Normani's solo career took off since Fifth Harmony disbanded. The singer admitted that being in a group held her back on things that she has been wanting to do.
Normani was the first member of Fifth Harmony to follow Camila Cabello. The "Señorita" singer left the group in 2016. Cabello previously opened up about her exit from the group and the criticisms that she received because of her decision to pursue a solo career.
It turned out that Camilla's reasons for leaving Fifth Harmony were almost the same as Normani: lack of creative freedom on their music and not feeling at home with the group. In a recent interview with Fader, Normani admitted that she and the other members of the American girl group weren't given a chance to participate in the creation of their music. She said as much as they would like to write their song, they were not given the freedom to do so.
Normani added she failed to show her true capabilities as a vocalist and performer when she was with Fifth Harmony. Normani has extensive dance experience but she said, it doesn't matter when she was dancing with her bandmates.
"I'm not able to go in in the way that I want to [because] of what the group was," she said.
The singer also recalled the time she was intensely bullied online after their group's Facebook Live in August 2016 wherein they were asked to give a description of each member. Normani received backlash after she gave a short description of Cabello.
Although Camilla and the other members of Fifth Harmony issued separate statements condemning the racist tweets about Normani, she said the incident still left her feeling alienated within the group. Four months later, Camila decided to leave Fifth Harmony.
The group claimed at the time that Cabello blindsided them of her decision while Camilla otherwise. Normani said everything is okay now. The singer said she bumped into the "Havana" singer at the Billboard Music Awards and VMAs and there is no bad blood between them at all.
Normani added everything is different now that she is flying solo. The 23-year-old singer said she now has the freedom to explore different genres and not only the pop music that Fifth Harmony became famous for. The "Motivation" singer said she intends to showcase her Houston and New Orleans roots in her music as a solo artist.
What is more important to Normani now is that she could write songs that have meaning to her. In addition, she can now showcase her identity on stage and doesn't have to confine herself to the image of a group.
