Podcast Episode: Jody Watley New Single ‘The Dawn’ Out Now

Pip: The Official Jody Watley Website is where a five-decade career keeps moving forward — and right now, it is moving at dance-floor speed.

Mara: Admin has the full story on the new single, the label behind it, and what this release means in the context of a catalog that just keeps building. Let’s start with the music itself.

Jody Watley’s New Single ‘The Dawn’ Is Out Now

Pip: The question here is straightforward: what does a new Jody Watley single in 2026 actually represent — a moment, or a momentum?

Mara: The post frames it as the latter. The setup is that this release follows back-to-back chart successes, and the post puts it plainly: “The Dawn is the latest in the singer songwriting, producer’s ongoing discography of feel good blend of soulful rhythms and dance-floor energy.”

Pip: So this is not a one-off. It is the next step in a streak — a number-one iTunes USA and Amazon Music UK Dance and Electronic album in 2025, a number-two UK Soul Chart single in 2024 — and now a new remix produced by Alex Di Ciò landing on every major platform worldwide.

Mara: The release comes through Avitone, her independent label established in 1995 with the stated mantra of “Fueling Quality Music.” That label context matters — this is not a major-label rollout. It is a deliberate, multi decades-long independent operation.

Pip: Thirty years of independent operation, and the singles keep charting. That is not luck, that is infrastructure.

Mara: The post also grounds the release in a much longer arc. Watley is listed in Billboard as one of the Top 60 Female Artists of All Time, Top 25 Dance Artists of All Time, and Top 100 Black Solo Artists of All Time — a GRAMMY Award-winning Best New Artist and three-time nominee whose catalog spans R&B, pop, dance, hip-hop, jazz, and electronic music across more than five decades, going back to her Shalamar years beginning in 1978.

Pip: The bio closes with a phrase that earns its place: “Still Thriving. Still Creating. Still Evolving on her own terms independently.” At this point in the discography, that reads less like marketing and more like a statement of fact.

Mara: “The Dawn” is available now on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and SoundCloud.


Pip: Five decades in, a new single, a thriving independent label — the arc here is genuinely long.

Mara: And it keeps moving. More to come from this catalog, no question.

Jody Watley – New Single ‘The Dawn’ Coming June 12

Digital album cover featuring Jody Watley, highlighting her face with long eyelashes and soft makeup. She is wearing a shiny, sequined top. The text includes 'THE DAWN' and 'ALEX DI CIO REMIX' in stylized fonts with colorful light flares.

 Kicking off Summer and Black Music Month!

Arriving June 12, 2026: “The Dawn” (Alex Di Ciò Remix) — the groove-heavy new single from GRAMMY® Award-winning music icon Jody Watley.

Experience a fresh evolution of rhythm, soul, and dance-floor energy as Jody Watley and acclaimed producer/remixer Alex Di Ciò deliver the perfect soundtrack for the season. The song is another Jody Watley composition. “It’s a tough time for a lot of people, and also quite a bit of negativity in the world. I think it’s always important to have songs that keep people motivated and in a positive mindset – to let go of worries and stress, My music is always a vessel for that.”

Dawn definition: Dawn is the period of the day when the first light appears in the sky, marking the transition from night to morning before the sun breaks the horizon at sunrise.Metaphorically, it refers to the beginning, emergence, or advent of something new (e.g., “the dawn of a new era”) “the dawn of a new day”

About The Artist:

Jody Watley is a GRAMMY-winning, multi-platinum singer/songwriter/producer and style icon. Named Best New Artist in 1988, she’s one of Billboard’s Top 60 Female Artists of All Time, with 6 Top 10 Hot 100 hits, 13 No. 1 Dance singles, 2  R&B #1s and genre-spanning success across R&B, Pop, Dance, Downtempo Electronica and Jazz. Her career longevity spans 5 decades in the music industry.

A visionary in music and fashion, Watley helped pave the way for Black women to break boundaries. Honored as a Crossover Music Icon by Black Music Honors, an inductee in Women’s Songwriters Hall of Fame + more; her influence continues—decades strong and she remains an inspiration to many. Her most recent album “Let’s Dance Vol. 1 – Hit Them Beats” released July 9, 2025 vaulted to #1 on the iTunes Top Dance Electronic Albums and Amazon Music UK on July 11, 2025.

“The Dawn” Cover Art by Shawn West and Jody Watley. Logo Design: Ray Easmon.