Normani Kordei Hamilton was born in Atlanta on May 31, 1996, to Derrick and Andrea Hamilton.[2] She has two older half sisters, Ashlee and Arielle.[2] Raised in New Orleans, she and her family relocated to Houston, Texas, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.[3][4][5] Normani attended private school as a child and was homeschooled from sixth grade.[6][7] From the age of three, she competed in dance, gymnastics, and beauty pageants.[4][8] She and her mother traveled between Houston and Los Angeles for acting, singing and dance auditions.[7] She recorded a couple of songs, her first at age 13,[7][4] and appeared in the HBO series Treme.[4] Normani has said that dancing was her "first passion".[9]
In October 2013, Fifth Harmony released their first EP, Better Together. The group released their debut album, Reflection, in 2015, and their second album, 7/27, in 2016. The latter two albums spawned the hit singles "Worth It" and "Work from Home", respectively.[13] After Cabello's departure from the group in December 2016, Fifth Harmony released their self-titled album as a quartet in August 2017.[15]Time referred to them as arguably "the biggest girl group in the world" at the time.[16] Normani became the quartet's de facto leader, leading solos and choreography.[7][17] Her onstage confidence in the group caught the attention of executive Tunji Balogun, who founded RCA's imprint Keep Cool, and manager Brandon Silverstein, who began working with Normani in late 2017.[7] On March 19, 2018, the group announced their decision to take an indefinite hiatus to pursue solo careers.[18]
2015–2020: Solo projects
Normani performing in 2017 with Fifth Harmony
In 2015, Normani released two dance videos performing Future's "Fuck Up Some Commas" and Teyana Taylor's "Do Not Disturb" on her YouTube channel.[19] From February 2016 through January 2017, Normani released covers of several songs, including Tory Lanez's "Say It" and mashups of Drake's "Fake Love"/"Sneakin'", and Solange's "Cranes in the Sky"/"Don't Touch My Hair", with the help of the producers The Invaders.[20] Normani competed on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars from March through May 2017, alongside her dancing partner, professional ballroom dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy.[21] They reached the finals and finished in third place.[22] In early August 2017, Normani had a cameo in singer Khalid's music video for "Young Dumb & Broke".[23] In October 2017, it was announced that Normani had signed to management company S10 Entertainment as a solo artist.[24][25] S10 Entertainment later partnered with Roc Nation to manage their artists, including Normani. She was also reported to have signed a publishing deal to Stellar Songs in early February 2018.[26]
Normani's duet with Khalid, "Love Lies" from the soundtrack for romanticteencomedy-drama film Love, Simon (2018), was released in February 2018.[27][28] It was included on the film's soundtrack of the same title, which was curated by Jack Antonoff.[29] The song was considered a sleeper hit, reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaking at number 9 after charting for 28 weeks.[30][31] "Love Lies" scored the highest first-week position for a single by a girl group member in the US, debuting at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100.[32] "Love Lies" reached number 1 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart, and charted for forty five weeks, tying the then record for longest charting song on the chart with Dua Lipa's "New Rules".[33] The song was later placed on former U.S. President Barack Obama's 2019 year-end favorite songs list.[34]
In April 2018, following Fifth Harmony's indefinite hiatus, it was announced that Normani had become the first ever artist to sign to Keep Cool/RCA Records, ahead of the release of her debut solo album.[35][36] The following month, it was reported that Normani signed to a modeling contract with Wilhelmina.[37] Over the next few months, Billboard announced that Normani was collaborating with Calvin Harris and Kehlani.[38][39] In August 2018, Normani was featured alongside Kehlani on Jessie Reyez's remix to her song "Body Count", which was featured on Reyez's Grammy-nominated EP, Being Human in Public.[40] She also appeared alongside Davido on Quavo's song "Swing", from his debut solo album Quavo Huncho (2018).[41] That month, Normani signed on to a Puma campaign to endorse the brand's RS-0 shoes.[42]
