monáe revealed her new single "Primetime (Feat. Miguel)" on www.jmonae.com. "Primetime" follows hot on the heels of the already available hit singles, "Q.U.E.E.N. (Feat. Erykah Badu)" and "Dance Apocalyptic," both of which are on sale now at all leading DSPs. Listen to "Primetime" here: http://youtu.be/d5ewB-o5N9A.

"THE ELECTRIC LADY" is currently available for pre-order in a variety of formats, including a two-disc "Only At Target" Edition featuring four bonus tracks, exclusively via Target (www.target.com/p/janelle-monae-the-electric-lady-only-at-target/-/A-14652334). In addition, "THE ELECTRIC LADY" pre-orders are on offer on the iTunes Store, as well as via Monáe's own www.jmonae.com. The latter outlet features an array of bundles including such extras as an extremely limited edition black-and-white vinyl 7" single, pre-sale ticket access for the upcoming tour, a 20% discount on purchase of the album's 2-LP vinyl edition (due later this year), and instant MP3 downloads of both "Q.U.E.E.N. (Feat. Erykah Badu)" and "Dance Apocalyptic," which is featured in Monáe's new CoverGirl commercial. To pre-order the album, please visit http://smarturl.it/theelectriclady.shop.

With "THE ELECTRIC LADY," Janelle Monáe more than affirms the rapturous acclaim that greeted her now-legendary 2010 debut, "THE ARCHANDROID." The album sees the inimitable singer/songwriter/producer/performer/CoverGirl creating an epic new "emotion picture" inspired by her raw personal dreams and experiences and the stories of such courageous, powerful women as groundbreaking icons Dorothy Dandridge, Sally Ride and Cindi Mayweather. The musical language is equally innovative, an urgent, inventive future-pop fraught with mind-melting funk, rebel raps, punk energy, soaring guitars, day-glo synthesizers, psychedelic soul string arrangements, and Monaé's own astonishing, utterly idiosyncratic artistry.

In addition to the aforementioned collaborations with Badu and Miguel, "THE ELECTRIC LADY" further sees Monáe teaming with such like-minded artists as Solange ("Electric Lady"), Esperanza Spalding ("Dorothy Dandridge Eyes"), and her lifelong hero, the one and only Prince ("Givin Em What They Love"). "THE ELECTRIC LADY" was co-produced by Monáe alongside her fellow Wondaland Arts Society members, Deep Cotton (Chuck Lightning & Nate Wonder) and Roman GianArthur. Monáe, Lightning, and Wonder Executive Produced with Sean "Diddy" Combs; the Co-Executive Producer is Antwan "Big Boi" Patton; Asscociate Album Producers are Mitch "Mitchowski" Martin and Roman GianArthur.

Monáe, who is an official CoverGirl spokeswoman, graces the cover of VIBE's "20th Anniversary Collector's Issue" with none other than Robin Thicke, set for September/October 2013. An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the cover shoot is streaming now at ET Online, located at www.etonline.com/music/137143_Behind_the_Scenes_of_Robin_Thicke_and_Janelle_Monae_s_Vibe_Magazine_Photo_Shoot/index.html.

Furthermore, the unforgettable cover art for "THE ELECTRIC LADY" and its exclusive "Only At Target Edition" was unveiled earlier this week. Entitled "Cindi Mayweather And Her Sisters Cast A Spell Over the Good City of Metropolis," the work painted by revolutionary illustrator Sam Spratt can be viewed now at http://57821.tumblr.com as well as in a striking teaser at Monaé's official YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOdnTPNsFJ4.

For more information, please visit www.jmonae.com, twitter.com/JanelleMonae (@JanelleMonae), www.facebook.com/janellemonae, instagram.com/janellemonae, and www.youtube.com/janellemonae.

JANELLE MONÁE
"THE ELECTRIC LADY"
NORTH AMERICA 2013

Additional Dates To Be Announced Soon