On March 18, Normani dropped her new single “Fair,” which gives fans a different glimpse of her. Instead of providing fans with a song that just makes you want to get up and dance, Normani lets them into her vulnerable side. Based on a true experience, Normani expresses how deeply heartbroken she is from a breakup. The lyrics and rhythm make you feel her heartbreak, even if you aren’t in a relationship yourself.
In the first verse, Normani sings, “You have time to heal, I got time to kill.” This lyric alone tells you that Normani’s former lover could easily heal from the breakup, however, it’s not as simple for Normani. The time that has passed since the breakup just has her thinking about the pain she is feeling from the heartbreak.
From this lyric, the song transitions to the pre-chorus, where Normani sings, “Playin’ my mind like I rehearsed it / I know I should repurpose / Ain’t no faking hurt like this, no.” Here, she expresses how the breakup keeps replaying in her head, and she can’t figure out how to find a new meaning from this breakup. She also expresses how the hurt she is feeling is impossible to make up out of thin air; it is a true and genuine heartache. She continues on by singing, “You carry her and all I carry are burdens / Time for me ain’t workin / I know heartbreak ain’t perfect but.” In this, Normani expresses how she is aware that breakups are ugly, however, with her former lover being able to move on and be happy with someone new, this heartbreak is just very hurtful and time isn’t helping her heal.
In the chorus, Normani sings, “Is it fair that you moved on? / Cause I swear that I haven’t / Is it right that you’ve grown / And I’m still stuck in habits.” Here, Normani questions how effective the breakup was for both parties. Normani sees that her former lover has easily moved on and evolved, while she hasn’t and is still stuck in a sad state. Normani continues on by singing, “Cause I’m finding it strange / That you’re better than average / Hearts didn’t break down the middle / Tell me how did that happen?” In this, Normani sees that it truly isn’t understandable that her former lover seems happier now that they are broken up. This leads to Normani realizing that the heart didn’t break down the middle; the breakup didn’t have an equal effect on both of them. As Normani states earlier, she is carrying the burden. This means Normani is carrying the weight of the bigger half of the broken heart, while her former lover is carrying the smaller half.
In the second verse, Normani sings, “Baby, if we could trade places / So you’d feel betrayed / And I could feel shameless.” Normani is telling her former lover to switch places with her so they she could experience the happiness her former lover is feeling from the breakup. This will, hopefully, knock some sense into the former lover’s brain that Normani is deeply hurt. She reiterates that she is bearing the brunt of the breakup when she sings in the second verse, “And you get all of the gains.” Whew Normani, we are giving you a big hug right now!
Prior to dropping the single, Normani posted a photo on Instagram with a caption that hinted that “Fair” is going to be the breakup song that catches you in your feels. In the caption, she stated, “this song really captures me in one of my most vulnerable moments….love is beautiful yet so soooo terrifying.” Well, “Fair” really attests to this. Just by listening to the song, I, too, felt vulnerable and came to really know that love can also be terrifying.
In the same caption, Normani stated, “sharing this record makes me uncomfortable because you have never really seen me in this light. definitely aware that you might feel like you don’t know much about me but that’s only because it’s what makes me feel protected. i am really forcing myself to let go here. this is huge for me and hopefully this piece of art resonates.” Well Normani, you did a good job here. I know it must’ve been hard to share this piece with us, but just know that we’ve got your back, and we’re giving you the biggest hug right now. We got you.
Make sure to give “Fair” by Normani a listen through wherever you get your music from – and check out the visualizer below!