What will you allow? It’s a question Melanie Fiona asked herself, which led her to discover the transformative power of saying yes.
That doesn’t mean she will agree to everything that comes her way. “Setting boundaries for yourself is super important in that process. You have to know what you’re saying yes to,” Fiona tells Rated R&B over Zoom, accessorized with oversized maple-red aviator glasses, large gold hoop earrings, and a matching layered necklace.
“Everything I have accomplished in my personal or professional life has come from the ability to say yes, to have faith [and] a belief that everything is going to work out,” Fiona continues. “Say yes to the life mapped out and meant for me, knowing that nothing that is for me will miss me.”
Fiona says that becoming a mother was the turning point that transformed her perspective. Fiona and her now husband, Jared Cotter, welcomed their first child together in 2016, which she touts as “one of the biggest ‘say yes’ moments” she had because she wasn’t planning to have a child. (The couple later welcomed their daughter in 2021.)
“The blessing found me. To say yes to [my son] allowed me to start to say yes to myself, reconstruct my life, and ask myself, ‘How do I want to feel about myself, my life and the work I’m creating?’ Fiona shares. “That required taking a few steps back to refocus, become introspective, and make hard decisions. Motherhood definitely helped catapult that for sure.”
Melanie Fiona emerged in 2009 with her debut single, “Give It To Me Right,” written and produced by Andrea Martin and Rod Argent.
In the years prior, she was a member of the Canadian R&B girl group X-Quisite before later forming the short-lived collective The Renaissance with Aion “Voice” Clarke and Aubrey “Drake” Graham. (Yes, that Drake.) Right before her grand debut, the singer released a reggae song in 2008 under the moniker Syren. The track “Somebody Come Get Me” was featured on the compilation album Reggae Gold 2008.
Now, back to 2009 — summertime, to be exact. Fiona’s second single, “It Kills Me,” also written by Martin, was a breakout moment for the then-budding singer. The soul-barring ballad, which samples The Softones’ “Hey There Lonely Girl,” spent nine weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and two atop the Adult R&B Airplay chart. It also earned Fiona a nomination at the 52nd Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
After releasing her debut album, The Bridge, and landing high-profile collaborations with The Roots and John Legend (“Wake Up Everybody”) and CeeLo Green (“Fool For You”), the latter of which she won two Grammys, Fiona returned in 2012 with her sophomore effort, The MF Life. The album included beloved songs like “Gone And Never Coming Back,” “4AM,” and the Grammy-nominated “Wrong Side of a Love Song,” with features from Legend, Nas, J. Cole, and T-Pain.
Fiona had plans to follow up The MF Life with her third album, Next Train (previously titled Awake), but it got shelved. On the bright side, she did release a couple of singles from the project: “Bite the Bullet” (2015) and “Remember U” (2017).
In a 2019 Instagram post, Fiona opened up about musical hiatus and her soul-searching journey confronted with internal and external challenges. She shared a timeline of obstacles she faced over the years, such as losing her voice, going through postpartum depression, having her confidence shattered after her album got shelved, and ending fractured friendships and business relationships. Even with the adversities that came along the way, Fiona was rooted in her commitment to saying yes to herself, to self-care, and to inner work.
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Now, the 41-year-old mother, wife, singer, songwriter, and businesswoman is ready to step back into her musical calling.
Her new single, “Say Yes,” available today (Oct. 25), marks the launch of a new era. She co-wrote the heartwarming track with SiR, who also provides backing vocals. Her longtime collaborator Andre Harris produced it, with Chris Dave on drums, Thundercat on bass, and Charlie Bereal on guitar.
“Say Yes” finds Fiona ready to take a chance on love. “I lay my cards, out on the table / Showing hearts like never before / Tell me will you be ready willing and able / When I come knocking at your door,” she sings over live instrumentation.
The new single arrives with the B-side, “I Choose You,” which Fiona co-wrote with Edwin “Lil Eddie” Serrano. The song incorporates elements of reggae, lovers rock to be exact, which is an ode to Fiona’s Guyanese roots.
Akeel Henry and xSDTRK produced the soulful devotional in which Fiona sings about the sensational feeling of unconditional love. “I would turn the angels down / ‘Cause you’re my heaven on the ground,” she vows.
“Say Yes” and “I Choose You” will appear on Fiona’s forthcoming EP, due in 2025.
In Rated R&B’s interview with Melanie Fiona, the singer talks more about the power of saying yes, her new music, her love for reggae, and reflects on The Bridge 15 years later.
At the start of the year, you shared an encouraging message about the power of saying yes. Is there a pivotal moment when you realized its power?
It came from the place of recognizing I didn’t say no enough, and truly, I had to start saying yes to myself. I had to start saying yes to overcoming the fear of what could happen. I had to overcome the guilt of feeling like I didn’t make certain decisions for myself that I should have.
Saying yes was the affirmative. Setting boundaries for yourself is super important in that process. You have to know what you’re saying yes to. I think everything I have accomplished in my life has come from the ability to say yes, to have faith [and] a belief that everything is going to work out.
This kind of came after I had my son. That was one of the biggest ‘say yes’ moments I had because I wasn’t planning to have a child. The blessing found me, and to say yes to him allowed me to start to say yes to myself, reconstruct my life, and ask myself, “How do I want to live the rest of my life? How do I want to feel about myself, my life and the work that I’m creating?” That required taking a few steps back to refocus, download, become introspective, and make hard decisions. Motherhood definitely helped catapult that, for sure.