On October 22, 2018, Normani and Calvin Harris released their EP, Normani x Calvin Harris, which features the songs "Checklist" with Wizkid and "Slow Down".[43][44] The following day, she performed the two songs alongside a new song, "Waves" featuring 6lack, at the Tidal X Brooklyn concert.[45][46] She then released "Waves" and premiered it on the music radio station Beats 1 on November 15, 2018.[47] The accompanying music video for "Waves" later won the reintroduced MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B Video. In December 2018, It was announced "Love Lies" was the most streamed song ever from a female artist by South Africa audiences on Spotify.[48] Normani was also named the Top Female Breakout Artist of 2018 by Spotify.[49] In her interview with Beats 1, Normani said that her debut album would be released in the first quarter of 2019, and its title is a number.[47]
Normani in 2019
On January 11, 2019, Normani and Sam Smith released the song "Dancing with a Stranger", peaking at number 3 in the United Kingdom and number 7 in the U.S.[50] The song reached number 1 on the Adult Top 40 chart.[51] It was the most-played global radio song in 2019, according to Forbes.[52] The song earned her a nomination for Song of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards. One year into her solo career, Normani became the fastest solo artist (without an album) to surpass one billion combined streams on Spotify.[53] In March 2019, she was the supporting act for Ariana Grande's first leg of the Sweetener World Tour in North America.[54] In April 2019, the singer made a surprise guest appearance during Khalid's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival performance set.[55]
In May 2019, Normani was named the most discovered artist by Indian millennials on Spotify India in its first 60 days,[56] since the app was made available in the country on February 26, 2019.[57] Additionally, Billboard announced that she was the most-discovered artist that brings Z, X and Boomers together on Spotify.[58] In August 2019, Normani performed a set at Lollapalooza music festival.[59] Later that month, she released the single "Motivation", co-written by Grande, and her first single without a featured artist.[60] The song reached the top 40 in multiple countries, including the U.S., where it peaked at number 33.[61] Its accompanying music video earned praise from music critics who compared her choreography to artists like Michael Jackson and Britney Spears.[62][63]E! News dubbed the music video as one of the pop culture moments that defined 2019.[64]
In September 2019, Normani performed a dance sequence on the Savage X Fenty Show by Rihanna, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video.[65][66] Normani then announced that her debut album would be released in 2020, stating "it is a little more than halfway" complete.[67] Later that month, the singer joined The Voice as an advisor.[68] In October 2019, The Guardian ranked her as one of the 25 greatest female pop-group performers of all time.[69] The following month, Normani was announced as the first brand ambassador of Savage X Fenty.[70][71] Normani collaborated with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj on the song "Bad to You", for the soundtrack of the 2019 film Charlie's Angels, released in November 2019.[72] Normani teamed up with the National Basketball Association for a holiday themed commercial, which included her reinterpretation of "Winter Wonderland" called "Ballin' in a Christmas Wonderland".[73]
In January 2020, Normani joined rapper Megan Thee Stallion on the song "Diamonds", which served as the lead single for the soundtrack of the superhero film Birds of Prey (2020).[74] Normani was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2020.[75] In February 2020, she was listed on BET's "Future 40" list, which is a list of "40 of the most inspiring and innovative vanguards who are redefining what it means to be unapologetically young, gifted & black".[76] In June 2020, Normani joined Urban Decay as a global citizen and a campaign spokesperson for the makeup brand.[77] In August 2020, Normani made a cameo in Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's music video for "WAP", alongside Kylie Jenner and Rosalía.[78]
