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Normani Kordei recently opened up about her struggles when she was part of the girl band Fifth Harmony between 2012 and 2018. The 28-year-old singer first found fame after she was selected in the X Factor audition and formed a girl band with Camilla Cabello, Lauren Jauregui, Ally Brooke, and Dinah Jane.
However, the band soon started having inner conflicts. Normani has often been open about the racism she faced from within the band and fans. She left the band in 2018 and is now just a fortnight away from dropping her debut album, Dopamine.
In an interview with Rolling Stones (published on June 5), the 28-year-old opened up about her tumultuous time as a part of Fifth Harmony.
“It definitely took a toll on my confidence. Would I do some things differently or wish that some things were done differently? Of course, but I also don’t want to sit here and make it sound like it wasn’t part of my story,” explained Normani when talking about her time in Fifth Harmony.
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Normani opened up about Fifth Harmony days before the release of her debut solo album
Almost six years after Normani's departure from Fifth Harmony, she is about to release her debut solo album, Dopamine, on June 14. In her interview with Rolling Stones, the singer talked about her new album and the rough times she endured as a member of Fifth Harmony.
The 28-year-old has opened up many times in the past about the emotional trauma she had to go through during her Fifth Harmony days. Soon after its inception, the band started getting affected by inner conflicts. According to the singer, the so-called fans would often side against Normani and subject her to constant racial abuse.
However, she revealed that she was grateful for the experience because it helped her become stronger as an individual.
"“I’m grateful for all of it, even the moments where I might’ve felt inadequate or less than. It definitely has a lot to do with why I am the way that I am," explained the singer.
Fifth Harmony was started by Dinah Jane, Camilla Cabello, Ally Brooke, Lauren Jauregui, and Normani Kordei when they were mere teenagers after finding fame on X Factor. Kordei said they were too 'innocent' to understand the nuances.
"“We were babies. We were so innocent and I think that is the struggle, to your point, of just us having to face reality under very unrealistic circumstances. I always say we did the very best we could with what we had, so that I’m proud of," she commented about her former bandmates.
The situation became so traumatic for Normani that she said she would just suppress it as a defense mechanism. However, the Georgia-born singer also talked about the flip side. She confessed that they also had good times with one another and accomplished great things.
"There’s so much that I don’t even remember because I suppressed it,” the 28-year-old said . “That’s just my way of protecting myself from having to deal with everything. But what I do remember is it wasn’t all bad. Like yeah, we struggled, but it was also really beautiful in what we accomplished together.”
Finally, the singer revealed Janet Jackson and Brandy as inspirations behind her upcoming album, Dopamine. Kordei also lauded their contribution to uplifting the stature of women of color around the globe.
“They’re literally the reason why I do what I do and why I’m able to be in the position that I am in: Black women. They redefined the standard of beauty, but also just the standard in music,” explained Normani.
Normani called Dopamine the "testament to my strength, my resilience, and my discipline." She praised herself for navigating a treacherous road and "getting back to who I am and recognizing the beauty."
