Normani Kordei Hamilton (born May 31, 1996) recording mononymously as Normani, is an American singer and dancer. She is best known as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which was formed on the second season of The X Factor US in 2012. In 2017, She was a contestant in season 24 of Dancing with the Stars. As a soloist, she made her debut on August 16, 2019 with the single "Motivation".
Early Life[]
Normani was born in Atlanta, Georgia but was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Normani is the daughter of Derrick Hamilton and Andrea Hamilton. When Normani was a young child, she would compete in gymnasts, dance and beauty pageants. She performed gospel music as a child, and recorded her first song at age 13.
Career[]
2012-2018: The X Factor and Fifth Harmony []
Normani auditioned during the second season of the X Factor with "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin. Normani was accepted to the next round after getting four yeses from the judges. She was then eliminated during the second round of bootcamp. Normani was then called back in with Lauren Jauregui, Ally Brooke, Camila Cabello and Dinah Jane to form the girl group Fifth Harmony. The group finished in third place on the show, where they were then signed to a joint record deal with Syco Music and Epic Records.
The group released their first debut extended play Better Together (2013) along with three studio albums Reflection (2015), 7/27 (2016) and their first album as a quarlet with their self-titled album Fifth Harmony (2017). The group had many hit singles like "Worth It" and "Work From Home".
On March 19, 2018, the group announced that the group would be taking a hiatus to pursue their solo careers.
Solo Career[]
In 2015, Normani released two dance videos performing "Commas" and "Do Not Disturb" with Fifth Harmony's choreographer Sean Bankhead on her YouTube channel. As of December 2017, she has released three cover-mashups (of Drake's "Fake Love x Sneakin'", Solange's "Don't Touch My Hair x Cranes in the Sky" and Tory Lanez's "Say It") with the help of the producers The Invaders.
Normani and her dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy on The Dancing with The Stars
Normani competed on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars. Her partner was professional ballroom dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy. The team reached the finals and finished in third place. Normani was featured as a cameo in R&B singer Khalid's music video "Young Dumb & Broke", and confirmed they were working on "new song ideas". On October 21, it was announced that Normani had signed to management company S10 Entertainment as a solo artist. She also signed her own solo publishing deal to Stellar Songs as a songwriter. On February 14, 2018, Normani released a song with Khalid called "Love Lies" for the soundtrack of the movie, Love, Simon. The single debuted at 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100, thus scoring the highest first-week position for a debut single by a girl group member. It later reached a peak of 9 on the chart, and topped the Mainstream Top 40 radio airplay chart.
Following Fifth Harmony's indefinite hiatus, in early April 2018 it was announced that Normani had signed to Keep Cool/RCA Records for her debut solo album. The following month, it was reported that Normani signed to a modeling contract with Wilhelmina. Over the next few months, Billboard announced that Normani was collaborating with Calvin Harris and Kehlani. In August 2018, Normani was featured alongside Kehlani on Jessie Reyez's remix for her song "Body Count". She also featured alongside Davido on Quavo's song "Swing", from his debut album Quavo Huncho.
On October 22, 2018, Normani and Calvin Harris released their EP, Normani x Calvin Harris, which features the songs "Checklist" and "Slow Down". The following day, she performed the two songs alongside a new song, "Waves" featuring 6lack, at the Tidal X Brooklyn concert. She then released "Waves" and premiered it on the music radio station Beats 1 on November 15, 2018.[37] Normani was named the Top Female Breakout Artist of 2018 by Spotify. 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.
On January 11, 2019, Normani and Sam Smith released the song "Dancing with a Stranger", peaking at number three in the UK and number seven in the U.S. In March 2019, she was the supporting act for Ariana Grande's first leg of the Sweetener World Tour in North America. Normani's single "Motivation", co-written by Grande, was released in August 2019, her first single without a featured artist. The song peaked at number 33 in the US. "Motivation" was nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for Best Dance Performance. One year into her solo career, Normani became the fastest solo artist (without an album) to surpass one billion combined streams on Spotify. In September 2019, Normani announced that her debut album will be released in 2020, stating "it is a little more than halfway" complete. Normani collaborated with Grande and Nicki Minaj on the song "Bad to You", for the soundtrack of the 2019 film Charlie's Angels, released in November 2019. In January 2020, Normani and rapper Megan Thee Stallion released "Diamonds", the lead single for the soundtrack of the superhero film Birds of Prey. Normani was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2020. She was placed 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”.
On July 27, 2021, Normani released her single “Wild Side” featuring Cardi B. The single then went on to debut at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was supported by her performance at the 2021 MTV VMA’s alongside Teyana Taylor, who played as her partner for the performance. As of October 4, 2021, "Wild Side" had been certified GOLD by the RIAA.
It was subsequently followed by the promotional single, “Fair” released on March 18, 2022. Normani made a guest appearance for Calvin Harris’ “Funk Wav Bounces Vol.2” album with the song “New to You,” which also featured Tinashe and Offset.
On August 7, 2023, it was announced that Normani had signed a new management deal with Lydia Asrat and Brandon Creed at Good World Management.
On February 20, 2024, Normani's PR team temporarily archived all of her Instagram posts hinting at an upcoming release. A day later, on February 21, she revealed the title for her upcoming debut album Dopamine, slated for an early-2024 release.
Philanthropy[]
Along with Fifth Harmony, Normani has been involved in charities like the Girl Scouts of America and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation. In September of 2016, Normani was announced as the Diversity Ambassador of The Cybersmile Foundation. On January 26, 2017, Normani was named as the first official celebrity ambassador for the annual Stars & Strikes Celebrity Bowling Event & Tournament hosted by the non-profit organization A Place Called Home. On February 24, 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.
Filmography[]
| Year | Name | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Book | Bryn | Short |
| 2012-13 | The X Factor U.S. | Herself | 22 episodes (2012)
Guest: 1 episode (2013) |
| 2014 | Faking It | Herself | Episode: "The Ecstasy and the Agony" |
| 2015 | Barbie: Life In The Dreamhouse | Herself | Episode: "Sisters' Fun Day" |
| 2017 | Dancing with the Stars | Herself | 11 episodes: season 24
1 episode: season 25 |
| 2018 | Lip Sync Battle | Herself | Episode: "Fifth Harmony: Ally Brooke vs. Normani Kordei vs. Dinah Jane vs. Lauren Jauregui" |
| 2018 | Sugar | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2019 | Savage X Fenty Show | Herself | Appearance/Performer |
| 2019 | The Voice | Advisor | seventeenth season for Team Kelly |
| 2020 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Guest Judge | season 12
Episode: Gay’s Anatomy |
Music Videos[]
| Year | Title | Other Artist/s | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Young Dumb & Broke" | Khalid | Prom Queen |
| 2018 | "Love Lies" | Khalid | Performer |
| 2019 | "Dancing With A Stranger" | Sam Smith | Performer |
| 2019 | "Waves" | 6LACK | Performer |
| 2019 | "Motivation" | Performer | |
| 2020 | "Diamonds" | Meghan Thee Stallion | Performer |
| 2021 | "Wild Side" | Cardi B | Performer |
Official Accounts[]
References
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