Upon release, the album received generally positive reviews. Critics praised Walker's emotional maturity, introspective lyricism, and polished transition into a more classic ’90s/early-2000s R&B sound, though some noted that the album felt overly long and criticized a lack of rawness compared to her earlier work.
Background and recording
Following the release of her second studio album Still Over It on November 5, 2021, the singer would collaborate with a number of different artists in the next two years, including Usher, Ari Lennox and Ciara, amongst others.[1] In May 2023, Walker released her EP titled Clear 2: Soft Life.[2] Over a year later, on July 7, 2024, it was reported that the singer was working on her third studio album when she shared photos of herself in the recording studio alongside a potential tracklist of 19 songs.[3]
On October 4, 2024, the fifth anniversary of the release of her debut studio album Over It, Walker confirmed that there was a third part of the Over It series by sharing an azure-colored Spotify canvas depicting the three album titles with the third being partly blanked as well as an interactive title generator.[4] A week later, on October 11, Walker announced the title of the album as well as the release of the lead single "Heart of a Woman" alongside the news.[5] An accompanying teaser video shows Walker in her bedroom dressed in a night robe listening to voicemails, including one of a man that begs to talk to her.[6] The voicemail in question was inspired by a message from her ex-boyfriend Lil Meech after their split-up in 2023.[7]
Concept
Walker's album and artwork draws inspiration from American model Anna Nicole Smith, who married then 89-year old businessman J. Howard Marshall in 1994.
Finally Over It is the third and final installment in Walker's trilogy, following her first two albums Over It (2019) and Still Over It (2021). In May 2024, on her Instagram live, Walker described the album as a journey to self-love, happiness, and femininity, and described it as a shift from the introspective concepts surrounding heartbreak and toxic relationships on her previous projects. Prior to the album's announcement, Walker revealed the 18-track album is split in two parts: For Better and For Worse.
“For Better is about choosing me, fully and finally," Walker described on her Instagram account. "I've made choices that didn't always make sense to anyone else, but I don't regret any of them. They all taught me something." Walker also described For Worse as her giving up on unconditional love. "For Worse isn't bitter, but honest. I've loved too hard, ignored red flags, and tried to fix things that were beyond repair. The difference now is I love myself that deeply, I've grown, I've healed, and I refuse to accept anything less than princess treatment."[8]
Cover artworks and aesthetics
Walker revealed a variety of album covers solely for vinyl on her official website before revealing the official album cover on November 5. The official artwork across all platforms and physical releases depicts Walker in a wedding dress and an older man in a wheelchair, presumably a billionaire, with white rose petals falling above them. The artwork draws inspiration from photos of model Anna Nicole Smith's publicized wedding to businessman J. Howard Marshall II in 1994.[9]
In a YouTube Q&A describing each track of the album, Walker revealed the album's overall aesthetic and concept takes inspiration from Smith, Pamela Anderson, who inspired her wardrobe and album marketing strategy at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, and Playboy models.
Release and promotion
During the week of the sixth anniversary of Over It, Walker blurred the artworks of her debut album and Still Over It across all streaming platforms, teasing Finally Over It. On October 10, Walker shared an infomercial inspired video on Instagram releasing a "Finally Over It" compensation hotline for her fans eager for the album. The hotline's voicemail included a brief message from Walker teasing the official release date and a teaser of a track on the album. On October 15, Walker premiered a YouTube video revealing the album's official release date while taking a polygraph test, answering questions about the album, its potential collaborators, love, relationships, and more. At the end of the video, she announced the album would be available for pre-order.
The album was released on November 14, 2025, available in both digital and physical formats, including box sets and three online-exclusive vinyl variants with different artworks.[10][11] Walker announced, through Spotify, that the album would be 18 tracks and split into two parts: "For Better" and "For Worse".[12]
On October 31, Walker released a promotional video inspired by horror film Scream (1996) and its parody film Scary Movie (2000), announcing a "Finally Over It Escape Room" event in Atlanta, Georgia on November 8. On the same day, Walker furthered the album's promotion with a pop-up dump truck service and meet-and-greet event at Morehouse College, and open to all students at Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University. The dump truck service encouraged fans to get rid of their former lovers' items, throwing it into the dump truck.
On November 10, Walker announced the album's collaborators in a 2-minute wedding-themed skit with Spotify, with artists mentioned such as GloRilla, Chris Brown, Latto, Bryson Tiller, Sexyy Red, and more.[13] Walker released a Pac-Man inspired video game on her official website to further promote the album. On November 13, Walker appeared as a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show to discuss Finally Over It and her commercial success.
Finally Over It received generally positive reviews from music critics. According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Finally Over It received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 from 5 critic scores.[14]
Shahzaib Hussain of Clash gave a 7 out of 10 rating for the album and wrote, "Finally Over It is a cumulative rendering, moving between the softness and scorn that characterised Walker's first two efforts. It's framed as a resolution, a clean break. But just as all that's preceded it, we’re betting on Summer Walker, in a year or two, to offer up another raw parable on love as the ultimate intoxicant. For better or worse."[15]NME's Kyann-Sian Williams gave the album four stars rating out of five and wrote, "Love has never been easy for Walker: every breakup has been a public spectacle plastered across social media, so she's been forced to break and rebuild repeatedly under a microscope in front of the world. But now, she's found her autonomy."[16]
Pitchfork's Rawiya Kameir gave a more mixed review and wrote, "No amount of emotional clarity can substitute for the barbed specificity and desperate rhythmic phrasing of Walker's strongest writing, largely abandoned on Finally Over It in the name of self-restraint. Instead, she disappears, along with guests Anderson .Paak and Bryson Tiller, into a tedious stretch that brings to mind a certain subgenre of YouTube tutorial: How to Make a ’90s Slow Jam Type Beat in FL Studio."[17]
"Don't Make Me Do It/Tempted" contains an uncredited sample of "Get It Together", written by Donell Jones and performed by 702; and an uncredited interpolation of "Real Talk", written and performed by R. Kelly.
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