The march to Normani‘s solo debut has been a long, but commercially successful one. “Love Lies” her duet with Khalid and “Dancing With a Stranger,” with Sam Smith, are certified triple platinum double platinum, respectively. But during an interview at Rolling Stone‘s Morning Sessions last Friday during Lollapalooza, Normani revealed that Ariana Grande had a special hand in her upcoming single.
“She’s been very supportive of me too. I talk to her about the creative process,” Normani explained. “I’m like, ‘When did you know your album was done.’ She was just like, ‘Honestly, you’ll know. Nobody will have to tell you. You’ll feel it. Just trust your instinct; trust your gut. And listen to that voice inside of you, and it’ll tell you that you’re done. Just take your time, too, and have fun in the process and make sure that it’s something that you love. She’s dope. She also has a part in the record that I’m releasing, too. She wrote on it.”
The “Waves” singer went on to discuss how the new single is a stylistic departure from her most recent work.
“I recorded this song a while back,” Normani said. “And it’s crazy because, I’ll be on Twitter, and [fans] will be like, ‘Sis, where’s the new music? Where’s the new music? I’m like, ‘Guys, it’s coming. I promise it’s coming.’ I shot the video probably a month ago. It’s going to be worth the wait…It’s an upbeat [song]. It’s a feel good record. I think that everybody will really love it. It was the first opportunity that I had to have fun. I think that people have been waiting for me to have fun and I’ve had so many records like “Waves” and “Love Lies” and Sam [Smith’s “Dancing With a Stranger”], which are a little bit more R&B smooth sailing.”
i love u sm @Normani https://t.co/A085AFgdeX
— Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) August 8, 2019