George Michael revealed during his interview with Chris Evans on the BBC that he will release a new CD of new material this autumn.

Although he had planned to release a CD of songs from the Symphonica tour, he changed his mind when he realized how much material he had already written.  The new CD will be his first studio CD since Patience in 2004.

“Work dragged me out of my malaise,” George Michael told Chris Evans this morning. “When I wrote ‘White Light’, I realized I had the energy to finish an album this summer.

“I had planned on putting out a ‘Symphonica’ album this year, because I felt so bad for those people who were looking forward [to the axed tour due to illness].

“I already mixed most of that album, then I wrote ‘White Light’ unexpectedly. Muse, bless their hearts, they gave us this couple of weeks in the studio I always use. They went somewhere else.”

He continued: “I realized how many songs I had lying around [from when I came out of prison]. I realized that if I really put my back into it that I could get an album out for autumn and give people a new record a year earlier than expected.”

Of his new album, he said: “So far I’m thrilled with it. It’s the most directly commercial record I’ve made since Faith. It’s not necessarily my best, I think that Older is my favorite record.

“But the songs I’ve written in the last 20 years haven’t slapped you in the face with their hooks.”

He added: “I’m always terrified that people won’t think it’s as good as I do, but if I didn’t have that approach I wouldn’t do what I do.”