Diana Ross’ Thank You, her first album in 15 years, is a love letter to fans

Twenty-two years is an eternity for an artist who changed the face of music to stay silent. But with the preciousness of time in stark focus due to the pandemic — and likely sensing that her window for making another project was closing — Diana Ross is seizing the moment. Thank You, the 77-year-old diva’s first studio album of original material since 1999’s Every Day Is a New Day, is a love letter to fans and a display of immense gratitude for what Ross has been able to achieve over the last six decades.

“All Is Well,” co-written by Ross’s oldest daughter, Rhonda, is like a silky blanket to crawl under when you need sweet comfort and positive affirmations. The euphoric twirler “If the World Just Danced” — with its infectious world-beat inflections reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s 2018 single “Made for Now” — sounds different than anything else this Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has ever done before. And the folky feels of “In Your Heart” show how, when stripped down to the bone, Ross still has a voice that has been sorely underrated in the era of gospel-powered singers like Aretha, Gladys, and Chaka.