Nearly a decade after her debut on American Idol, Fantasia Barrino has learned a lesson or two about survival, the fitting theme of her new single “Lose to Win.” Released on iTunes today, “Lose to Win” is a soul-tinged number with uplifting lyrics that proclaim “sometimes you gotta lose to win again.”
Barrino claims the song is not about a relationship, but rather serves as a metaphor for her career. “It’s been 10 years for me and there’s been ups, there’s been downs, there’s been people to walk away. So the message was strong for me and I just had to record it.”
The single will appear on Barrino’s upcoming fourth studio album, The Side Effects of You.
“My whole album I wrote with one guy out of London, his name is Harmony. I didn’t want to flip flop and be everywhere because a lot of times, with my other albums, I’ve worked with different producers, great producers. But this time, I just wanted to stick with one person so that we can just have an album that has one sound and everybody is on the same page,” she said.
The Side Effects of You also represents a particularly significant milestone for Barrino: her first time writing songs. “I just wanted so bad to do something like that and I thank the record company, RCA, for allowing me to finally be able to do that on this album,” she said. The Side Effects of You will drop March 13.
The announcement of new music coincides with Barrino’s controversial Instagram posting last week, apparently equating gay marriage to marijuana legalization.
Read more: Popular Critic
