Michael Stipe Solo Album Update: 'It's Taken Longer Than I Wanted'
Michael Stipe provides an update on his long-awaited debut solo album, citing COVID-related delays and the pressure of following up R.E.M.'s legacy.
Michael Stipe of R.E.M. fame has shared an update regarding his debut solo album, acknowledging that its completion has been more protracted than initially anticipated.
Since R.E.M.'s amicable split in 2011, Stipe has released only a handful of songs under his own name. Recently, he collaborated with Andrew Watt, Josh Klinghoffer, and Travis Barker on ‘I Played The Fool’ for the new show Rooster.
However, Stipe has been diligently crafting his first solo album for several years. In a recent interview with The Times, he offered fans some insights into the project's progress.
"I’m working on a solo album,” he said. “But it’s taken longer than I wanted.”
Addressing the reasons for the delays, he explained: “Covid didn’t help, but I’m finishing it. When the band split, I just needed a break. I took five years but I got pulled back into music. It’s been a struggle. That’s the main thing. I want it to be great, but I’ve got the pressure of having been in R.E.M. and it’s a high bar, because I want this to be as good as that, and that’s near impossible.”
He continued, “So it’s fucking exciting but also terrifying, and I’m doing the music for the first time too, and I think I’m good at it but not great,” he added. “But I love my voice. I don’t like my speaking voice but I love my singing voice, and I so want to immerse myself back into offering music to the world.”
The interview also revealed that Stipe still has eight songs to finalize before the album is complete. He is aiming for a release before the end of 2026 and humorously suggested the title ‘Meet THE Michael Stipe.’
Previous solo releases from Stipe include the 2019 single ‘Your Capricious Soul’ and ‘Drive To The Ocean’ the following year. He also released ‘No Time For Love Like Now’ with Aaron Dessner’s Big Red Machine in 2020.
By all accounts, Stipe maintains a positive relationship with his former R.E.M. bandmates – guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and drummer Bill Berry. The band reunited in the summer of 2024 for their induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
At the ceremony, the quartet surprised attendees with an acoustic performance of their 1991 hit ‘Losing My Religion,’ marking their first live performance together since their 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
Earlier this month, Stipe joined Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy at one of their ‘Lifes Rich Pageant’ 40th anniversary tour shows in Brooklyn, performing versions of R.E.M.’s ‘These Days’ and ‘The Great Beyond’. A year prior, he also sang ‘Pretty Persuasion’ with them.
Stipe has also been clarifying lyrics from ‘It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’ on Bluesky, revealing that many fans have misinterpreted some of the lines for decades.
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