Normani

Singer Normani Kordei rose to global stardom in 2015 as a member of the platinum-selling pop vocal group Fifth Harmony, and parlayed that fame into several solo forays in recording and on television. Born Normani Kordei Hamilton in Atlanta, Georgia on May 31, 1996, she was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she began singing at the age of four years. She performed regularly as a dancer and gymnast in her teenaged years, and acted in a 2011 short film titled book, but music soon became her primary focus. Kordei sang gospel and soul and recorded a solo single, "Do," at the age of 13, but found her big break as a member of the pop/R&B group Fifth Harmony. In 2012, she and future bandmates Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui and Camila Cabello all auditioned as solo performers for the second season of the competition series "The X Factor" (Fox 2011-13). Judge Simon Cowell put the quintet together as a vocal group, initially named LYLAS (an acronym for Love You Like a Sister) and later 1432, but eventually adopting the moniker Fifth Harmony from an online viewer poll. The group reached the top three ranking during the semi-finals, but failed to win enough votes to achieve second place. Despite the loss, the group remained remarkably popular with viewers, and was soon signed to Cowell's label, Syco Music, in conjunction with fellow judge L.A. Reid's label, Epic Records. An EP, Better Together (2012), reached No.6 on the Billboard albums chart, and was followed in 2015 by a full-length record, Reflection, which broke into the Hot 200 at No. 5 on the strength of the singles "Boss," "Sledgehammer" and "Worth It." The latter proved to be Fifth Harmony's breakout hit by reaching No. 12 on the singles chart, and the group promoted the record through tours and performances into 2016. A second album, 7/27, reached No. 4 on the albums chart in 2016, and though the group remained committed to their Fifth Harmony duties, Kordei also found time to explore a variety of solo options. She had already issued a pair of videos that focused on her dance skills in 2015, but in 2017, she signed as a contestant for the 24th season of "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 2005- ). While working on the series, she also found time to issue a quartet of solo singles: covers of Drake's "Fake Love/Sneakin'" and Tory Lanez's "Say It," which were followed by her versions of Solange Knowles' "Don't Touch My Hair" and "Cranes in the Sky."