Normani (finally) announces long-awaited debut solo album 'Dopamine'
Good things come to those who wait, and Normani has bided her time.
The Fifth Harmony alum announced the title of her long-awaited solo album on social media Wednesday. Normani also shared the album's cover, which features the R&B songstress straddling a black rocket mid-air while wearing a black and silver bikini.
"cryingg typing this (right now)," Normani wrote on Instagram. "DOPAMINE THE ALBUM."
Several of Normani's celebrity peers congratulated her on the career milestone, including former 5H bandmate Lauren Jauregui.
"Let’s gooooo🔥" Jauregui wrote.
"IT’S TIME 🔥🔥🔥" Lori Harvey commented.
"LETS GO NORMANI! 🤍🤍🤍" Jordin Sparks wrote.
Normani has yet to announce a release date for "Dopamine," though the album can be pre-saved on Spotify and Apple Music, according to the singer's website wheresthedamnalbum.com.
Normani got her musical start as a member of the pop group Fifth Harmony, which was formed on the second season of the U.S. version of "The X-Factor" in 2012. The platinum-selling girl group, which featured members Camila Cabello, Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane and Ally Brooke, went on hiatus in 2018 following the release of its self-titled third album in 2017.
Following the release of a joint EP with Calvin Harris in 2018 and subsequent collaborations with Khalid, 6lack and Sam Smith, Normani released her debut solo single "Motivation" in August 2019. The song peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum.
Normani followed up "Motivation" with the 2020 single "Diamonds," a collaboration with rapper Megan Thee Stallion that was featured on the soundtrack of "Birds of Prey."
In 2021, the singer joined forces with Cardi B on the sensual slow jam "Wild Side," which earned her a No. 1 hit on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop digital songs sales chart. 2022 saw Normani release the singles "Fair" and "New to You," the latter a collaboration with Harris, Tinashe and Offset.
During an interview with singer-songwriter Ciara on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2021, Normani reflected on the difficulty of putting together her first album.
"People really underestimate how hard it is and how much effort we put into one project, one body of work," Normani said at the time. "Coming out of a girl group, there was a lot that I had to figure out about myself and fears that I had to deal with head-on."
She added: "When you give your baby out to the world, which is our music, that’s the deepest part of me; you give people the opportunity to kind of pick it apart and have an opinion on it, but I believe in what I’m doing now."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Normani new album: Singer announces 'Dopamine,' reveals cover
