Critically-acclaimed R&B singer-songwriter Savannah Ré is redefining the genre with FORMED, her deeply personal new full-length album. With co-signs from Babyface, Jessie Reyez, SZA, and Drake, the Toronto native is poised to be your next favorite artist.

3x JUNO-award winner Ré has crafted an exclusive playlist of the songs that define her nine lives, celebrating the release of her steamy single of the same name—peep the official video for “Nine Lives” here.

Dive into our conversation with Savannah Ré about her latest album, and stream her curated playlist below.

Hi Savannah, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us about your new album FORMED—can you describe the inspiration for the project, and its journey to release?

The inspiration for FORMED stemmed from a scripture that I’ve been hearing from my mom since I was a kid, which is “No weapons formed against me shall prosper.” I make all of my music at the same time. It’ll be hundreds of records and then I’m going, “Okay, this one sounds like it could be the beginning of a project” or “I could put these together and it feels like something.” So the real journey would have started probably 2021 for FORMED; however, so many things kind of happened in between that were huge, like life-altering moments. I really just continued pulling from those to, you know, get us this finished project of FORMED that you hear now.

You have an impressive resume—not only are you a multi-JUNO award winner, you are also the first artist to be signed to your mentor Boi1-da’s flagship label 1Music. Can you take our readers through your career journey and how it has shaped your outlook as an artist today?

Boi-1da changed my life. He spoiled me in a way because he brought me in and mentored me. He was such a big brother to me in a way that he brought me into the industry – in a way that was so safe and just showed me the ropes.I wouldn’t have wanted my entry into the career to be any other way. I feel like he kind of trailblazed for me to kind of just find my own footing as well. He let me be me. We made the music together, we did all these things. But in that, I still was able to kind of figure out who I want to be as an artist and immediately went on tour with Jessie Reyez and did all these incredible things under kind of like his tutelage. So yeah, 1da’s the reason I’m here, respectfully. So that was that part of my life, being signed to him and working with him. I learned some invaluable things, honestly.

What was the process like in working with your husband Johann ‘Yogi the Producer’ Deterville on the creation of the “Nine Lives” single? Do you have similar collaborative styles, or do you find differences compliment one another?

Honestly, Yogi and I? It’s like we don’t even have to speak anymore when it comes to making music. I think when people see us make music, they’re always like, “What?” But I think it just comes from us having worked together from the very beginning. And on top of that, our cheat code of being married and happily married. It’s like, we just kind of get into this zone and kind of just go crazy. When “Nine Lives” happened, he was playing like this loop and was doing something, and immediately the wildest part of the song popped into my head. And I was like, “Can I say that? Is he going to be like, ‘Girl, what the hell?’” Then I was like, “You know what? I’m just going to sing it.” Immediately, which I should have known, he turns around and he’s like, “That’s hard. That’s fire. Okay, like, let’s build that out.” And yeah, the rest was history.

Did you find any new challenges or unexpected benefits when making your second album, after the process of making your JUNO-award nominated debut album Opia?

Definitely. I mean, this is my first independent project, so with that comes a whole new set of new challenges, you know? So I’ve had these accolades, which are wonderful; one song from Opia won, and then two other songs of mine won the awards. While I look at those and I always feel a great sense of pride, it doesn’t determine what I do next. So for me, this new journey was already enough for me to think about, let alone some awards. This point was just proving to myself and following through and finishing what I started, regardless of all the happenings in life.

You mention that your mother’s favorite Bible quote, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper,” is the inspiration behind the title of your latest album. Why did those words resonate now, and how are you channeling those feelings through your new music?

That scripture has been like the theme of getting through life for me. And she instilled it so deeply within us, myself and my sister, that it would just roll off the tongue. It was just playing in the back of my mind when I’m feeling super stressed out or different things are happening. It really is the groundwork of who I am and who I was raised to be, as well as my journey. My journey also happened to get super tumultuous and super crazy. So it’s kind of all the way through; it’s woven into the project and into where I am right now.

What is the most impactful piece of advice you’ve received as an artist?

Hmm. That’s a good question. Honestly, I’ve gotten so much advice over the years, but one of the takeaways for sure, has just been from Babyface.

Babyface had basically said to me, “Your gifts, like your unique sound, is your superpower.” It might seem generic, but in that moment when he said that, it was something that I needed to hear as an artist. There’s so many people in this industry that tell you, “Be like this, be like this,” or “Be like this person that’s already out, that’s successful.” He was essentially like, “That is the opposite of what you should do.” And it really, really stuck with me.

Which of your songs is your favorite to perform live? Is there a song from FORMED you are most excited to share with the world?

My favorite song to perform live is “Solid.” I love performing “Solid.” It’s usually the last song in my set as well, and I just think the message [and] the melody – everything just cuts through so well live. So I really enjoy singing it live. As far as FORMED, honestly, all of them. I was excited for the body of work, but I will say the song that’s probably the most not like me that I was excited for people to hear is “Blank Space.” I really just feel like it’s just so, like, left field. So I was really excited to see what the feedback on that song was going to be. And it’s been great.

Finally, where can fans listen to your new album FORMED?

Savannah Ré on all things – it’s on all streaming platforms. You know, hopefully we get to make some vinyls or something too. But anywhere you consume music, it is there.

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