Cher Lloyd bubbled onto the music scene in 2011 with her infectious pop-rap, charting hits with sassy solo singles "Swagger Jagger" and "Want U Back" as well as collaborations like "Really Don't Care" with Demi Lovato. Now, the 22-year-old is ready to start rolling out the next, more mature phase of her career, previewing her third album with the fierce, revved-up new single "Activated." Listen to the track exclusively here.
"I think when we first started writing 'Activated' – in the very beginning stages – I had said that I wanted a song [reflecting] exactly how I feel," Lloyd tells Rolling Stone. "[It's] this feeling that I have of just wanting to run as fast as I possibly can and just move."
Fighting back against the fast pace of the current music industry, Lloyd purposefully chose to take her time with her new album, which she began working on a year and a half ago. "I wasn't going to just record something and release shit for the sake of having a song out," she asserts. "I wanted to feel something when I heard [it], and I wanted to feel like I did when I first started, like when I used to sing in my bedroom when I was 15."
Lloyd was also finding herself with more freedom than ever as an artist. She served as the record's primary writer, working closely with the new set of producers and writers she teamed up with — specifically the duo Afsheen and Josh Cumbee — to execute the sound she envisioned. "I have a newfound respect for what it actually takes to create a record," she says." When I was younger and just starting out, I was so naïve and lucky because everything got done for me. This is what it feels like to really make a record."
Lloyd has yet to set an official release date for her full album, though she admits that she'll continue writing until she's told to stop. She's focusing on "Activated" as her reintroduction and has already started plotting its music video. "My fans deserve something that's honest and comes from me," she states. "It's my new phase. Everything is about to change."
"I think when we first started writing 'Activated' – in the very beginning stages – I had said that I wanted a song [reflecting] exactly how I feel," Lloyd tells Rolling Stone. "[It's] this feeling that I have of just wanting to run as fast as I possibly can and just move."
Fighting back against the fast pace of the current music industry, Lloyd purposefully chose to take her time with her new album, which she began working on a year and a half ago. "I wasn't going to just record something and release shit for the sake of having a song out," she asserts. "I wanted to feel something when I heard [it], and I wanted to feel like I did when I first started, like when I used to sing in my bedroom when I was 15."
Lloyd was also finding herself with more freedom than ever as an artist. She served as the record's primary writer, working closely with the new set of producers and writers she teamed up with — specifically the duo Afsheen and Josh Cumbee — to execute the sound she envisioned. "I have a newfound respect for what it actually takes to create a record," she says." When I was younger and just starting out, I was so naïve and lucky because everything got done for me. This is what it feels like to really make a record."
Lloyd has yet to set an official release date for her full album, though she admits that she'll continue writing until she's told to stop. She's focusing on "Activated" as her reintroduction and has already started plotting its music video. "My fans deserve something that's honest and comes from me," she states. "It's my new phase. Everything is about to change."