Normani was awarded Best Dance Performance for "Wild Side" at the 2021 BET Soul Train Music Awards on November 28, 2021.[90][91] She did an interview with Entertainment Tonight following her win where she was asked if she had a message for her fans. She responded with "Summer's gonna be lit" referencing when her album will be released.[92] That same month, Normani collaborated with Google for an interactive Black Friday campaign, that helped highlight black owned businesses.[93][94] She also starred in its accompanying commercial titled Google: Black-Owned Friday, which was directed by Daps, and featured an original song by Normani alongside rapper T-Pain, that sampled "Wake Up Everybody" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.[95] For her contribution to the campaign, Normani received multiple accolades including the Webby Awards, Clio Awards, and D&AD Awards.[96] The singer was also awarded Collaborator of the Year at the Variety Hitmakers Brunch on December 4, 2021, honoring the meticulously picked collaborations released by the artist, while simultaneously updating the fans on the reasoning behind her album delay in an interview conducted by Variety.[97]
Normani released "Fair" on March 18, 2022,[98] and performed the song on The Tonight Show the day of its release.[99] On April 6, 2022, the singer was announced as the face of Cracker Jill, for which she sang a reimagined version of the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", along with an accompanying music video.[100] That same day, she was also announced as the face of AMI Paris' photo campaign for the French brand's L'Accordéon bag, according to Vogue France.[101] On May 5, 2022, it was announced that Normani signed a publishing deal with Hipgnosis Songs Group.[102] On June 6, 2022, Normani was featured on the remix of her childhood friend Josh Levi's song "Don't They".[103] Later that month, Normani appeared in singer Chris Brown's music video for his song "WE (Warm Embrace)", though she received criticism from fans due to his extensive history of violence toward women.[104] On July 29, 2022, Normani released the single "New to You" alongside Calvin Harris, Tinashe and Offset, for Harris' album Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2.[105]
In February 2023, she voiced the character Giselle, a member of the fictional '90s music group The Soul Vibrations, on the second season of the animated Disney+ television series The Proud Family: Louder And Prouder.[106] In June 2023, Normani collaborated with Bose Corporation to release alongside a dance-themed commercial, previewing her single "Candy Paint".[107][108] On August 7, 2023, Normani announced via Rolling Stone that she split with the management company S10 Entertainment, and signed a new management deal with managers Brandon Creed and Lydia Asrat. That same month, Normani partnered with Bose Corporation to design custom limited edition "QuietComfort II" headphones. According to Billboard, the headphones were an ode to her single "Candy Paint", and featured a "metallic purple colorway that channels a candy paint job on car".[109]
On February 21, 2024, Normani posted a website called "wheresthedamnalbum" on Twitter (now called X). She announced her debut album Dopamine, alongside its cover art, which was released on June 14. She released two singles off the album, "1:59" (featuring Gunna) on April 26 and "Candy Paint" on May 31.[110][111] It was later announced that the previously released single Wild Side would also be featured on the album.[112]
In March 2024, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of International Women's Day, Normani was one of a number of celebrities had their likeness turned into Bratz dolls.[113]
Writing of Normani's image, Vogue editor Lauren Valenti called her "the textbook definition of a bombshell".[140] Several publications have referred to her as a "style icon".[141][142] Elements of Afrofuturism have been incorporated in her fashion choices.[143] Normani was voted among the sexiest female artist in pop in a 2018 poll by British radio network Capital.[144] In 2022, she was placed on the Maxim Hot 100 list.[145] Called an LGBTQ ally by The Hollywood Reporter,[146] Normani was named an "up-and-coming gay icon" by Out.[147]
In a 2020 cover story, Teen Vogue argued that Normani charted a "new territory that's rooted in relatability" for black women, while the singer proclaimed "I don't want to be so unattainable. I'm just the girl next door." The publication also noted the importance of her work with beauty and lingerie companies, and added that her resilience against the media's colorism "is for the black girls, who, like her, fail the brown-paper-bag test but are still a standard of beauty".[148] Normani graced the cover of Rolling Stone's March 2020 Women Shaping the Future issue, alongside Megan Thee Stallion and SZA.[149]Okayplayer[150][151] and Uproxx[152] named her among the black women who have redefined pop music, while The Recording Academy listed her as one of the black women who took pop music by storm and "reinvented the pop star ideal" in 2021.[153] DeAsia Page of VICE stated that her success marked a shift "for an industry that tends to favor light-skinned Black women artists."[154]
