Normani Kordei Hamilton is an American singer and dancer. She auditioned as a solo act for the American television seriesThe X Factor in 2012, after which she became a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony. While in Fifth Harmony, Normani competed in Dancing with the Stars and released the song "Love Lies", a duet with Khalid, which peaked in the top ten in the US and was certified quadruple platinum by RIAA. Following Fifth Harmony's indefinite hiatus, Normani collaborated with several artists, and released a two-song EP with Calvin Harris, Normani x Calvin Harris. In November 2018, she released the single "Waves" featuring 6lack. Her duet with Sam Smith, "Dancing with a Stranger", reached the top ten in the UK and US. In August 2019, Normani released her first solo single, "Motivation", which peaked in the top 40. Normani then released songs for soundtracks including a collaboration with Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj for ' and "Diamonds" with Megan Thee Stallion for '.
Early life
Normani Kordei Hamilton was born on May 31, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia. She has two older half sisters. Raised in New Orleans, she and her family relocated to Pearland, Texas, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. From the age of three, Normani had competed in dance, gymnastics and beauty pageants. She performed gospel music, and recorded her first song at age 13. She also appeared in the HBO series Treme. Normani identifies as Christian.
Career
2012–2018: ''The X Factor'' and Fifth Harmony
Normani auditioned for the second season of The X Factor USA in 2012 with "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin. She advanced to the next round after getting approval from all four of the judges. It was during the second round of boot camp that led to her elimination. That marked the end of Normani's X Factor participation as a solo artist. However, she was brought back to the show and put into a group with four other girls, Ally Brooke, Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane, and Camila Cabello, who would later become Fifth Harmony. At the end of the show's season, the group managed to make it to the finale and finished in third place. 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. After Cabello's departure from the group in December 2016, Fifth Harmony released their self-titled album as a quartet in August 2017. Normani became the quartet's de facto leader, leading solos and choreography. 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. On March 19, 2018 the group announced their decision to take an indefinite hiatus to pursue solo careers.
2015–present: Solo projects and upcoming debut album
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. 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. Normani competed on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars from March through May 2017, alongside her dancing partner, professional ballroom dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy. They reached the finals and finished in third place. In early August 2017, Normani had a cameo in singer Khalid's music video for "Young Dumb & Broke". In October 2017, it was announced that Normani had signed to management company S10 Entertainment as a solo artist. She was reported to have signed a publishing deal to Stellar Songs in early February 2018. Normani's duet with Khalid, "Love Lies" from the soundtrack for romanticteencomedy-drama film Love, Simon, was released in February 2018. The song was considered a sleeper hit, peaking at number nine after charting for 28 weeks. "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. "Love Lies" charted the Mainstream Top 40 charts for forty five weeks, tying the record for longest charting song on the chart with Dua Lipa's "New Rules". 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", which was featured on Reyez’s EP, Being Human in Public. She also featured alongside Davido on Quavo's song "Swing", from his debut solo album Quavo Huncho. 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". 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. 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. One year into her solo career, Normani became the fastest solo artist to surpass one billion combined streams on Spotify. 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. In September 2019, Normani announced that her debut album will be released in 2020, stating "it is a little more than halfway" complete. In October 2019, The Guardian ranked her as one of the 25 greatest female pop-group performers of all time. Normani collaborated with Grande and Nicki Minaj on the song "Bad to You", for the 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”.
In 2018, Normani had a relation with the multinational company Puma. She was named as the endorser for a range of RS-0 shoes. On November 22, 2019, Normani was announced as the first ambassador of the singer Rihanna's intimate company, Savage X Fenty. Prior in becoming the ambassador, she performed a dance sequence on the company's show, Savage X Fenty Show, which was held in New York City on September 10, 2019. It was later premiered on the media-services provider, Amazon Prime Video on September 20, 2019. In 2020, Normani was named as a global citizen and a campaign spokesperson for the makeup brand, Urban Decay.
Philanthropy
Along with Fifth Harmony, Normani has been involved with many charities like Girl Scouts of the US and the Ryan Seacrest Foundation. In September 2016, Normani was named the Diversity Ambassador for The Cybersmile Foundation, an international non-profit organization providing support for victims of cyber bullying and online hate campaigns, after being racially abused online. 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.
Discography
Filmography
Awards and nominations
As a solo artist, Normani has won awards and has been nominated for an additional. These awards include nominations for the duets "Love Lies", "Dancing with a Stranger" and "Waves" as well as solo song "Motivation" and artist awards.
Tours
Normani was the supporting act for the first leg of Ariana Grande's 2019 Sweetener World Tour
