Khalid’s Sincere (Deluxe) takes album to new heights

This Friday, R&B singer-songwriter Khalid released the deluxe version of Sincere, his third studio album. The album originally debuted in early August, consisting of 16 tracks and only one collaboration with U.K. artist Arlo Parks. Now, the deluxe album features six new songs that build on the themes of love, loneliness, and maturing established in its original version. Unlike the original, however, Sincere (Deluxe) is ripe with features, bolstered by other popular R&B artists like Chlöe and Normani, as well as Afro-soul singer Ayra Starr.

In a way, Sincere was something of a comeback for Khalid – given that he hasn’t released a full album since Free Spirit in 2019. As a fan of Khalid’s since his American Teen days in 2017, I was looking forward to Sincere but found it fell a bit short. There’s no doubt about the deep emotion and heart behind this work – Khalid even described the album to Apple Music as his “most vulnerable in a while.” My problem lay in the lack of impact each song had; the tracks tended to blend together with none being particularly memorable.

Perhaps a bit of this monotony came from the fact that Khalid, typically never one to shy away from duets and collaborations, had only one feature on the entire album originally. While Arlo Parks added some nice variation with “Breathe,” it wasn’t my favorite from Khalid, who is more so rapping than singing on this track. One of Khalid’s strengths is that he is great at curating a vibe – as shown in his more atmospheric tracks like “Ground” and “Heatstroke,” – but he seems to struggle with making any one song stand out against the rest. 

I was, however, pleasantly surprised by the added songs on Sincere (Deluxe). The features did seem to carry – the flirtiness of “Personal” with Normani, the beat of “Make It Up To You (feat. Ayra Starr),” and the vulnerability of “MIA (feat. Chlöe)” contrasted by its upbeat sound worked extremely well with the album. Unfortunately, Khalid was a bit overshadowed by his features. Though Normani’s harmonies blend nicely with his voice on “Personal,” she gives a much more dynamic performance musically in her verse than Khalid does the entire song. The same is true for Ayra Starr in “Make It Up To You,” – the song matches her energy and voice perfectly while Khalid fades into the background.

“MIA” is probably the best of the features. Even though the song is inherently sad, (“Since you’ve been away, I’ve been so alone / Don’t know why my love went M.I.A.”) it’s coupled with a danceable rhythm that makes it quite catchy. While Khalid truly sounds good on every track because of his full, soulful voice and wide range, he’s not giving anything particularly special on this song. Yet again, I find myself liking Chlöe’s performance a bit more than his.

The deluxe album could do without the additional solo tracks “Passionate” and “Faded,” neither of which added much value to Sincere. “Skin,” however, sounds like it could fit perfectly on Free Spirit, and gives more variety sonically than many of his other tracks. “Skin” is also a strong one lyrically, full of yearning and emotion with lyrics like “Our souls slow dance in the sky up above / To a soundtrack of love / I know you’ll disappear, but I’m here waiting.”

While not every track on Sincere (Deluxe) is a hit, Khalid successfully brings some more variety to the table, filling in the gaps left by the original album. The additional features help not only bring in new dynamics and sounds but also add depth to songs that would otherwise be lackluster. Ultimately, Sincere (Deluxe) is a welcome evolution that gives Khalid fans a little more of what they were hoping for with the original release.