In 2019, The Guardian ranked her as one of the 25 greatest female pop-group performers of all time.[155]Forbes placed her on their 30 under 30 list for 2020.[75] In a 2019 cover story for Cosmopolitan, music journalist Clover Hope credited Normani with reviving pop music by "injecting some sorely needed fun" in a time when the musical landscape was consumed with singles that garnered attention "because of "hidden" messages about exes".[156] Writing for The New York Times, Lindsay Zoladz stated that "Motivation" broke through the "depressive haze of contemporary pop radio" at the time.[157]
With her intensely choreographed dance routines, Normani has been cited as one of the artists instrumental in the revival of choreography-centric music videos in the late 2010s.[158][159][160] Speaking on the state of dance and music in 2019, music choreographer JaQuel Knight stated "we have the City Girls putting it down for Miami, we have Atlanta bringing out so many different sounds, and then we have pop-stars; the Normani's are trying to bring dancing back into the industry."[161] Normani has received praise for her dancing abilities from fellow artists Katy Perry,[162]Rihanna,[163] and Cardi B.[164]WatchMojo placed her on their list of the "Top 20 Female Singers Who Can Dance".[165] Further, Bustle declared that "there's virtually no better Gen Z dancer" than Normani.[166] While Natty Kasambala of Dazed, wrote "since the launch of her solo career, she's consistently set the bar for pop visuals with elaborate choreography, trendsetting fashion and infectious hooks that stop people in their tracks."[167]
Along with Fifth Harmony, Normani was involved with the charities Girl Scouts of the US and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation.[177][178] In September 2016, Normani was named the Diversity Ambassador for The Cybersmile Foundation, a non-profit organization providing support for victims of cyber bullying and online hate campaigns, after being racially abused online.[179] In January 2017, Normani signed on to be the celebrity ambassador for the annual Stars & Strikes Celebrity Bowling Event & Tournament hosted by the Los Angeles charity A Place Called Home.[180] In February 2017, it was announced that Normani partnered with American Cancer Society as a global ambassador to help increase awareness about the importance of breast cancer screening and HPV vaccination.[181][182]
In August 2016, Normani was racially cyber bullied on social media after an interview she gave. During the time, fans of her former bandmate Camila Cabello, perceived her to be throwing shade for referring to Cabello as "quirky". According to Normani, fans called her racial slurs including the N word, and photoshopped her images to depict her as a slave being "whipped, beaten" and lynched. The incident led her to temporarily deactivating her Twitter account.[185][186]
In December 2019, racist Twitter and Tumblr posts from 2012 shared by Camila Cabello when she and Normani were in Fifth Harmony resurfaced.[187] In a February 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Normani responded to the posts, writing: "I struggled with talking about this because I didn't want it to be a part of my narrative, but I am a black woman, who is a part of an entire generation that has a similar story. It would be dishonest if I said that this particular scenario didn't hurt me", she admitted.[188]
^"Normani Gushes to Childhood Icon Ciara About Her Impact, Says Debut Album Is 'Almost Done'". Billboard. Retrieved December 30, 2021. 'You're somebody that I've looked up to forever. I always felt like representation was so key. And being a little girl, in my grandmother's living room, learning the '1, 2 Step,' 'Goodies.' From literally the earliest memories that I have, you are a part of that and you really helped shape the woman and the artist that I could be. You opened my mind to those possibilities.'"Ciara and Normani on Twitter". Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2020. 'I love you and thank you so much for being an artist that I could look up being a little brown girl. I loved me some CC'
^Feeney, Nolan (June 1, 2018). "The Next Generation of Lauryn Hill: 16 Artists on Their Favorite 'Miseducation' Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved June 22, 2018. The title track, 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,' is definitely a favorite. I have found inspiration in this particular record, which will be a huge influence on my project to come.
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