The unexpected drop came in the early hours of Friday morning, with the album artwork projected onto several famous London landmarks to mark the launch.
Williams was originally set to release the LP on October 10, 2025, just a week after Taylor Swift launched her latest album The Life of a Showgirl, but he pushed the release back to February 6, 2026 because the Shake It Off singer would have blocked him from topping the charts.
The record is Williams' 13th studio album and has him leaning heavily into guitar-driven sounds inspired by the era that shaped his early solo ambitions.
Announcing the release, he said: "You thought it was gonna be then… then we decided it wasn't… and now I've decided it's now. Ladies and Gentlemen: BRITPOP - the album."
The follow-up to 2019's The Christmas Present and 2016's non-festive The Heavy Entertainment Show features the singles Rocket, Spies, Human, Pretty Face and All My Life.
The LP boasts an eclectic lineup of collaborators, including Chris Martin of Coldplay, Gaz Coombes, Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi, Mexican pop duo Jesse and Joy as well as former Take That bandmate Gary Barlow.
Speaking previously about the inspiration behind the project, Williams explained that BRITPOP is the album he always wanted to make after leaving Take That in 1995.
He said: "I set out to create the album that I wanted to write and release after I left Take That in 1995. It was the peak of Britpop and a golden age for British Music."
The Angels hitmaker added: "I've worked with some of my heroes on this album; it's raw, there are more guitars and it's an album that's even more upbeat and anthemic than usual. There's some 'Brit' in there and there's certainly some 'pop' too – I'm immensely proud of this as a body of work and I'm excited for fans to hear this album."
If Williams does top the charts with BRITPOP, he will draw level with The Beatles for the most UK chart‑topping albums.
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