Beloved is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Giveon. It was released through Epic Records and Not So Fast on July 11, 2025. Production on the album was handled by a variety of record producers, including Matthew Burnett, Jahaan Sweet, Gitty, Sevn Thomas, and Maneesh. It was preceded by two singles, "Twenties" and "Rather Be". Beloved serves as the follow-up to Giveon's previous album, Give or Take (2022).
Upon the release of the album, Giveon appeared in an interview with Rolling Stone in which he spoke about how his relationship with the singer Justine Skye affected the creation of the album.[2] He stated that "[...] But I think I’m always – maybe subconsciously – influenced. Even my song "Twenties", that was just a bird’s eye view of just the last decade. So there were multiple people in there. [A] thing that entices me to write a song is if I’m feeling [something] and then I reflect on it and [see] I went through it multiple times, that’s when I really know it’s going to resonate with the public. Because if I’ve been through this multiple times, I know there’s somebody who’s been through it at least once".[2] Beginning the interview, Giveon described the album as a photograph, stating that "once you look at a photo, you start noticing stuff you didn’t see before. So after I finished this album, I was listening to it and looking at it was just like, 'Oh, that’s just not a person I think I would want my daughter to date'", stating that creating the album allowed him to take accountability for his previous actions.[2] When asked about having features on his albums, Giveon responded:[2]
If I’m in a studio with someone and we’re having real conversations, and then it naturally comes along, then [okay]. Me and Teddy are full-blown friends now. I feel like the early features in my career were so organic to where it just sets the bar really high [to]being like, “Oh, yeah, I’m not just going to do a feature just to do it.” I also feel like some people just throw a feature on the album just for, I guess, name’s sake, or for people to engage and be like, “Oh, this person’s on this album,” and then you listen to the verse and they’re talking about two completely different things. It’s like, why are you even on there? [For me] it’s more on a friendship basis.
Giveon also delved into the producers behind the album, stating that he stuck with the same producers because he wanted the album to be "cohesive" and that "everyone has different play styles and sounds. If I just added a different horn player or different strings, I feel like it’d throw off the cohesiveness of the album". He continued that he "want[ed] people to approach it like it’s our album. I like the idea where at the end of a movie there’s just a million credits of people and each one of [them] are going to feel validated if that movie succeeds".[2]
Release and promotion
The lead single of the album, "Twenties", was released on February 7, 2025.[3] In an interview with Billboard on March 28, 2025, Giveon said that he is "excited for people to hear" his next album and feels that he has "a responsibility with this music because I see how it touches and helps people".[4] The second single, "Rather Be", was released on May 16, 2025.[5] Giveon announced the album sixteen days later along with its cover art and release date, revealing that he spent over one thousand days recording it.[6]
The North American "Dear Beloved, The Tour" in support of the album is scheduled to run from October 1, 2025 to November 6, 2025. Free Nationals, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Sasha Keable will open the tour.[7]
Beloved received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic's Andy Kellman wrote that the album "is filled with many other dramatic, tear-stained expressions of regret, frustration, and heartache" and that although it isn't "an out-and-out throwback, it draws substantially from the '70s", comparing the record to Philadelphia soul music, the music released by Hi Records, and "less so from maestros such as Barry White and Isaac Hayes". He concluded that "Giveon might view his six-year relationship as misspent, but there's no second-guessing the time he devoted to converting it into art".[8] Writing for Rolling Stone, Mankaprr Conteh wrote that Beloved is "almost barren of the hip-hop flourishes that peppered his earlier work" and that Giveon "instead leans all the way into the orchestral R&B of another time, lush with searing strings and the crash of real hi-hats". Similarly to Kellman, Conteh wrote that "Beloved feels indebted to Al Green, Philly soul, The Jackson 5, and Blaxploitation soundtracks". Conteh continued that "Giveon offers a stunning, panoramic view of romantic relationships in their toughest places" and that the album particularly shines when Giveon "embraces how complicated heartache can be".[9]
Commercial performance
Beloved debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart, earning 44,000 album-equivalent units (including 8,000 in pure album sales) in its first week.[10] The album also accumulated a total of 47.78 million on-demand streams of the album's songs.[10]
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