Before Normani even hears the question, she laughs. "God, I already know," she tells Bustle when the topic of her long-awaited debut album is broached. "Status of the album? Summer for sure. Tour? Coming." It's the most direct and concrete answer the "Motivation" and "Fair" singer has given since she began her solo career four years ago apart from Fifth Harmony, her girl group that formed on The X Factor in 2012. The 26-year-old singer quickly elaborated on the years-long wait.
"I understand that [waiting] might not be the easiest in regards to supporting me, but I think that people really don't understand, especially coming out of a girl group, what most may have thought was the perfect time for me to release — during 'Motivation' — was not it at all because I would've put out a body of the work that I wasn't confident in," Normani adds, referring to her 2019 single.
Despite industry support and high expectations from avid fans, her debut album has been pushed back several times, and now in 2022, Normani is OK with the delay.
"I had a lot of growing to do. I had a lot of artist development, which I feel like people don't take seriously. They throw artists on stage completely unprepared. And for me, that mentality was very important. Now, I've also been very critical on myself. So I think it's been a combination of things, but it's definitely going to be worth the wait."
"I needed to go through my process to figure out sonically, OK, what means something to me? What do I want my sound to sound like? Let me actually live these real experiences so I have something to talk about. I'm very, very prideful of what I do and the art. It means a lot to me and I'm heavily involved in literally every single aspect. Anything that you can think of, my hand is in. I'm very competitive with myself. ... So I'm always wanting to strive for the best quality."
"For me, I like quality over quantity for sure, but I also know that it's a game and the way that people digest music is so different than it was back in the day. So it's having to adapt to that, but also making sure that you put out something that's authentic to you."
"And then personal life stuff, taking place. A lot of people still don't know my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I wanted to go home, but the reason I was able to push through was because me being in the studio, and me working toward finishing this album, got her through her chemo and got her through that whole process, which was very, very devastating for our family. People are so quick to speak, but don't know. To my fans, I'm appreciative because they've walked with me and they have been patient, and I know that it's frustrating, but I would ask them to trust me."
https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/normani-debut-album-release-date-fair-lyrics-meaning-collaborationsNormani Badu bit
The reset is coming
