Normani's Cher Costume Draws Fire From Racists; Hailey Baldwin Bieber Leaps To Her Defense
Well, alright then!
Instagram For some reason, the mere presence of this former Fifth Harmony singer is enough to send the racists into a tizzy. From our perspective, however, they seem to be jealous of both her beauty and talent, both of which she has in droves. So who is Normani?
Born Normani Kordei Hamilton in Atlanta, Georgia, Normani got her start as part of the lineup of the all-girl group Fifth Harmony (which also gave a start to one Camila Cabello). Although she was born in Atlanta, she was raised in New Orleans, which is where she stayed until Hurricane Katrina. Katrina, for obvious reasons, forced her family to move to Houston, Texas. And, as a Christian woman, she's proud to say that her first-ever recording was of a gospel song when she was still a teenager.
Let's look, though, at what we know about Normani's latest controversy, which doesn't have anything to do with anything she did wrong!
1. She's appearing on the Charlie's Angels soundtrack.
People reports that Normani is part of an epic lineup that includes herself, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj collaborating on a new song for the Charlie's Angels soundtrack. The song, called "Bad To You," will combine the different pop-hip hop styles of all three of the ladies, and will be part of the film which is set to be released later in November.
2. Normani auditioned for X Factor with an Aretha Franklin song.
Fifth Harmony was a group that was formed thanks to The X Factor, and according to Teen Magazine, the real truth behind Normani's audition involved her charming the judges with her performance of "Chain of Fools" by Aretha Franklin. Even though she didn't last on the show as a solo singer, she teamed up with Camila Cabello, Ally Brooke, Lauren Jauregui, and Dinah Jane to form Fifth Harmony, and that's when her career really took off.
3. She appeared on Dancing with the Stars.
According to ABC.com, Normani was part of the 24th season of Dancing with the Stars. Assigned to dance with Valentin Chmerkovskiy, she reached the finals and came in third place for her season. Not bad, if we do say so ourselves!
4. Normani's song with Sam Smith, "Dancing With A Stranger," reached #3 on the charts.
"Normani and Sam Smith's "Dancing With A Stranger" is here. The collaboration marks the first time the pair have collaborated and sees Smith veer away from his gentle soul sound with something a little more upbeat," reported The Fader, who added that her song peaked at No. 3 on the British charts. It's also her most successful song to date.
5. A racist troll came into Normani's comments because she dressed up as Cher for Halloween.
According to Pop Culture, Normani "slayed" Halloween by pulling off a one-of-a-kind Cher costume. That, however, wasn't enough for a racist troll, who took to Instagram to inform her that dressing up as Cher was "not the right costume for a black girl." He then went on to tell her that Cher did everything in pop music, whereas Normani did nothing because obviously it was important for a man to have an opinion and share it with the rest of the class. (That's sarcasm, folks.)
6. Hailey Bieber defended Normani.
It didn't take long for Hailey Bieber (nee Baldwin) to jump into the fray to defend Normani. "There's nothing wrong with her costume," she said.
You go, girl!
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.