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You decided to drop two new songs, “Say Yes” and “I Choose You,” simultaneously. What was your motive for this?
It’s been a long time since I’ve put out music. This is obviously a lead-up to a project, but I didn’t want to just have one offering for all the people who’ve been asking me, “Where’s the music? When is it coming?” I wanted to give variety. “Say Yes” and “I Choose You” are complimentary records but also very different.
“Say Yes” is the focus track of the two. Can you talk a little bit about making the song and what it means to you?
“Say Yes” was always this song I wanted to lead with after not putting out music for so long because I think that it’s art; it’s bigger than music. I’m proud of this song because I think it’s one of one in how the landscape of music is. I wanted to give something that would reflect what I pride myself on, which is the musicality of not being afraid of live music, live singing, and a jam session. That’s really how that song came about. We were just in a room, and they were just free-flowing.
What’s the inspiration behind “I Choose You”?
“I Choose You” is very true to who I am. It’s this meld of R&B, reggae, [and] a little bit of hip-hop, which is for my fans who really know me [and] know the catalog. They know that that’s the essence of who I am. Even though its fall and reggae-esque songs can kind of feel like summertime things, I think reggae is timeless and all year round.
Lyrically and storytelling-wise, they complement each other because “Say Yes” is about my husband. [It] was written from an experience when we were first dating and knew the potential of what we could be. “I Choose You” is that in itself. What a powerful thing to say about something or someone. The power of choice, again, back to saying yes. I think the stories align, and people will enjoy the sensibilities of what the lyrics are talking about.
As you mentioned, “I Choose You” has a reggae influence, which we’ve heard in past releases. Have you considered recording a reggae project? In what ways does reggae speak to you?
So it’s funny, I always get asked to do a reggae project. I would absolutely do that [because] it’s authentically who I am. It’s my culture. I’m Caribbean, and reggae, for me, is a vibration. My happy place is dancing to reggae. If you want me to go to the club, take me to a reggae club. It is vibrational. It is the testimony of the legacy of greats like Bob Marley. You can play Bob Marley in any place in the world and no one will feel offended because reggae is a vibration.
The inspiration for [“I Choose You”] really came from one of my favorite songs, “Waiting In Vain” by Bob Marley [& The Wailers]. It’s this lovers rock kind of record. I did “Fool For You” in the past and a lot of people have used that as their wedding songs. “I Choose You” also feels like a wedding song. It’s a gift to choose someone and to have someone. I want to give more inspiration to Black love and to have music for us to celebrate. That’s why I think the reggae vibe for “I Choose You” was perfect.
It’s been over a decade since you released a project. How has that time between informed who you are as an artist today and the direction you’re taking with your next project?
It’s about freedom. I spent a lot of time deconstructing my professional career and asking myself how I wanted to rebuild it. So, closing certain chapters, gaining different life experiences, traveling, making new friends, expanding my creative palette, having children, getting married, and spending more time with my parents. These are things that are important to me feeling like my life’s purpose has been fulfilled. I feel fulfilled. Freedom is the goal — to do what you want, when you want, how you want, is the ultimate thing.
Your new EP is set to arrive in early 2025. Musically, what can we expect from it?
It’s a fun project. I don’t think it would feel heavy to people, no matter what the context is. Everything was created with a lot of joy. I think people are going to hear, I want to say, like a playful side of me. There’s a little bit of rap on there. There’s vibration and sonics that I don’t think people have heard from me, collaborating with people I have dreamed of working with for my whole career. These are things that I’m very excited about and, again, not overthinking it.
I’m still tailoring down what the six songs are going to be. I have a good idea about what they are. I think all the songs and stories that are happening, everybody will enjoy it. They’re not going to feel like one song takes them too far out of the vibe. I want this project to be for everybody. I want it to feel affirmative. I want it to feel like a homegirl hug.
Your debut album, The Bridge, turns 15 in November. Who was Melanie Fiona then and who is Melanie Fiona now?
In a strange way, despite all the growth, I still feel very connected to that young woman. I tout that as a good job to myself because that means that I’ve maintained a certain level of integrity to my character, who I believe that I am, and who I know that I am. That girl was fresh out of Toronto and had stars in her eyes. She wanted to find her voice, and she did with amazing people like Andrea Martin. God, rest her soul. When I released The Bridge, I felt a great sense of pride because I knew what I had to do to get to that project. I knew what I had to say no to [and] what I had to say yes to. I knew I had to trust people a little more at that time than I even knew how to trust myself.
Fortunately, that was a successful chapter of my life. It gave me an identity in the industry that garnered respect and that people knew was rooted in talent. I’m very proud of that girl. Whatever young naivete she had, she was doing her best. Even now, I’m still doing my best. I’m still rooted in my integrity. I’m still very proud of the person that I am. I’m just a little more wise, a little more sure [and] a little more OK with knowing my life is written for me.
I’m so proud of that project because it was an introduction to what I wanted people to know about my foundation, what inspired me, from retro-soul to Sam Cooke being such a huge inspiration and part of my childhood. Meeting someone like Andrea Martin, who is also Guyanese and knew what it was like to grow up with soul music in the house but also be Caribbean, and create something that bridged all the genres of me being from a multicultural city, being a mixed girl from the Caribbean, and wanting to feel like I couldn’t be held in one place forever. That’s what that album signifies. The Bridge has a very special place in my heart forever. Thank you for asking that. That’s such a great question.
Stream Melanie Fiona’s new songs “Say Yes” and “I Choose You” below.