After Normani released her debut album on June 14, the singer gets support from former Fifth Harmony members, including Camila Cabello.
Normani is getting some special support from her former group members of Fifth Harmony after the release of her long-awaited debut album, Dopamine. On Saturday, the 28-year-old shared a post to Instagram in which she celebrated the album's drop and shared her gratitude for those who have supported her musical journey.
"Thank you jesus. Thank you jesus. Thank you jesus. Have really been over here all morning doing my best to find the words to articulate my gratitude for everyone that has endured with me throughout this process and who has continued to believe in me," the "Candy Paint" singer began her caption.
"This album was legit one of the hardest things in life for me over the years," she continued. "Literally can't even entirely verbalize my appreciation in this moment because of how overwhelmed my heart is in the most magical way possible."
Admitting that she's feeling overwhelmed, Normani concluded her post by writing, "Ahhhhh my thoughts are obviously all over the place lol imma try this again tomorrow hahaha."
In the comment section of her post, the singer's peers congratulated her on the release, including Lauren Jauregui and Camila Cabello, who sang alongside Normani, Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane when Fifth Harmony was formed in 2012 after competing on The X-Factor.
"Congraaaaats bby girlllll." Jauregui wrote, to which Normani responded, "Ily v much mama."
Cabello commented, "putting out a project is vulnerable and hard and you are doing it beautifully ! congratulations on your first album and many more to come !!!!!!!! 🚀🩵"
"Thank you so much for this," Normani wrote in response. "This seriously means a lot and so v proud of you. You're next, let's goooo."
It's been eight years since Cabello announced her decision to leave Fifth Harmony, and six years since Normani, Jane, Jauregui and Brooke shared that the band was going on an indefinite hiatus for them to focus on their solo endeavors.
The former members have experienced tension over the years, particularly when Cabello's racist Tumblr posts from the early days of the group resurfaced on social media in 2019. In an interview with Rolling Stone in February 2020, Normani responded to the incident with a lengthy email, explaining that she didn't want her words to be misconstrued. She pointed out that she actually faces "senseless attacks daily" as a Black woman.
"Direct and subliminal hatred has been geared towards me for many years solely because of the color of my skin," she wrote at the time. "It would be dishonest if I said that this particular scenario didn't hurt me. It was devastating that this came from a place that was supposed to be a safe haven and a sisterhood, because I knew that if the tables were turned I would defend each of them in a single heartbeat."
Normani then criticized how Cabello initially handled the situation, including the racist messages she says she received while they were still part of Fifth Harmony.
"It took days for her to acknowledge what I was dealing with online and then years for her to take responsibility for the offensive tweets that recently resurfaced," she added. "Whether or not it was her intention, this made me feel like I was second to the relationship that she had with her fans."
"I really hope that an important lesson was learned in this," Normani wrote. "I hope there is genuine understanding about why this was absolutely unacceptable. I have spoken what is in my heart and pray this is transparent enough that I never have to speak on it again. To my brown men and women, we are like no other. Our power lies within our culture. We are descendants of an endless line of strong and resilient kings and queens. We have been and will continue to win in all that we do simply because of who we are. We deserve to be celebrated, I deserve to be celebrated and I'm just getting started."
Most recently, in a lengthy profile for The Cut published in April, Normani called the group "a blessing that also traumatized her," referring to her time in the group as "a prison sentence ordered and duly served."
"I didn't want to be at the forefront. It wasn't until later that I started feeling like a token," she told the outlet of her thoughts after being told she wasn't ready for a solo career by the X-Factor judges. She later admitted that she was trying to hide, which isn't the first time Normani has confessed to using the group to do so.
The singer shared that racist incidences fractured her relationship not only with the label, but with journalists, the other girls in the group, and with those calling themselves their fans. "It was probably the lowest point for me," she said of a 2016 incident where she awoke to death threats in her inbox and messages from strangers referring to her as "Normonkey."
But with the release of her debut album, Normani is more focused on her future.
After the "Motivation" singer announced the news of Dopamine's release, her former group members took to the comments to share their excitement.
Cabello reacted with a series of rocket emojis.
Brooke replied with a series of pink heart emojis and a hand clap.
"There she is," Jane added with a series of flame emojis and a pouty face.
"Let's gooooo," Jauregui wrote.
Normani took notice of the love, and replied to a tweet calling out the girls' support with blue hearts.
Dopamine was released everywhere music is available to stream on June 14.
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