Experience the Thrill Ride of Bobby Newberry’s Debut Album ‘Dopamine Rollercoaster’

Music artist and choreographer Bobby Newberry recently released his debut full-length album, Dopamine Rollercoaster, which will whisk listeners on a fantastical psychotropic journey by blending different musical genres. From heart-pounding house beats to soulful mid tempos, the project is meant to be a sonic depiction of the frenzied road many of us travel in the pursuit of happiness.

“Life is full of ups and downs,” Newberry says. “It can often feel like we’re on an emotional rollercoaster, but that’s what makes it all worth it. It’s the thrill of the chase, the agony of defeat, and that rush of excitement when we finally achieve our goals.”

The release of Dopamine Rollercoaster is a pivotal moment for Newberry, and he hopes the album will inspire, energize, and maybe even serve as a soundtrack to someone else’s life adventures. The track list features some of his previous hit club singles including “Escape,” a sultry house and disco track with a hypnotic baseline, “Freak,” his high-octane duet with drag star Rhea Litré that encourages listeners to live life authentically and unapologetically, and “Ride,” his feel-good summer jam about taking chances and pursuing dreams.

Newberry is already hard at work on a second album, but he took some time out of his hectic schedule to catch up with OFM and answer a few questions.

Let me begin by asking, how excited are you that Dopamine Rollercoaster is finally out for the world to hear?

It’s been such an overwhelming feeling because I started writing it in 2018. My original plan was to put it out at the top of the year in 2020, but we all know how that went (laughs). I was originally signed on to headline Miami Pride in April 2020, so I was like, I’ll drop the album then, but everything started to cancel and stop, so I decided to hold on to it. But then I just kept writing more.

It felt like I needed to have closure on this chapter in my life, if that makes sense. When you write a song, say, four years ago, it’s a different feeling and time than where I am now in my life. I felt like I needed to put out a body of work, and I’ve never done that before. I’ve only put out EPs. So, for me to put out a full body of work, it’s something I’m very proud of. It’s very exciting.

I can only imagine how meaningful this journey has been for you.

One hundred percent, and I’m already moving on to the next project!

Like you said, you’ve only put out EPs and singles. Can you elaborate more on why you felt this was the right time to put out a full body of work?

I think I’ve been influenced by listening to so many other artists and friends of mine in the industry, as well as people on my team. They were all like, it’s just not an album market anymore, which is true. People don’t have the attention span to listen to anything. They just don’t unless it’s bits and pieces of things. The average attention span will maybe listen to two songs out of an album, but I really didn’t care. To me, this felt like a body of work that went together, and it flowed together. It felt right. So, I was going to put it out, whether someone said I should do it or not. I wanted to close that chapter and section of my life and move on to the next.

Dopamine Rollercoaster features your hit club singles “Escape,” “Freak,” and “Ride.” What is the overall story the album is telling?

When people would ask me how I was doing after experiencing so many crazy life things, I kept saying it felt like a roller coaster. I have experienced so many ups and downs, and it’s not so much an overall story as it is overall feelings and emotions, a roller coaster of emotions I had gone through during that time period.

I read that it’s important for listeners to experience the tracks in the order they are presented. Why’s that?

The reason why I put it that way is because when you’re listening to the album, it truly feels like you’re on a roller coaster. It has the ups, and then the downs, then it comes here, and coasts. I want listeners to feel like they’re on a roller coaster. It starts off with very high intensity, and it gets even higher, but then it drops down and coasts along to some of my favorite songs. There’s one that I wrote in 2018, “Think About You,” and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include it or not, but I just love the song so much and felt like it should be on there. It’s such a good feeling song, and I just love the energy of it.

What else do you hope audiences take away from the album?

Whenever I listen to an album, when I listen to it from the beginning to the end, I personally love different feels. Songs that make me feel a certain way, and songs that I can use for different things. Like, if I’m going out with friends, I love to listen to music while I’m getting ready. I like to have music to drive to; I love to have music to listen to by the pool; I listen to music to chill out when I’m upset. I like to have a different variety of emotions within an album, and I feel like that’s what I wanted to embody. I want someone to listen to my music for any type of moment that they’re feeling.

Have you always had a passion for singing and songwriting?

Always. It’s what I was doing before I ever got into dance. I was always singing naturally growing up, and I believe the first song I ever sang was “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid. My aunt overheard me, and she was like, oh my God! You sound just like Ariel! Then she asked me to come out and sing it.

Of course, I was very embarrassed singing for my family, but everyone was like, “He’s really good,” and I’ve always just wanted to do that. Then I dove into the dance element because I fell in love with that. I thought, if I were to do that, I needed to train, understand, and educate myself, so I dove into the training element.

You began your career in the music industry as a choreographer for Eminem and have gone on to work with some major artists including Nicki Minaj, The Pussycat Dolls, Missy Elliot, and Lil’ Wayne. What have you taken away from those experiences?

It’s funny because someone recently asked me this same question. What I’ve taken away from these experiences is that I’ve witnessed people who demand such high levels of perfection and professionalism, and I think that has transferred on to me. I have an incredibly high standard that I expect for everything, and I feel that’s the biggest thing I’ve taken away from working with these artists, especially Nikki. She sets a really high bar for what she expects, and I respect that. I feel like that is now transferring over to my music, what I do on set, when I’m in rehearsal, and when I’m preparing for a show.

Do you prefer singing or dancing more, or do you try to do a leveled balance of both?

I like to do a leveled balance of both, but I’m definitely going to focus more on singing right now. Because I just put out this album, my next project is going to be a four-song EP, and it’s going to be a lot more vocal-driven. The album had a lot more dance records, so I’m going to have this EP be more vocal focused.

That was my next question. What can you tell us about this new EP, and when will it be released?

I plan to release it towards the end of summer, probably late August or early September, and I’ll probably release a single from it in August, just to push it out.

What will this EP explore?

It’s interesting because I have a couple different producer friends, and we’ve been talking back and forth about things and toying around with the idea of me dropping two EPs at once because I have the material to do it. We talked about one being a four-song acoustic vibe, where it sounds more organic, and then another four-song EP that’s more dance-driven, kind of like slut pop. Not necessarily that, but you know how the songs are short and it continuously flows through to the next song? Something similar to that. An easy, fun listen that’s full of high energy. Two completely different fields here.

What are some other future goals you hope to accomplish with a music career?

I’m having a lot of fun performing. I spent countless hours, blood, sweat, and tears putting together the show I did for LA Pride because I was on the main stage, and I was on the lineup with Mariah Carey, who has been an icon and idol of mine forever. We built this show, and it was so incredible. Then I got to headline OC Pride, which was a cool and full circle moment for me because I grew up in OC. My two sisters, who I haven’t seen in 10 years, were there, and it was very cool that they were there in the front row. The energy was just fantastic. So, I’m having a lot of fun performing, and I’d say my biggest goal is to try to perform as much as I can and do many more live performances.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Newberry by following him on Instagram @bobbynewberry and YouTube @thebobbynewberry. Dopamine Rollercoaster is streaming on Spotify and all other digital music platforms.

Photos courtesy of Shaun Vadalla and Asher Phoenix