Normani talked about her time in Fifth Harmony: «It was like a prison sentence»
1 may 2024 в 18:25
Before Normani releases her long-awaited debut solo album, the singer reminisces about her time in the group Fifth Harmony. In a new interview for The Cut, published on April 30, 27-year-old Normani said that she was initially thrilled to be invited to join the girl group.
«I didn’t want to be in the spotlight», - she told the publication. «It became tokenizing for me later on».
Back in 2012, Normani first appeared on X Factor with judges Britney Spears, L.A. Reid, Demi Lovato, and Simon Cowell. She was offered to join Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, Camila Cabello, and Ally Brooke in a new group, which later became Fifth Harmony. They signed a joint contract with Epic Records under Reid’s guidance through Syco Music.
According to The Cut, Normani described her «time in the group» as a sentence to prison that she served. She also claimed that Fifth Harmony had no artistic control over their music. Instead, they were just given recordings and told to sing them.
In the summer of 2016, Normani began receiving death threats and other inappropriate messages in her mailbox. A few days before that, she subtly described Camila as «weird» and «cute» in an interview, and some fans interpreted those words as an attack.
Normani’s mother, Andrea Hamilton, couldn’t believe what her daughter was going through. As she told The Cut, «I remember going on social media and seeing my daughter’s face photoshopped onto bodies of people being beaten».
Normani said that no one from the label reached out to her. Instead, everything continued as usual.
«We kept performing, and I was scared for my life», - she said. «But they kept putting me on stage. It was like, 'The show must go on.'»
Normani added, «That was probably the lowest point for me».
Now, the singer of «Motivation» is looking towards the future and is excited for her fans to hear new music made on her terms. Although the album took longer than expected, she says she just needed time to live for herself.
«For a long time, I let music, numbers, and my success define me», - Normani said. «In the process of creating this art, I lived so much life»
«I didn’t want to be in the spotlight», - she told the publication. «It became tokenizing for me later on».
Back in 2012, Normani first appeared on X Factor with judges Britney Spears, L.A. Reid, Demi Lovato, and Simon Cowell. She was offered to join Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, Camila Cabello, and Ally Brooke in a new group, which later became Fifth Harmony. They signed a joint contract with Epic Records under Reid’s guidance through Syco Music.
According to The Cut, Normani described her «time in the group» as a sentence to prison that she served. She also claimed that Fifth Harmony had no artistic control over their music. Instead, they were just given recordings and told to sing them.
In the summer of 2016, Normani began receiving death threats and other inappropriate messages in her mailbox. A few days before that, she subtly described Camila as «weird» and «cute» in an interview, and some fans interpreted those words as an attack.
Normani’s mother, Andrea Hamilton, couldn’t believe what her daughter was going through. As she told The Cut, «I remember going on social media and seeing my daughter’s face photoshopped onto bodies of people being beaten».
Normani said that no one from the label reached out to her. Instead, everything continued as usual.
«We kept performing, and I was scared for my life», - she said. «But they kept putting me on stage. It was like, 'The show must go on.'»
Normani added, «That was probably the lowest point for me».
Now, the singer of «Motivation» is looking towards the future and is excited for her fans to hear new music made on her terms. Although the album took longer than expected, she says she just needed time to live for herself.
«For a long time, I let music, numbers, and my success define me», - Normani said. «In the process of creating this art, I lived so much life»
© Smirnova Olga
