Toronto songstress Melanie Fiona is making a powerful re-entrance into the music scene with two new songs, after more than a decade since her last album.
The affirmation-filled soulful ballad “Say Yes” and the reggae groove “I Choose You” are the Guyanese-Canadian singer’s latest releases, showcasing her sensual, yet vulnerable decrees of love and affection, and both offer a taste of a highly-anticipated forthcoming project.
“I love these two songs so much,” Fiona said in an exclusive interview with Now Toronto.
“I wanted to tell this story of vulnerability, of what I think it means to say yes to love, say yes to yourself. Don’t be afraid to say yes to the life that’s waiting for you on the other side. It’s like a manifestation prayer for me.”
The JUNO and Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter soared her way to the top of R&B music charts between 2009 and 2012, proving her as a force to be reckoned with beyond the Canadian border. Fiona’s powerful live performances have led her to tour with acclaimed artists like Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, and D’Angelo early on in her career.
But, where has she been for the past 12 years?
Fiona described the three-year time period between her debut and sophomore album as a “whirlwind,” recalling feeling tons of pressure from the industry while navigating being a new artist. Between the physical demands of being an entertainer, constant travelling leading to disorienting time zone changes all while being pushed to write music and collaborate with artists, she longed to put a meaning behind all of the mental exhaustion she was facing.
“Shortly after The MF Life came out in 2012… I was experiencing some of the craziest mental, physical, spiritual shifts of my life,” Fiona explained.
“I think it was at that moment, I understood the magnitude of what I was here to do, and not just get on stage and sing songs and be an entertainer. I think it really made me get rooted in my purpose of using my voice, and what that actually means and what I can do with that, what power that comes with. It really required me to just shift my perspective, shift my practices, and really just shift my power back to myself.”
The “Give It to Me Right” singer says contrary to many beliefs, she didn’t give up music during her hiatus, though she says she definitely questioned it. Emerging as an artist in her mid-20’s, she took time to develop herself both professionally and personally over the years. Now married with two children, all while intentionally building communities, such as being an integral part of the podcast “The Mama’s Den,” Fiona says she has reached a space where she has made a life, and not just a living.
“It’s really about evolution, and I don’t think that I could have gotten back to that place without going through some personal time and really just taking a focus on what I want the rest of my life to be,” she said.
“I think sometimes we get so caught up not being present on our journey, because we’re just going and going and going. And sometimes we do need to take a step back and look at the whole picture, where you’ve been, where you are, and where you want to go. That requires space, and I’m grateful that I was able to have that space, and I also gave myself permission to take the space.”
Fiona says she finally feels prepared to show the world what she’s been working on, with her two latest singles as part of her upcoming EP, Say Yes, a six-song project expected to be released next year.
“Now is the time because today is a gift,” she said.
“I feel ready, I feel prepared, I feel supported, I feel loved. I feel like everything is divine. And honestly, everything that I’ve been through has been leading me to this moment,” she said.
She describes the upcoming EP as a “passion project,” rooted in true Melanie Fiona fashion, never faltering from her R&B, soul and Caribbean infusion. But she promises flecks of retro soul as an ode to her debut project The Bridge, as well as some hip-hop for fans of The MF Life.
“I want people to know that I was in a healthy, great space of my life. I want to raise the vibration of people’s energy when they feel and listen to these records. And I want people to almost be surprised by the fact that they didn’t know that I still had this much gas in me, and that I still am willing to be creative,” she says.
