Normani shares candid thoughts on 'Fifth Harmony' experience and solo debut

Normani recently joined Keke Palmer and Law Roach at the book launch for How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence from the World's Only Image Architect in Hollywood. 

During the event, Normani shared her experiences using fashion as a means of self-expression, particularly as a Black woman in the music industry.

"I felt I could really depend and rely on my fashion to speak for me, which was really an outlet," Normani explained. She also reflected on her time in Fifth Harmony, discussing the challenges she faced and the transition to her solo career.

"It all ended so fast at a very high level," Normani said about the group's disbandment. "I was just really grateful to have the opportunity to do things my way because I felt like for so long, I felt hidden." 

She expressed feeling pressured to "do the most in order to be seen" as the only Black member of the group.

"I was the only Black girl. Not to say that the girls didn't want to be there for me, but I don't think that they knew how to because my experience was my own," Normani shared.

Normani's solo debut album, Dopamine, was released on June 14 to critical acclaim. 

Former Fifth Harmony bandmate Camila Cabello congratulated Normani on the album's release, writing on Instagram, "putting out a project is vulnerable and hard and you are doing it beautifully ! congratulations on your first album and many more to come !!!!!!!!"

The two former bandmates recently reunited at Paris Fashion Week, with Cabello sharing a photo of their reunion on Instagram alongside other trip highlights, captioned "real miami girl in paris."