Normani Talks Dealing With Her Parents’ Cancer Treatment While Recording Music

Normani prepares to release her debut album, tentatively titled Dopamine. Fans of the former Fifth Harmony member have been waiting six years for the R&B/pop performer’s first studio LP.

Before Dopamine drops later this year, Normani spoke with Who What Wear about her music career and personal life. It turns out those two areas unexpectedly overlapped after the Atlanta-born performer found out both her mother and father had cancer.

“F### all of this. This is bigger than the music. It’s bigger than what I’m trying to accomplish. This is life or death. All I wanted to do was be there for them,” the 27-year-old recording artist stated about dealing with her parents’ treatment.

In addition, Normani said, “As hard as it was for me to not be with them as much as I wanted to, ultimately, pushing through made the circumstances of the last few years feel a bit lighter for my parents.”

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Normani rose to prominence as part of Fifth Harmony, along with Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui and Camila Cabello. The girl group released three albums. 2015’s Reflection and 2016’s 7/27 reached platinum status.

While the RCA-backed singer has yet to unleash an official solo album, Normani has worked with numerous high-profile acts since parting ways with Fifth Harmony in 2018. For example, “Love Lies” with Khalid became a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

She also made it into the Top 10 with the Sam Smith-assisted “Dancing with a Stranger” single. Plus, Cardi B provided a guest verse on “Wild Side” which peaked at No. 14. Normani’s 2019 solo effort “Motivation” earned nominations at the Soul Train Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards and MTV Video Music Awards.