On July 1, 2018, just a few months after her girl group, Fifth Harmony, began their indefinite hiatus, Normani told the world she had a solo-album title. Eight Taylor Swift albums, five major COVID variants, a Shawn Mendes breakup for bandmate Camila Cabello, and one presidential administration later, she finally unveiled the album title. “Cryingg typing this rn,†Normani tweeted on February 21. “DOPAMINE THE ALBUM.†Aware of the mass pleas to drop her debut project, she cheekily created a promotional website called wheresthedamnalbum.com. For a while, the site’s home page only had an aggravating set of numbers that flip through the 2024 calendar at warp speed, perhaps claiming that we might hear Dopamine this year, maybe.
No one sane believed the full project existed until it officially landed on streaming services and emitted sound when pressing “play.†“My album is officially out y’all,†Normani tweeted on June 14.
The album, while exciting, was met with a healthy dose of skepticism, based on all the previous false starts throughout the years. Below, everything that happened in the 2,175 days between Normani saying she has an album title and finally doing the damn thing.
July 1, 2018: Normani teases a solo-album title just a few months after Fifth Harmony announces their indefinite hiatus.
August 24, 2018: Normani says her new album is influenced by the sounds of her hometown, New Orleans. “I flew the songwriters and the producers down and they’re having the time of their lives,†she explains to L’Officiel during a break at a songwriting camp. “I can’t wait for everybody else to hear it, and we have a few surprises, too.
October 2, 2018: She gives a status update on the album. “I’ve been in the studio for the last few months just really starting from the ground up,†she tells Billboard. “I’ve been co-producing, I’ve been co-writing, I’ve been in with a lot of amazing songwriters and producers that I’ve been wanting to work with for such a long time now — that are actually fans of mine, which is kinda crazy … Sonically and creatively, I’m able to do absolutely anything that I wanna do now. It’s like a kid in a candy shop. It’s overwhelming sometimes, because there’s like so much you can do, but the options are limitless, so I’m excited.†Normani adds that “some records coming out very soon†are not “necessarily part of my personal project, my album.â€
October 22, 2018: She drops Normani x Calvin Harris, a two-track EP.
One year after Normani says she has an album title.
June 30, 2019: A fan starts a new tradition by replying to Normani’s original album-title announcement tweet, writing, “one year … ur sick.â€
August 16, 2019: Normani releases her debut solo single, “Motivation,†famously unaccompanied by an album.
September 23, 2019: She confirms her album is halfway done on the Zach Sang Show.
Two years after Normani says she has an album title.
October 6, 2020: “I’m close,†she says in response to a question about when she’ll release her album, per Teen Vogue. “When God tells me that it’s done, then it’ll be done. I’ll feel it, you know?â€
“There’s so much expectation that I have for myself, so adding [fans’ expectations] onto that can be a lot, but it really does motivate me,†she says. “I really want to create a body of work that’s going to count, you know? I’m never going to get my first album back.â€
November 17, 2020: Describes the album as “empowering†in a Woman’s Health spread.
May 21, 2021: Normani says finishing her album helped her get through hard times. “Honestly, 2020 was a tough year for me, because my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I couldn’t travel home to Houston because of COVID,†she tells W magazine. “But then I kind of had to shift my perspective and just know that finishing my album really helped her get through it, and helped me get through it.â€
Three years after Normani says she has an album title.
July 16, 2021: Releases “Wild Side†with Cardi B.
October 21, 2021: She says has “two or three albums’ worth†of unreleased music.
December 5, 2021: In response to a question about when her debut album is dropping, Normani hints at a spring, summer, September, spring release. “I wanna tell you that summer is gonna be lit,†she says on the Soul Train Awards red carpet. “Yes, the summer’s gonna be lit.â€
December 30, 2021: Normani appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and tells guest host Ciara that her album is “almost done.†“People underestimate how hard it is and how much effort we put into one project, one body of work,†she says. “And coming out of a girl group, there was a lot that I had to figure out about myself and fears that I had to deal with head on.â€
March 18, 2022: Drops “Fair,†her third single as lead artist.
June 6, 2022: Before Bustle even asks about the elephant in the room, she says, “Status of the album? Summer for sure. Tour? Coming.â€
“I had a lot of growing to do,†Normani tells Bustle. “I had a lot of artist development, which I feel like people don’t take seriously. They throw artists onstage completely unprepared. And for me, that mentality was very important. Now, I’ve also been very critical of myself. So I think it’s been a combination of things, but it’s definitely going to be worth the wait.â€
Four years after Normani says she has an album title.
August 9, 2022: With the album still declared missing, Normani claps back at a fan who claims the singer isn’t “hungry†anymore.
June 18, 2023: Normani previews a snippet of the unreleased track “Candy Paint†in a Bose ad.
Five years after Normani says she has an album title.
August 7, 2023: Normani signs with a new management team, composed of Lydia Asrat and Brandon Creed, promising to drop something imminently. “With new music on the horizon, and Lydia Asrat and Brandon Creed now at the helm of her musical career, she and the rest of her team are extremely excited to embark on this new chapter and partnership,†a rep for Normani tells Rolling Stone.
February 20, 2024: X users accuse Normani of running her own stan account. When the account Normani Nation posted a screen shot of Normani’s wiped Instagram account in anticipation of her album announcement, fans noticed a professional dashboard in the screen shot, indicating that she screengrabbed her own profile. The tweet from Normani Nation was promptly deleted.
February 21, 2024: The title DOPAMINE THE ALBUM is revealed. No word yet on the release date.
March 23, 2024: Normani teases the pre-release single, titled “1:59,†featuring Gunna. It’s due out “4/26,†she claims. Which means the release date could be April 26 or April 2026.
@normani soo basically my first single 1:59 will be coming out 4/26 🖤
♬ original sound - Normani
It’s getting real.
April 26, 2024: Normani attempts to gain our trust by dropping the lead single, “1:59,†on the date she promised she would. Her site is also officially now promising that Dopamine will release on June 14. Of this year, we hope!
June 14, 2024: Against all odds and in spite of negativity like this article, Normani has released her debut album, Dopamine, 2,175 days after she first tweeted that she has an album title. Meaning no one can reply, “six years … she’s sick,†to the original tweet that got fans so excited many, many, many moons ago. We guess Normani didn’t want to get whacked for procrastinating one last time. Anyway, Dopamine has 13 tracks, including prerelease singles “Wild Side†(feat. Cardi B), “1:59†(feat. Gunna), and “Candy Paint.†James Blake and Starrah assist on “Tantrums†and “Big Boy,†respectively. She did it, y’all.
This post has been updated.