Beth Ditto Returns with Blazing New Single, 'Fire'

Former Gossip lead singer Beth Ditto returns today with a blazing new single, "Fire." She premiered the two-minute comeback track on BBC Radio 1's Hottest Record In The World, before it officially hits iTunes and Spotify this Friday, April 7. According to a listing in the New Zealand iTunes store, "Fire" is featured on Ditto's new album, Fake Sugar, scheduled for release on June 16.

"Get up if you want my love," Ditto repeats above giant, retro guitar-driven production, her signature gospel-leaning vocals bellowing above. "Bless my soul that's the way it is; bless my soul I can't resist," she sings with the same throaty confidence delivered on her 2011 debut self-titled EP. (Listen to "Fire," below)

"It took about two years," Ditto told BBC Radio 1's MistaJam, speaking to the process for completion. "I probably have seen more of 65 to 80 songs--a lot of digging. I like to call it speed dating. I don't play anything, so I'd go into these different writing sessions with people I didn't know."

After months of trial and error, she said "Fire" came about effortlessly, made in collaboration with Jennifer Decilveo, who's previously worked with artists like Melanie Martinez and Andra Day. "There wasn't a genre I had in mind," Ditto said. "I just wanted to do stuff that just seemed right and felt right--I tried to be very uncool."

Watch the trailer for Beth Ditto's "Fire" music video, below.