Tag: normani
Normani Says Being in Fifth Harmony ‘Took a Toll’ on Her Confidence: ‘I Didn’t Believe in Myself’
Article via People
The “Motivation” singer, 24, opened up in the latest cover story for Women’s Health about her life in lockdown and how she keeps her high self-esteem after being in Fifth Harmony. (And PEOPLE has a first look at the cover!)
“[It] alters the perception you have of yourself,” she said of being overlooked in the group originally comprised of her, Ally Brooke, Camila Cabello, Dinah Jane and Lauren Jauregui. “Having certain things happen so blatantly while also feeling like the ‘other’ and being so young and hearing the public compare [us] took a toll on my confidence.”
“For a long time, I didn’t believe in myself because I didn’t feel like I was given the opportunity to,” she told the outlet.
Today, she says she does daily positive affirmations to start her day to boost her self-esteem.
“I look at myself in the mirror and manifest and speak things that I want to happen as if they already did as if I’m already that version of myself,” she said. According to the outlet, some of Normani’s go-to statements include You are one of the greatest entertainers. You are a representation for an entire generation. You have purpose.
Another boost in her confidence has been receiving the support of one of her favorite artists: Rihanna.
“It’s alarming when people you’ve looked up to, respect, and who kind of define who you are believe in you,” Normani said. “But it definitely gives me confidence.”
“I’m grateful to feel seen and heard and like I can be the voice for so many people. Being a Black woman, I feel we’re so multifaceted and have so much that we’re capable of,” she added. “It’s really important to show Black girls and Black boys they can be anything they want to be.”
The singer, a self-described “overachiever,” also opened up about making music and how she’s held herself at a high standard.
“For a long time, I was stressed out about checking boxes like, ‘Is this Black enough? Is this pop enough?’ But music started feeling way better when I just went into the studio with the mentality of being Normani,” she said. “People will always remember how you made them feel and what a record did for them. My lyrics have more depth, and they’re more intentional and come from a more authentic place, because I now feel more connected to myself than before.”
While she perfects her new music, the musician said she misses performing as she hunkers down during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m at home when I’m onstage,” Normani says. “I don’t feel misunderstood, judged, like I have to fit inside a barrier. I feel like I can be anything.”
“Hopefully, in the next few years I’ll have life a little bit more figured out,” she later added. “But if I don’t, I’m okay. I don’t think we ever have it all figured out. But anything that God has placed on my heart, I want to be fearless in.”
Normani’s cover story for Women’s Health is out now.
Normani Reveals She Was Trying to Hide in Fifth Harmony
It’s hard to believe Normani—record-setting gymnast, former Fifth Harmonymember, star of a 69 million-viewed music video—is shy.
As was revealed in a newly published interview in Cosmopolitan, the 23-year-old “Motivation” singer has actually had “lifelong shyness,” an attribute that struck during her first solo performance as a young dancer.
According to the magazine, she “made her way to the spotlight, froze, and ran straight back to the wings.”
Of course, the star songstress has come a long way from that moment, having graced the stages of Ariana Grande‘s Sweetener World Tour, the MTV Video Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards and many others.
As fans well know, she got her star in stardom thanks to The X Factor and the resulting group, Fifth Harmony. For more than five years, the women worked together, spawning hits like “Worth It,” “Sledgehammer” and “Work From Home” and weathering the exit of member Camila Cabello until their “indefinite hiatus” in 2018.
While Normani is now handling the spotlight solo, that wasn’t initially the shy star’s intention. “I remember always being asked, ‘Why do you wanna be in a girl group? So you can hide?'” she recalled to Cosmopolitan. “And that’s exactly what I was trying to do.”
Eventually, however, she didn’t want to hide anymore.
“I’m not sure what that turning point was,” she said, “but I was like, Normani is enough. You can be onstage and perform and you can be enough.”
Judging by her solo success, Normani was certainly not wrong. As for her former colleagues, they’re all seizing the opportunities they worked toward together.
“People do what people do—take the information they have and blow it up,” she told the magazine of the breakup rumors about the group. “I’m happy everyone has an opportunity ’cause we worked our a off. We do our own things. We’re good.”
Article via EOnline
