Summer may be over, but that isn’t stopping Argentinian singer-songwriter Nicki Nicole from bringing the vibes with her new single “Sabe”. Teaming up with Rauw Alejandro, the artist serves up a hip-hop fiesta filled with feel-good rhythms and waist-moving bass lines. Sang completely in Spanish, the two stars go back and forth on the sensual contemporary production and deliver a romantic and intimate single.

Set to drop her upcoming studio album Parte De Mi this week, the artist has been at full speed ahead this year, dropping various R&B and trap fusions. Teasing that the album will shed light on her ever-growing sound and trajectory, Nicole revealed the production of the album started two years ago and will take us to a more personal level. “I started working on this album two years ago,” the artist revealed. ”I’m a person that really focuses on the details but is also quite insecure. So, what happens when you mix those two things is that whenever you’re working, it can end up being endless. I will focus on a track thinking ‘this can be better’ or ‘this needs to change’, and because I fixate on so many details – it always makes me question myself.”

With various all-star collaborations featured on the album and more on the way, we sat down with the rising star talking her development over the years, what this album entails and everything we can expect from her in the future.

Check out the interview below…

Hey Nicki, how are you! How has this past year been for you?
I’m doing great, thanks for having me. This year has been very important for me. Despite all the negative things that have happened with the pandemic – this year has really allowed me to work on finding my identity, and also on what sort of music I want to deliver to my audience.

With everything that happened last year, has your creativity been affected?
At the beginning of the year, it was definitely affected. I was in quite a negative routine with the quarantine and spending all my time in my house – not moving around, not being able to travel, not seeing new faces. It felt like something was shut off. But little by little, as things started to slowly open again, I felt things change and noticed my creativity starting to flow as it used to be.

How did you first get into music, what sparked the interest?
I think the breaking point was when I first learned about Amy Winehouse, she was the one who really inspired me to start doing my own music. I started imitating Amy in the best way I could since I couldn’t really speak English! But doing this made me interested in music in a professional way. I learned a lot from listening to her music, but also from her life. Finding out the details about her personal life broke my heart, but I certainly learned a lot from hearing about Amy’s experiences.

And now you have over 10 million IG followers and millions of streams, do you feel any pressures?
I think pressure has always been there in some way! As soon as I thought about becoming an artist, I knew there’d be a certain amount of pressure. That’s something I’ve dealt with since the beginning, trying to figure out how to manage it properly without letting it affect me. It’s really important for me that I can enjoy this amazing experience despite the pressure that comes with growing as an artist.

You were also named one of Billboard’s 21 under 21, what was your reaction to this?
I was really excited! I felt really proud. Those little triumphs and recognitions when they come are very special, it makes me stop and think because sometimes I am so focused on making music, I can forget about the other stuff. So whenever I receive recognition such as this, I always look to dig deeper and find out what it means. But yes, overall I felt incredibly proud to be recognised.

And now you’re about to drop your album, talk us through your mindset approaching this project?
I started working on this album two years ago, and I’m a person that really focuses on the details but is also quite insecure. So, what happens when you mix those two things is that whenever you’re working, it can end up being endless. I will focus on a track thinking ‘this can be better’ or ‘this needs to change’, and because I fixate on so many details – it always makes me question myself. But I have a great team who also help me recognise this. So now it’s out, I feel a lot of peace! It look a lot of energy from me, but I am happy to finally be able to share the songs with my audience and for them to hear songs for the first time that I have heard over a 1000 times!

What do you want people to take away from your sound?
I want people to be able to identify with my songs and to enjoy them. But I also want my audience to make those songs their own. I think one thing we all do is when we listen to a song, we tend to think the artist made it specifically for us, almost like ‘she knew what I was going through’. I love that level of engagement and want people to feel like ‘this song was written for me’ and really connect on a personal level. I also hope that by listening to the album, people can forget for a little bit about the real world and their problems, and enjoy the music.

Who inspires you?
Musically, there are a lot of artists that inspire me – both from Argentina and abroad. But women in general inspire me for a lot of reasons. For what women have achieved, for the battles that women have won and for all the spaces we’ve managed to occupy – that should have been occupied by us forever – but haven’t. I think this is a big achievement and I really admire all these amazing people who have been brave, not only as a musical inspiration, but also as a general inspiration.

And you’ve got a collab with icon Christina Aguilera, how did this come about and what was this like?
So when I received the invitation from Christina’s team, I was so surprised! But obviously, I was incredibly excited. I mean it’s Christina Aguilera, right?! I got to know the music of Christina due to my older sister who is now 30 years-old, she was very much part of the generation who grew up with her music. Because of my sister, I know all the songs in her career, all the choreographies, all the things that girls used to copy from Christina Aguilera. I am so proud because Christina is such a big influence to me, such a complete artist, it was a privilege to be able to work with her. Not only being able to work with her, but being involved in a project where Nathy Peluso and Becky G are also involved. The song itself has a message of empowering women, telling women what they are worth. That’s what I really feel, and on my verse I tried to send that message to the girls listening.

What are you most excited for?
It really excites and intrigues me to see what kind of collaborations I will have in the future, getting to know these stars that have been such big references for me. I am excited to think about how far that can get and how many artists I will get to meet. Not only meet, but to learn from them by collaborating – getting into their world, how they work and behave. Through the process of collaboration, you end up incorporating a bit of their world into your own identity. So that’s a process I really enjoy. I am also really excited to think about all the places I will travel to. I want to visit as many places as I can, and get in touch with as many different audiences as possible – and keep sharing my music!

Nicki Nicole’s new single Sabe ft. Rauw Alejandro is out now. Her new album Parte De Mi will be available everywhere 29 October.