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Canadian R&B singer Melanie Fiona is now glad that her sophomore album, "The MF Life," which was released in March, was delayed for more than a year.
"It worked out perfectly," Fiona said during Part 1 of an exclusive two-part video interview with Yahoo! Music. "Back then, a year ago, it would not have been right."
Melanie FionaThe delay gave Fiona an opportunity to finetune the album, securing heavyweight guest features from John Legend, Nas, J. Cole and an old friend Drake. "I specifically chose the rappers that I wanted," she explained. "I felt there was a song on the album for them to identify with and I think that they could bring their best energy to the record."
Fiona's collab with T-Pain on the song "6 a.m.," however, was spearheaded by the hip-hop producer-rapper-singer. T-Pain who has a song "5 a.m." with Lily Allen called Fiona after he heard her song "4 a.m." It was a natural fit for them to record a sequel to both of their songs.
"We just do a little series," Fiona joked. "He reached out and said we should do this remix. He produced it and sent over some ideas. I wrote from the female perspective. Everybody was already playing on it. ''4 a.m.,' '5 a.m.,' what's next?'"
Fiona also discussed her 2010 breakthrough hit "It Kills Me" and the multiple meanings behind "The MF Life" album title.
In Part 2, Fiona discusses being managed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation and her pre-fame days performing with Drake in Canada.