Kelsey Lu has shared a new song, “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire,” along with a video, as anticipation builds for her long-awaited second album, So Help Me God, due June 12 via Dirty Hit. The release follows “Running To Pain,” which arrived when the project was first announced. Seven years have passed since Lu’s debut album, Blood, and So Help Me God marks her first full-length since then.
“Portrait Of A Lady On Fire” is described as a moving, atmospheric track shaped by lush strings and expressive vocals. Lu paired the release with a reflective note on social media, describing the song as capturing “that unspoken connection” that can linger for a long time, feeling both forbidden and deeply romantic. The new single continues the emotional and cinematic tone introduced with the album rollout.
Lu has said the record was created slowly and deliberately over seven years, shaped by a period of transformation. She co-produced So Help Me God with Jack Antonoff and Yves Rothman. According to Lu, the album explores multiple emotional and sonic worlds at once, including devotion, desire, collapse, becoming, longing, and rebirth. She has framed the project as an effort to make sense of what it means to break down, to believe, to crave something unclear, and to be changed repeatedly in the process.
The album’s tracklist includes 10 songs: “Reaper,” “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire,” “What Can I Do,” “Running To Pain,” “Comfort,” “American Sonnet,” “8 52,” “Only The Lonely,” “Better Than That,” and “Cutting Off The Head Of A Ghost.” The cover artwork has also been revealed as part of the rollout.
Lu has also announced a short run of 2026 tour dates supporting the album. She is scheduled to perform at Blue Note Jazz Club in New York on April 16 and April 17, followed by Blue Note in Los Angeles on April 25 and April 26.
With its blend of orchestral arrangements, intimate vocals, and themes of emotional transformation, So Help Me God positions itself as a deeply personal follow-up to Blood. The new single suggests a record focused on vulnerability, longing, and reinvention, while extending the dramatic and artful style that has defined Lu’s work.
