Nora Fatehi and Jason Derulo Join Forces for ‘Snake’: Inside the Globe-Spanning Collaboration

Nora Fatehi and Jason Derulo have kicked off 2025 with a single designed to combine cultures. On Thursday (Jan. 16), the Bollywood superstar and veteran hitmaker unveiled “Snake,” a thumping dance collaboration that joins East Asian melodies with American dance-pop production, creating a sensual duet with global aspirations.

Fatehi tells Billboard that the track came courtesy of a discussion with producer Tommy Brown (Ariana Grande, Victoria Monét) about finding a sound that could unite audiences in different regions of the world. “My main word was ‘exotic,’ and I wanted to make sure that it was dance-oriented — that whoever heard the song would want to move,” she recalls. “And after finishing the song, we were thinking about which artist would really be a good collaborator, and Jason’s name came up. And I’ve been a fan, and someone who’s really appreciated his journey, for a very long time.”

“I’m always looking for music that speaks to me on a different level, and that’s a little left-of-center,” Derulo adds. “When I heard this for the first time, I was like, ‘Oh, s–t. What’s this? This sounds really different, and really cool.’”

Fatehi signed a label deal with Warner Music Group in February 2024 after the Toronto native of Moroccan descent moved to India and became a Bollywood staple, with over a dozen film credits and 47 million Instagram followers. After performing in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films, watching her Bollywood songs explode on YouTube and sharing English-language solo tracks as an independent artist, Fatehi says that the Warner deal last year helped kick-start plans for a global music career.

“I’m hoping for bigger tracks and bigger projects, and this [single] essentially introduces me to the international market in a very unique way,” Fatehi explains. “It allows people to know what I bring to the table as a performer, as a dancer, as a singer. … Bollywood made me the artist I am today, and I love to bring those elements into my artistry.”

Meanwhile, Derulo — who released Nu King, his first album in nine years, in 2024 — says that the opportunity to hop on “Snake” resulted in a greater knowledge of Bollywood, and made him appreciate Fatehi’s performance chops, particularly as a fellow dancer. “I dove into Nora’s world, and got a chance to watch her music videos and watch her in Bollywood [films] and see who she was as an artist, and was blown away,” he says. “I don’t think people are ‘performers’ anymore — it’s a really sad fact. But to find a performer like Nora? Good luck trying to find another performer who can sing and dance at that level.”

Those skills are on display in the “Snake” music video, which was filmed in Morocco over the course of two days and blends shape-shifting visual effects with a mix of bellydancing, hip-hop and Bollywood choreography. “I learned a lot from him on set,” Fatehi says of Derulo. “He’s been doing this for over 15 years, and still has the work ethic and seriousness on set to perfect every detail. I was very inspired.”

While Fatehi is planning for “Snake” to kick off a year with more English-language music as part of her Warner deal, Derulo is also prepping new music, this time with an old friend: J.R. Rotem, who helped deliver Derulo’s 2009 Hot 100 chart-topper “Whatcha Say” to the masses and helmed his 2010 self-titled debut album before they went their separate ways.

“It’s the first time I’ve worked with him in 15 years,” Derulo says. “We put aside our differences, and it’s been incredible to work with him again. We just did a week in Miami, and [worked on] some of the most amazing songs that I’ve done in a long time. I’m really excited about the new music, and the new album that’s coming in ’25.”

This article first appeared on Billboard U.S.