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![Normani, Janet Jackson, and Brandy posing for a picture.](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.vibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Untitled-design-4.png?w=910&h=511&crop=1)
Normani has nothing but praise for Brandy and Janet Jackson for directly influencing her artistry. During an interview with Rolling Stone, Normani was asked about her upcoming album, Dopamine, and what fans could expect from the project’s sound. The singer stated that the sound initially began “dark” before she looked to brighten up the LP’s sonic scapes, referencing the vibrant production of Missy Elliott and Timbaland.
“I naturally gravitate to darker-sounding things from a sonic perspective, something that feels like it has bite and grit and edginess to it,” she said.
“I always just like being left of center. At one point, I was like, ‘Listen, everything can’t sound dark. We want to take everybody on a ride. We need to add some color.’ I love Missy Elliott so much, Timbaland’s production. I like unique things that haven’t necessarily really been heard, so that’s also why production is my favorite part of the process.”
To conclude her thought, Normani explained that she’s so excited about the album that she has already begun thinking about the live show. The 28-year-old entertainer brought up “Lights On,” a song slated to appear on the LP, detailing the live performance attached to that track as “my Janet moment.”
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With Brandy on her album and channeling her inner Janet Jackson, Normani proceeded to give the legends their props, saying, “They’re literally the reason why I do what I do and why I’m able to be in the position that I am in… They redefined the standard of beauty, but also the standard in music. I feel like Brandy and Janet have really been disruptive in their own ways. I love the album Discipline by Janet.”
Normani has been hard at work on her debut album for six years. Conversations regarding her debut album arrived in July 2018 when Normani’s former group, Fifth Harmony, went on an indefinite hiatus that same year. The project had several false starts between 2018-2022, as she dropped several singles to drum up hype. Her 2019 song, “Motivation,” was initially planned to be the album’s lead single before changes in artistic direction were implemented for the album. 2023 saw the singer dropping the new lead single, “1:59,” in April and the subsequent offering, “Candy Paint,” released in May.
Normani’s debut solo album, Dopamine, is set to be released on Friday (June 14).