Will ‘Dopamine’ be Normani’s Grammy breakthrough?

One of the year’s most anticipated music releases was Normani’s long-awaited debut solo album, “Dopamine.” The former Fifth Harmony member had been teasing her debut for years, notching hits along the way, like her solo debut single “Motivation” and her top-10 hits “Dancing with a Stranger” and “Love Lies.” Now that the album is here, will it finally earn Normani her Grammy breakthrough?

Fifth Harmony didn’t receive any noms during their run as a group, but earning Grammy nominations only after going solo isn’t uncommon. For instance, fellow 5H member Camila Cabello has been nominated for multiple Grammys since her separation from the group. Similarly, former boy-bander Harry Styles has gone on to win multiple Grammys, including Album of the Year for his third solo album, “Harry’s House.” So acknowledgement is possible, and these acts can even go on to become Grammy favorites. But of course, for every Cabello and Styles, there are group members who didn’t get that recognition from the Recording Academy, so what might set Normani apart?

“Dopamine’s” main advantage might be industry esteem. Throughout her solo career, the artist has collaborated with industry titans like Cardi B, Ariana Grande, Victoria Monét, James Blake and Calvin Harris, to name a few. Most of them are present on “Dopamine.” Plus, the album has been buzzed about in R&B circles as a whole. “Wild Side,” its lead single, peaked at number-one on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, making it one of the biggest R&B hits of 2021. The album might achieve even more hits, with the playful “Candy Paint” set to release a music video soon.

Commercially, “Dopamine” has had a muted but solid reception, debuting at number-91 on the Billboard 200, which is not necessarily that bad for the Grammys: previous Best R&B Album winners Victoria Monét and Robert Glasper had their albums debut at number-60 and outside the Billboard 200, respectively. So with this year being relatively weak for the genre as a whole, Normani’s debut might be strong enough to score a nomination at least. The critical reception to “Dopamine” has also been positive; it earned a 73 on Metacritic. While that doesn’t indicate unanimous acclaim, it might bode well when paired with support from industry insiders.

But what are the factors that could hold the album back? Well, for starters, there could be a perception that the album under-performed relative to expectations. As previously mentioned, many R&B winners and nominees have achieved similar numbers, but most of them weren’t expected to be crossover hits. In contrast, Normani’s substantial pop presence, paired with how much hype there seemed to be for the album when it was announced, suggested that the album might be on par with contemporary artists who have been able to reach the top 10.

What could also disadvantage Normani is that her album’s style isn’t really in line with most R&B Grammy darlings. Typically, the Grammys seem to prefer more of an organic, throwback, traditional sound over trap-heavy alternative R&B. “Dopamine” isn’t really a traditional record in that vein, and is often more influenced by urban production and pop sensibilities, so it might end up not being quite to voters’ taste.

Still, the relatively muted year for R&B and the absence of some awards darlings might mean that there is space for albums that wouldn’t have made it in other years. One never knows for sure with the Grammys, especially when it comes to artists who have never been nominated before. So as of now all we can do is wait patiently and keep an eye on the album’s promotional rollout in the coming weeks and months.

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify record executives and music stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where thousands of showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?