Soldier of Love by Sade

Soldier of Love is the sixth studio album by the English group Sade. It is their first album of original material since Lovers Rock (2000). The album was initially released on 5 February 2010 in Germany, and it was released worldwide on 8 February 2010 and in the United States on 9 February 2010. The first single "Soldier of Love" premiered on 8 December 2009 on the group's official website. In March 2009, American recording artist Maxwell, a fellow Sony Music recording artist and longtime friend and collaborator with Stuart Matthewman, sent a message to fans in March via his private Facebook page in which he indicated that he had heard some of Sade's new recordings, saying, "Trust me, it's so monolithic it'll shake you in your shoes!" According to Billboard, the band had been working on the album throughout June 2009. At that time, Sony Music had not set a release date but it hoped to put the record out by the end of 2009. "She is in the studio and the album will come when it is ready", a source at Sony Music told Billboard. "You don't wait for years for one and then rush it." Sade says, of Soldier Of Love, "I never want to repeat myself. And that becomes a more interesting challenge for us the longer we carry on together." Soldier of Love made its first chart appearance on the Irish Albums Chart where it debuted at #12, as well as in the Italy and Poland where it topped the charts, already becoming platinum. On the week of February 14, 2010, the album debuted at #4 on the official UK Albums Chart, becoming the groups' highest chart debut in their home country, since the 1988's Stronger Than Pride. The album has had greater success in the United States than in their native country, where Soldier of Love became Sade's first number-one U.S. debut, and its best sales week since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991, selling 502,000 copies. Additionally, it's the best sales week for an album by a group since AC/DC's Black Ice made into the chart at number one on the chart dated November 2008, with 784,000 copies sold. In the weeks since its February release, the album has sold over 1.1 million copies in the United States making it a certified platinum album. After 14 weeks however, the album has fallen out of the top 40 on the billboard charts compared to their previous release Lovers Rock which sold 3.9 million copies and stayed in the top 20 for over 6 months. ℗ 2010 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited