The first hit of Dopamine, the debut album from Normani, will be released on April 26. The anticipated update regarding new music came today (March 23). “So, basically, my first single ‘1:59’ will be coming out [on April 26],” tweeted the former Fifth Harmony group member at exactly 1:59 p.m. EST. It features an assist from Gunna, too.
For weeks, fans have been in the dark on when exactly they could expect to hear about what she has in store on the long-awaited LP. The project’s name and gag-worthy cover art, which shows the RCA recording artist riding a black rocket while adorned in a leather and chain ensemble, were revealed on February 21. But nothing else about the album had been teased, at least not until Friday (March 22).
To the surprise of many, Normani responded to a March 14 tweet inquiring about an additional album announcement. She responded, “Hi, thank you for your patience. This matter will be addressed tomorrow at 1:59 p.m. EST.”
Ahead of the big reveal, her name was popping up across Twitter as one of the platform’s trending topics, which remained true after her followers received the update. “Normani… This debut era is just greatness. ‘1:59’ being a song? Her mind!” exclaimed one supporter who was wowed by the rollout. Another user wrote, “I love Normani’s new team. They’ve been dropping hints about this era and we’re just not clocking them. This rollout is gonna be excellent! Ugh, yes!”
While attending the Sundance Film Festival in January, the “Wild Side” artist spoke about the demand for her to finally release the body of work. “I want this to come out just as bad as you guys do. I think that’s, like, such a misconception. I want this project to come out literally more than everybody,” she told Deadline Hollywood. “It’s literally the best music that I’ve made, and I couldn’t be more proud. I know once it comes out, you guys are going to be like, ‘OK, the wait was definitely worth it.’”
In 2022, she teased that the debut would showcase her “in different ways and all of the layers that make me — not the artist but the person. I really think that this is an opportunity for the world to get as close to Normani as possible.”
While a release date has not been revealed, she confirmed that the project will happen sometime this year. Peep the snippet of “1:59” below.