Normani feels inspired by Beyonce's success.
Normani hopes to emulate Beyonce
The 28-year-old singer has hailed Beyonce's country-influenced album, 'Cowboy Carter', and Normani believes she's helped to change the landscape of the music business.
The former Fifth Harmony star told Dazed magazine: "This country album for Beyonce is so important. People can say what they want to but, like, why look at a black artist and be quick to label?"
Normani would love to have a similar impact on the music industry.
She said: "That’s what I set out to do as well - like, there’s so much power in me. In the group, I didn’t recognise it - but now that I’m out of it, I recognise that it was my superpower, me in my blackness."
Normani's long-awaited debut album, 'Dopamine', has also been heavily influenced by Rihanna's 2009 record 'Rated R'.
She explained: "I feel like it embodies everything I wanted to say - it feels dominant, strong, assertive - but on the flipside, there are so many layers to what dopamine is. You get the highs, the lows, the thrill of it all. And it’s a little toxic, too."
Normani has discovered a sense of "freedom" since Fifth Harmony announced their hiatus in 2018.
The 'Candy Paint' hitmaker - who starred in the group alongside Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and Camila Cabello - said: "There’s a sense of freedom I have that I’ve been waiting for, a weight lifted - me just being able to be Normani, before I’m anything else.
"I’ve grown so much in my tastes, the things that I like are very different than the things I liked before, but I think it’s a perfect hybrid of past and present."