News: Brandy (@4everBrandy) Interviews with Entertainment Tonight

It’s been four years since Brandy’s last R&B album, but in that time the Grammy winner has had plenty of time to reflect on her career and find unwavering confidence as a performer and human being.

Brandy’s upcoming LP, Two Eleven, has special significance beyond ending the singer’s hiatus. The title represents an important date in her life — February 11. It’s on that day that Brandy was born, but it also marks the day her mentor, Whitney Houston, died.

“She was my idol. She meant everything to me. She was the first person that kind of gave me that picture of how I wanted to see myself,” Brandy said. “The passing of her on my birthday just solidifies a bond between us that, first of all, would never be broken, but it’s just also I feel like I have a responsibility to her.”

The album features songwriting by Frank Ocean, Rico Love, Mario Winans and Sean Garrett. The latter worked on the newest single from the album, Wildest Dreams, which tells her personal story of past relationships and how she’s gotten to the happy place where she is now with boyfriend Ryan Press.

“I had given up on love for a long time,” Brandy said. “I was able to find it again and I was able to sing about it with the song that Sean wrote — inspired by the story that I told him.”

Click the video to hear about Brandy’s experience filming the upcoming Tyler Perry drama The Marriage Counselor, out March 29. Two Eleven drops tomorrow, October 16.