Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 10/26/2025
GRAMMY®-winning singer, songwriter, producer, and best-selling author Richard Marx has announced his new album After Hours, arriving January 16, 2026, following 2022's Songwriter. Alongside the announcement, Marx shares swaggering new single "Big Band Boogie" (feat. Kenny G), a swinging, late-night romp that introduces the album's cinematic jazz palette. Other featured guests on the album include Rod Stewart, Chris Botti, Randy Waldman, Tom Scott, Drea Tomè & more.
A live-in-the-room love letter to the Great American Songbook, After Hours also blends beloved standards with brand new originals written in the same era-evoking spirit. In a rare contemporary approach, the album was recorded entirely live with a 24-piece ensemble, capturing full takes—no studio patchwork.
The recent Illinois Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee says, "I never seriously considered doing a standards or covers album before because at heart, I am a songwriter, first and foremost. The challenge of writing songs as if I were pitching them to Frank Sinatra in 1948 really appealed to me. Creating these songs was more fun than I could've imagined, and singing them all live in the studio with the whole band, just like Frank and Dean used to do, was the thrill of a lifetime."
Recent singles from After Hours include the sweeping, jazz-infused ballad "All I Ever Needed" featuring world-renowned trumpeter Chris Botti and “Magic Hour,” a romantic collaboration co-written with Marx’s wife Daisy Fuentes during an escape to Australia’s remote Lizard Island, which the couple shared more about on E! News. Earlier this year, Marx released “Forget About The World,” which Billboard described as “instantly hummable” and Parade praised how he “thrills fans with latest song.” Woman’s World also spotlighted Marx in a recent feature tied to the single.
This year, Marx continues to expand his creative output with his hit podcast and YouTube series, Stories To Tell. Each episode, an esteemed guest joins Marx for candid, cocktail-infused conversation at his home bar - including Kenny G, KISS’ Paul Stanley, Katie Couric, Chelsea Peretti, Rick Springfield, Matt Friend, Rich Appel (Family Guy), Terry Dubrow (Botched), Mothica, Eric Benet and more. The show was inspired by a Zoom YouTube series Marx started during the pandemic to connect with friends and collaborators from David Copperfield to Olivia Newton-John. Marx also joined joined The Voice Australia as a coach alongside Melanie C (aka Sporty Spice), Ronan Keating, and Kate Miller-Heidke.
Richard Marx has come a long way from a wide-eyed 18-year-old discovered by Lionel Richie to scoring a #1 single in four different decades (a feat shared only by Michael Jackson), writing 14 #1 hits across multiple genres, and collaborating with everyone from Hugh Jackman & Luther Vandross to NSYNC & Ringo Starr. His 1989 ballad “Right Here Waiting” recently had a resurgence in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (540 million Spotify listens & counting).
AFTER HOURS TRACKLISTING
- Love is Here to Stay (feat. Randy Waldman)
- All I Ever Needed (feat. Chris Botti)
- Young at Heart (feat. Rod Stewart)
- The Way You Look Tonight
- Magic Hour
- Moonlight Serenade
- Not Like This
- Days of You (feat. Drea Tomè)
- Forgot to Remember
- Summer Wind (feat. Tom Scott)
- Big Band Boogie (feat. Kenny G)
- Raise A Glass
- Fly Me to the Moon
Richard Marx is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter whose influence spans four decades of music. Since his 1987 debut album, he has written fourteen #1 hits across multiple genres—pop, rock, country, and R&B—and is one of only two artists (alongside Michael Jackson) to have scored a #1 single in four different decades. Known for classics like "Right Here Waiting" and "Hazard," Marx's work extends far beyond his own recordings, having written and produced for artists including Luther Vandross, Keith Urban, NSYNC, and Burt Bacharach.
His 2020 memoir Stories to Tell became a national bestseller, and his latest album Songwriter (2023) showcases his continued artistic evolution through collaborations with contemporary stars. Marx continues to tour globally, including a 2024 sold-out performance at London's Royal Albert Hall, while expanding into new creative territory with his 2025 podcast/YouTube series "Stories to Tell" and upcoming television project
COLUMNS
Makin Waves Song of the Week: "I Will Walk You Home” by Wiser Time
Wiser Time, aka Central Jersey singer-songwriter-guitarist Carmen Sclafani, just dropped his latest album, "There’s A Change A-Comin'," on his own Wiser Time Music.
The closing focus track, "I Will Walk You Home," is the Makin Waves Song of the Week.
