In case you missed it, over the weekend, Normani broke the internet. The former Fifth Harmony star dropped the visuals for her latest solo single, “Motivation”. Co-written by Ariana Grande, the song is a feel-good girly pop song that makes you want to shake your booty. But we have to ask: is “Motivation” just a song or did Normani just create a pop-culture phenomenon? Let’s check the facts.
1. Her harmonious history
Compared to the skyrocketing success of fellow former Fifth Harmony member Camila Cabello, Normani’s solo career has developed more slowly. After dropping tracks with Khalid, 6lack and Sam Smith, this is the first solo single Normani has ever done. But the fact that Normani’s “Motivation” has made such an impact in the few days of its release shows that she isn’t just a former member of a broken-up girl-band. Normani isn’t in anyone’s shadow. She is a star on her own. She is Normani.
2. Paying Homage
As Normani sings over a booty-bouncing hip-hop groove complete with a trumpet breakdown, she seems to draw on both “Check On It”-era Beyoncé and the brassy sounds of Homecoming. You can tell when Normani strikes those powerful waist movements and hanging twerks that she is channelling the spirits of the black girls that came before her. It seems to be a homage to turn-of-the-millennium dance clips by the likes of Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, J. Lo, Britney Spears and Ciara.
Normani has often been described as Gen Z Beyonce. But she made it known that, while she is a die-hard Beyonce fan, she relates more to Kelly Rowland. Borrowing the title from Kelly’s 2011 hit, Normani’s “Motivation” is a melting pot of the last two decades of black pop culture and black girl magic.
3. Unashamed blackness
Normani’s music career started in a girl group where she was by far the darkest in skin complexion. In commercial industries, especially when lumped together with people of other races, the expectation is that the blackness be toned down. There is a lot of pressure to not be ghetto, to not be a hoodrat.
Anything traditionally black is considered inappropriate or unrefined. But on her own, Normani had created powerful representation for black girls who want to let loose and have fun in their own hair, in their own skin, and in their own hoods. Through this video, Normani is empowering black girls to do what they want to do, whether it is to top the charts or strut onto a basketball court and make it bounce. Propriety be damned!
4. Pop princess
Normani has rejected the default R&B black girl status and is determined to be a pop princess. Although no one really talks about it, the music scene has a glass ceiling that people of other races are not allowed to transcend. You can see this in the billboard controversy over Lil Nas X’s country hit track “Old Town Road”. It is as though the Jim Crow laws still ostensibly apply in the entertainment industry. But Normani doesn’t care about that. She is going to defy the odds and look amazing while doing it.
5. The Normani challenge
Like we said earlier, Normani’s “Motivation” video broke the internet. Fans from all over the world have taken to Twitter and Instagram to attempt her legendary basketball booty dance move. It has even been called the dance move of the century!
Made a lil gif of the dance move of the century 🏀 @Normani #Normani #normanichallenge pic.twitter.com/RZwuvc1Qfc
— Bianca Bosso (@biancabosso) August 19, 2019
Mind you, Normani was a finalist in season 24 of Dancing with the Stars in 2017, so dancing is no new feat for her. Enough talk, check out Normani’s “Motivation” video below.
We are so ready for whatever Normani is cooking up next, and we look forward to her next black girl magic show. But for now, tell us what you think in the comment section below. Also, you can participate in the Normani challenge on Twitter and Instagram. Don’t forget to tag us so we can get a bit of your black girl magic too.
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