Normani decodes new 'Fair' single, talks seeking perfection and promises more music on the way

R&B singer Normani has plenty to dish out to the world these days. Fresh from dropping her new ‘Fair’ anthem to the masses, the popular crooner has stepped up to dish to Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe everything from composing the new single to her longevity in the competitive music biz.

Kick back and check out some of the interview highlights from the Apple Music 1 exclusive chat.

Normani Tells Apple Music About Her New Song “Fair” and Embracing Vulnerability...

I always told myself that I owed it to me to put out something that I really believe in and connect with for such a long time. Obviously with the group that I came from, I just, I made myself that promise that God gave me another opportunity to do things for me and the way that I want them to be and the visions that he's placed on my heart. That for me, this record, it's so, so important aside from what the rest of the world may also want, which is coming. I know they want me to move. I know they want me to entertain. And this record is another layer of who I am and my experiences. And I feel like I grew up in the public eye, so it's been very, very scary. And very complicated. And a sense of forcing myself into this idea of perfection to protect myself, you know? But this is the first time that I'm just free falling, in a sense. And it's scary, but freeing. This is me being vulnerable, and really captures a true and raw point in my experience that I wanted to share, and I hope that people can connect with.

Normani Tells Apple Music “Fair” Captured Her in An Emotional Moment and That Recording It Was Like Therapy...

What makes it so special was… it captured me in the moment as I was experiencing. In real time. I was going through it emotionally that, that day, I wasn't sure if I could even really pick myself up to go to the studio. But ended up, and this was a result. And it's therapy for me. As much as it is for everyone else, it's for me. It's really crazy that putting this record out, I didn't know that it was going to be for me too. I'm so proud of how it was written, and the way that we were able to... You could tell this was written by all females, right? We really just poured our hearts out to each other, and we really all went through the same experience. So it was a lot easier for the lyrics to just come out. It was like floodgates. And that's what we did. It was more so therapy. Girls just pouring their hearts out to each other.

Normani Tells Apple Music About Experiencing Fame At An Early Age With Fifth Harmony, Letting Go, and Being Proud of Herself...

I posted something on my Instagram the other day just talking about people might feel like they don't know that much about me, but that's just what makes me feel safe… and protected. And being 15-years-old and not being able to be a traditional 15-year-old teenager to make mistakes without getting reprimanded. It really, I think, took a toll on me in a large way, I guess, having that experience so early. And I think that I look up and I'm like, "Damn, you're not even freeing yourself to just be." You have such a tight grip and not because I want to... but because I have always had to. And that's the not so scary part. It's like, huh, okay, you did it once you can do it again. And you can do it again and you can do it again. And you're still alive and you're still blessed. And your fans love you. Not everybody you're going to please, but you're good. And I'm really, really proud of myself too. I get emotional because I wasn't supposed to be the one in this position. It was a breakthrough for sure.

Normani Tells Apple Music About Being Critical Of Herself and Striving For Perfection...

I'm so critical on myself too. I'm sure that everybody knows that. I'm super, super critical. So for me, I'm like, "I love this song. I love this record." But that too, like I said, is because it's one of the deepest parts of me. From just always not feeling seen or heard like my ideas or abilities were valid. To be quite honest, which is why I was saying earlier in that group, everybody, the way that things looked, it wasn't supposed to be me in this position like I was so counted out and I've always felt like that. And so overlooked. And it's just this idea of perfection is really my way of just fighting to at least be acknowledged.

Normani Tells Apple Music About Getting To Know Herself and How Authenticity at 25 Differs From 15...

...And experiences that I've actually had to go through in life, that I had to live in order, like I said, to make the best music. Because during "Motivation", which I'm sure is when everybody was probably expecting this is the time, now, now I had just come off of the group and nobody ever asked us what we wanted to talk about. Nobody ever asked us what type of music we wanted to create. Records were given to us, and we were told who to be. So, I never had the opportunity to even be able to get to know myself in that way. And like I said, 15 versus 25, I needed to go through some stuff to give the most authentic version of myself, which my fans deserve, but I deserve.

Normani Tells Apple Music About More New Music on the Way That’s Worth The Wait and Why She Appreciates her Fans...

I can't wait for you to hear the next record too. You're like, "What world are we in? She's already talking about another record?” Yeah and that's what I'm so, so grateful to God for. As long as my fans have waited, they're still so, so eager. They ride for me. And that doesn't go unnoticed. I see them, I see how they fight for me, how they stand up for me, how they defend me. And it's really the best music that I've made thus far. So, I know that it's worth the wait, but I think they're going to be like actually blown away. Also it's scary too, to wait, but you have to have a certain level of trust within yourself, which is why I'm willing to beg on myself. I'm like, "No, I know how things might look from an outside perspective, but I know the shit I have."