After years of releasing loose singles in the wake of her group Fifth Harmony’s split, Normani has finally announced her upcoming debut album titled “Dopamine” and shared a snippet of a new song.
Fans took note yesterday that the singer wiped her social media, a tactic often used by artists to signal the imminent arrival of a new era. Yesterday, she took to Instagram to post the cover of “Dopamine,” featuring her riding a jet-black rocket against a white background.
“Cryingg typing this rn. DOPAMINE THE ALBUM,” she wrote in her caption. A release date was not given.
On her TikTok account, Normani followed the news of “Dopamine” by posting a snippet of a new song, which could potentially be included on the new album.
It’s been a long time coming for Normani, who initially came to prominence as a founding member of Fifth Harmony. Established in 2012, the quintet released two albums before fellow 5H groupmate Camila Cabello departed in Dec. 2016. Normani remained and contributed to the newly minted quartet’s third and final eponymous album, which was released in 2017. The following year, Fifth Harmony was no more, as they decided to put it on ice and instead focus on their solo careers.
As a solo artist, Normani has consistently had several stop-starts in the years that followed. She became the first artist to sign to Keep Cool/RCA Records, and a solo album was expected to arrive shortly after. But Normani instead dropped singles here and there, including the hit “Dancing With a Stranger” alongside Sam Smith and “Love Lies” with Khalid.
She’s had moderate chart success, with her Cardi B duet “Wild Side” peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and her solo track “Motivation” cracking the top 40.
In 2022, Normani signaled that her debut album could be releasing shortly with the announcement that she’d signed a global publishing deal with Hipgnosis Songs Group and that new music was in the works.
She split with manager Brandon Silverstein of S10 Entertainment in May 2023, and a few months later, she inked a new management deal with Brandon Creed and Lydia Asrat, who collectively oversee the careers of Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, and Coco Jones.
