Fountain Baby


Fountain Baby is the second studio album by the Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae. It was released on June 9, 2023, via Golden Child Entertainment and Interscope Records. The album, released to widespread critical acclaim, was supported by four singles, "Reckless & Sweet", "Co-Star", "Wasted Eyes", and "Angels in Tibet".
The album went on to earn spots on multiple year-end best-of lists. In 2024, Amaarae expanded the project with Roses Are Red, Tears Are Blue – A Fountain Baby extended play, which was released on June 28, 2024 and introduced seven new tracks. Around the same time, she also featured alongside Jorja Smith on Childish Gambino's single "In the Night".

Background

On her 2020 debut album The Angel You Don't Know, Amaarae embraced themes of desire and self-assuredness, presenting her "zaddy" persona with a genre-blurring mix of R&B, pop, and alté that highlighted her creative fearlessness. Following her global breakthrough with "Sad Girlz Luv Money" featuring Moliy—and its remix with Kali Uchis—Amaarae continued to develop her sound by blending diverse global influences into her signature Afrobeats-inspired style.

Composition

Pitchfork described the lead single "Reckless & Sweet" as a subtler, more introspective take on Amaarae's signature style, blending soft drums and guitar with lyrics that explore emotional vulnerability and material tension. The review highlighted the track's biblical imagery and understated production as a contrast to her usual confidence.

Singles

Following the lead single "Reckless & Sweet", Amaarae released the second single "Co-Star", accompanied by a star sign–themed music video directed by Lauren Dunn. Amaarae released a music video for the third single, "Wasted Eyes". Directed by Lauren Dunn, the video is set in a nightclub featuring a wall-to-wall fish tank. She later followed it with a vibrant visual for the fourth single "Angels in Tibet", directed by Yavez Anthonio, which features performances on stage and in ornate settings alongside dancers Hamly and Beaulexx.

Critical reception

Fountain Baby was released to overwhelmingly positive reception. Metacritic, a review aggregator, awarded a score of 95/100 based on eight critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Pitchfork named the record "Best New Music" with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd writing, "The Ghanaian American singer's dazzling second album is a confident and unconventional record that flows, saunters, and boasts its way to one of the best pop albums of the year." Tarisai Ngangura for NPR enjoyed the variety between songs and was impressed by the cohesive fusion of various genres.
Robert Christgau, reviewing in his "Consumer Guide" column, appreciated Amaarae's grounded gratitude for the same-sex obsession "she can afford" to have as a successful artist:
In September, Rolling Stone listed the album as one of the best albums of 2023 so far.

Track listing

Notes