Celebrity
The 26-year-old pop star dreams of collaborating with Beyonce, Rihanna, Doja Cat, and Rosalia.
BeforeNormanieven 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?
The 26-year-old singer quickly elaborated on the years-long wait.
I had a lot of growing to do, Normani explains.
I had a lot of artist development, which I feel like people dont take seriously.
They throw artists on stage completely unprepared.
And for me, that mentality was very important.
Now, Ive also been very critical on myself.
So I think its been a combination of things, but its definitely going to be worth the wait.
What will your debut album sound like?
And what would you like to say to fans who maybe dont understand why it hasnt come out yet?
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.
Im very, very prideful of what I do and the art.
It means a lot to me and Im heavily involved in literally every single aspect.
Anything that it’s possible for you to think of, my hand is in.
Im very competitive with myself.
So Im always wanting to strive for the best quality.
And then personal life stuff, taking place.
A lot of people still dont knowmy mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.
People are so quick to speak, but dont know.
Fair is so different from your past singles.
Whyd you choose to release that as a single?
Fair actually chose me.
Its crazy because I didnt know that this would be the record I needed during this time.
This is important to me.
Im also capable of much more than just getting on stage and dancing, the performance of it all.
Ill always do whats important to me.
What has been the most terrifying part about navigating a solo career?
All eyes are on you, whether its bad or good.
The last 10 years of my life have been really, really tough.
So the sacrifice of it all I would definitely say.
But its also a blessing.
As ugly as it can be, its also just as beautiful.
Not complaining, but it is hard.
I know you love collaborating and working with women.
I mean, the queen herself: Miss Beyonce.
That for me is like a dream.
But those would be my two biggest dream wishlist collaborations.
Her latest album was fire and inspires me actually so much, like even just sonically.
What made you want to get involved with this?
Im such a girls girl.
I love speaking on women empowerment in everything that I do.
The brands trust in me really just encouraged me and made me feel confident and good.