The award-winning multiplatinum superstar returns to center stage with Something Else, a joyful and modern tribute to the '70s soul and pop records that have inspired an extraordinary career.

Something Else is aptly titled. "It's time for hope and change," Thicke says. "It's in the air. And I'm speaking on the times around me." Thicke echoes the change with mesmerizing Superfly-era vocals, Gamble and Huff-inspired horn arrangements ("Hard on My Love"), unabashed lyrical optimism and an irresistible invitation to the dance floor ("Side Step"). "I don't want to be a preacher, but I do think at the core of every great existence is an abundance of love and joy, and the only way to create that is to give it," he adds.

The spirit of Michael Jackson looms large throughout the new release. "Michael is the epitome of celebration, and the core of this album has that: It's celebratory, healing, loving music," Thicke says. To deepen that connection, Thicke employed the same horn section used on Jackson's "You Wanna Be Starting Something," from the 1979 classic, Off the Wall. "André Harrell told me, 'When God is singing loud, that's the sound of horns,'" he says. Gary Grant and the Jackson horn section contributed to the album's trans-generational appeal. "I kept the kids on some songs and the adults on others, so it's the sound of young and old coming together."

Something Else also benefits from writing sessions that took place in different cities, a tactic employed by several of Thicke's idols, including Marvin Gaye. "New York is the center of information, so I took a few trips there and set up a big studio," Thicke says. Songs like "Sidestep" and "Something Else" with their heavy, insistent grooves, were the result. "Paris is the center of romance," he says, "and I went there, and found 'Sweetest Love,' 'You're My Baby' and 'Miss Harmony.'"

The first single, "Magic," draws all of Something Else's influences together into one blast of disco-infused dance pop. Robert Hales, director of Gnarles Barkley's "Crazy" video, was tapped to add visual balance between downtown dance couture, references to Fred Astaire's Mr. Universe and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of Thicke's all-time favorite films.

Melding the retro and the modern across 12 tracks, Robin Thicke leads his international fanbase into inspired, sexy and refreshing new territory.