Keys recorded 'Good Job' during the pandemic and added it to the album tracklist. Several songs take on new meaning when you listen to them within the scope of the pandemic and social strife plaguing the country. In 'Underdog,' Keys assures underdogs 'One day you will rise up.' And 'Authors of Forever' offers an optimistic look at a time of unity: 'We embrace the space between us // It's alright // We're all in this boat together // And we're sailing toward the future.' In 'Show Me Love,' a collaboration with Miguel, she tells her man, 'This is not the season for nobody else but us.'

Love is a common theme, with three songs including 'Love' in the title. 'Once you free your mind // There is beauty in everything,' she insists in 'Time Machine.' In 'Wasted Energy,' Keys stands up for herself, chiding a selfish lover: 'Too many times you turn a blind eye to the way I feel.'

When the song dropped in August, Keys said on Instagram 'This song is about being done with changing yourself for the sake of others and letting go of any one else’s ideas of how your life should look.”Īdvice and affirmations pervade.

Alicia keys as i am album cover