After a lengthy hiatus from the music scene to focus on her acting endeavors, singer and actress Vanessa Williams proves that she hasn’t missed a step with her first song in 15 years.
The 61-year-old released the single and music video for “Legs (Keep Dancing).” The track pokes fun at her age in the lyrics while inciting the envy of decades-younger viewers by flaunting her dance moves in the accompanying music video.
“They say the legs are the last to go / I’mma keep dancing,” Williams croons in the new track, her first original music since 2009. “I’ve got work left to do, and I’m not close to through / Not while I’ve still got these legs!”
The instantly-viral track had social media in a spiral, with fans posting, “Vanessa Williams just dropped a new song and video!!!!!! 61 y’all oh you pop girls are in danger.
Ahead of the song’s release, Williams shared a clip of herself walking into a rehearsal room as prospective dancers prepped for their auditions. “Let me show these children,” she captioned the post.
In the comments section, Mike Ruiz, who directed the video, quipped, “Sometimes the children just need to be schooled!!
“Vanessa is re-introducing herself by her design; we’re all committed and excited to be a part of it.”
According to US Weekly, the title of the song is a reference to Diahann Carroll’s 2008 memoir, The Legs Are the Last to Go: Aging, Acting, Marrying, and Other Things I Learned the Hard Way.
“The whole concept was Vanessa’s idea,” cowriter Kipper Jones said in a press release, adding that Williams just knew she wanted to incorporate Carroll’s title somewhere in the song. “[Vanessa] didn’t know whether it was the title of the song or the lyric or whatever. I didn’t find that unusual at all. That is also how we came up with ‘The Comfort Zone’ back in 1991.”
Williams is putting the final touches on her first non-seasonal album in 15 years which releases later this year. The project was executive produced by Mellian Music, Mod Squad, LLC, and Christopher Todd Hall.
“This is an album that surrounds Vanessa’s vocal gifts and performances with stellar acoustic and electronic performances by real musicians, real writers, real producers; a real music album,” says Mod Squad CEO, Tony Prendatt.
“This album is for all genres. It will touch on all of Vanessa’s experiences in the Pop, R&B, Latin, Jazz, and Dance genres. Vanessa is re-introducing herself by her design; we’re all committed and excited to be a part of it.”