R&B/Pop singer Normani Hamilton started her music career as one-fifth of the Fifth Harmony girl group. 5H found some mainstream success before announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2018.
Since parting ways with Fifth Harmony, Normani broke out as a solo artist. The Atlanta-born performer scored several Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart over the last five years.
Billboard caught up with Normani to discuss the rollout of her new “Candy Paint” single. The 27-year-old RCA recording artist also talked about her transition from 5H member to being a soloist.
“I started in a girl group [Fifth Harmony] when I was 15. I remember that being one of the lowest points for me in terms of my confidence,” admitted Normani. “We’re young, we’re trying to figure out who we are on top of having to do that in front of the rest of the world, while they pit us against each other, and then the things that people project on you, you kind of start to believe.”
She added, “But I’ve worked so hard in my adult life [over] the last two to three years. It’s a daily fight. I can’t say that every day is the same, but I’m just really intentional. I speak words of affirmation to myself. I’ve gotten a lot closer to God and I know that through that I’m able to know who I am and who I’m called to be versus the things that people put on me.”
Normani’s “Candy Paint” will join a discography that includes “Love Lies” with Khalid), “Waves” with 6lack, “Dancing with a Stranger” with Sam Smith, and “Wild Side” with Cardi B. The former The X Factor contestant also made cameos in music videos by Cardi B, Baby Keem and Chris Brown.