Dehuman

Standard album cover.

***Dehuman*** is the third studio album by American singer Beau Howard. It was released on July 9, 2027 by Tomorrow Records. Howard began to write lyrics for the album while touring the world during Taking It All: Primadonna World Tour. The first lyrics were written as early as 2025. Like his previous album, *Primadonna,* the theme of the album is how fame affects someone, but with a more absurd and dark take on the subject.

Howard collaborated with Australian hyperpop artist Flora Fauna for the production of the album, along with other EDM and electronic producers. While originally pitched as a hyperpop album, it is mainly a synth-pop and EDM album.

"Transgender Sensation" was the lead single for the album, being released on Halloween in 2026. It debuted at number one in the US and made it to number one in several countries. The controversy and press around the single heavily promoted the upcoming album, known at the time as "BH3." The second single, "Pulse," released on April 9, 2027, also reached number one in several countries, including the US. The album had two promotional singles, "Semi-Public," released on May 14, 2027, and "Snow White," released on June 4. The last single before the album's released was "Naked," released two weeks before the album, which debuted at number one in several countries. The last single for the album was "Bourgeois," released on September 3, peaking at number nine.

After the album's release, Howard embarked on his third headlining concert tour, *The Dehumanizing Tour.* It was a much smaller tour compared to his previous ones, but one of his most successful.

A remix album for *Dehuman,* titled *Dehumanized,* was released on October 27, 2028.

## Background

Development of *Dehuman* began during Howard's tour, much like the development of *Primadonna.* Howard described how the concept and idea behind the album changed several times. It was originally going to be a love song album, as the first songs he wrote were all love songs. Then, as the tour progressed and Howard's mental state declined, the themes got increasingly darker.

While in Europe, he expressed interested in exploring a hyperpop sound. He approached several hyperpop producers in Europe, but clicked instantly with Flora Fauna, whom he met at a party in Paris. Fauna agreed to look over the lyrics, but due to the strict schedule Howard was on during the tour, the two could only work together over the internet for brief periods of time, often late at night.

The title was changed several times over production, Howard and Fauna decided on *Dehuman* once the title track was written. Due to the several changes in themes, there were several cut songs, many not getting past early demos.

## Conception

*Dehuman's* theme is quite similar to that of *Primadonna's.* It focuses on the "true cost of fame," how it damages you and makes you feel like you "aren't human." It explores the darker aspects of starhood more in depth, especially when it comes to drugs. It takes on themes such a suicide, self-harm, abuse, eating disorders, and addiction. Many critics criticized how the concept was "too similar" to *Primadonna's,* Howard countered this argument by stating that *Dehuman* was a natural progression, telling the story of "a star who is close to burning out, a person on the verge of a breakdown," while *Primadonna* was "someone just starting to grapple with the effects."

The aesthetic of the album revolves around space, technology, spiritual imagery, angels, biblical imagery, and neon colors. Howard is either presented as a god, angel, robot/cyborg, or alien in most of the promotional imagery.

## Recording

*Dehuman* was the first of Howard's albums to be composed and produced without the help of Andrew Archer. Instead, the blunt of the production was done by Fauna. Recording was a difficult process; Howard was still touring when recording officially began, and there were disagreements between Howard and Fauna and Tomorrow Records on what the album should be. To quote Howard:

> I went into this project thinking "I can't top *Primadonna,* so why should I try?" I had always wanted to explore hyperpop, the first music I made was hyperpop-inspired, so I wanted *Dehuman* to be a full hyperpop album. My label was not having it. We presented our first demos and they stared at us as if we were insane. So we edited the concept a bit...tried to make it seem like a gradual decline from traditional dance-pop to hyperpop, and they still shot us down. We ended up rushing to finish a synth-pop, EDM, electronic, whatever album that everyone was satisfied with. Only two of the songs on the album are still hyperpop. It's sad.
>
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Howard estimates that almost 20 songs were scrapped from the album for various reasons, many of the unreleased songs ended up being released for *Dehuman: The Holy Collection,* a deluxe box-set album released on January 19, 2029.

## Tracklist

**Total duration: 57:15**

**Total duration: 86:08**