Ashanti Readies for Comeback Album with First Single “No Good”

R&B singer Ashanti has been absent from the Top 40 for quite some time, but with a new album expected by the end of 2011, she announced on the Today show on Thursday that track “No Good” will be the first single. She said: “It’s called ‘No Good.’ It’s amazing. My official single will be out very soon. It’s so phenomenal, oh my gosh!”

Ashanti’s last studio album was 2008’s The Declaration, which sold a mere 86,000 its first week – a significant drop from her 2002 debut figure of roughly 500,000 over the same period. “No Good,” however, won’t be her first new material in three years; recently, she wrote song “Never Too Far Away” for the soundtrack for film Dream House. While not a proper single, “Never Too Far Away” will still appear on her still-untitled upcoming fifth album.

The “Foolish” singer hasn’t revealed much about her album, but in a Twitter interview with Us Weekly, she gave away a few points. In addition to stating that her first single won’t be a ballad, she tweeted:

06. Tell us something we do not know about the album?

Something you don’t know about the new album – There’s one song that made me cry as I was writing it and again when I listened back

07. How difficult is it to decide which songs to put on your albums?

It’s excruciating to decide. I’ve tried so many different sounds, some out of my comfort zone, but I feel good about it

[…]

09. How will this album be different then your previous records?

Completely new producers, some from the UK, some from LA and lots of them are young.

10. Next year marks the 10th anniversary for your debut album (a classic) would do anything special for that?

Have something amazing planned for 10th anniversary. I spoke to two of the most instrumental producers on the first album a..

13. What was the hardest part about making this album?

Hardest part was testing new waters, new people and taking on responsibility of my own label: Written Entertainment. I had to…

14. What were the major influences for your latest album?

Major influences: spending lots of time in LA and real life experiences

Over the past four years, Ashanti dabbled in movies (John Tucker Must Die, Coach Carter, one of the Resident Evil films) and on stage. Her most notable performance during that time was as Dorothy in the Encore! Summer Stars production of The Wiz in 2009, and she also played the role of Mimi in a 2010 production of RENT. Three years is an extensive time away from the charts for any Top 40 performer, however; do you think that “No Good” and her upcoming album can revive Ashanti’s music career?