Pop

Normani is happier than ever now that she’s less than two weeks away from dropping her long-awaited debut album, but back in her Fifth Harmony days, she definitely wasn’t getting as much dopamine.

In an interview with Rolling Stone published Wednesday (June 5), the “Motivation” singer got candid about her bittersweet feelings toward her challenging girl group days. “I’m grateful for all of it, even the moments where I might’ve felt inadequate or less than,” she told the publication. “It definitely has a lot to do with why I am the way that I am.”

“It definitely took a toll on my confidence,” she continued. “Would I do some things differently or wish that some things were done differently? Of course, but I also don’t want to sit here and make it sound like it wasn’t part of my story.”

Normani first found fame after her X Factor audition led to her being placed in 5H with Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui and Camila Cabello. There were often reports of inner-conflict, and the Georgia-born, Houston-raised singer has been open in the past about the racism she experienced when so-called fans pitted her against her bandmates.

“We were babies,” she says now of her former groupmates. “We were so innocent and I think that is the struggle, to your point, of just us having to face reality under very unrealistic circumstances. I always say we did the very best we could with what we had, so that I’m proud of.”

“There’s so much that I don’t even remember because I suppressed it,” Normani added. “That’s just my way of protecting myself from having to deal with everything. But what I do remember is it wasn’t all bad. Like yeah, we struggled, but it was also really beautiful in what we accomplished together.”

After many years of delay, Normani’s first solo album Dopamine is set to drop June 14. In the interview, she revealed that the record was partly inspired by Brandy — whose vocals are featured on the LP — as well as Janet Jackson. “They’re literally the reason why I do what I do and why I’m able to be in the position that I am in: Black women,” she told the publication. “They redefined the standard of beauty, but also just the standard in music.”

“I’m f—ing strong despite everything that I’ve endured,” she added. “[Dopamine‘s] a testament to my strength and my resilience and my discipline. I’m a lot more sure of myself, a lot more comfortable. I’ve done a really good job at navigating and getting back to who I am and recognizing the beauty. I’m trusting myself a lot more.”

Cyndi Lauper got a little help from her friends on Tuesday (June 4) during the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” singer’s TCL Chinese Theatre hand and footprint ceremony in Los Angeles. In an Instagram Story, Lauper, 70, looked glam in an all-black outfit and a shock of white hair accented by oversized white earrings as she was flanked by pals Cher and Bebe Rexha.

The story also featured Lauper revisiting the corner of Gay St. in New York where she shot the “Girls” video for a CBS Sunday Morning segment, a pic of the three women at the ceremony and a series of snaps and videos of Lauper imprinting her hands in cement.

In a clip from the Mann’s visit, Rexha said of Lauper, “Not only was I drawn to her infectious melodies and her edgy style, but it was most importantly her unapologetic nature to be her true self. Her true, authentic self.”

Cher recalled singing her song “If I Could Turn Back Time” with Lauper at a VH1 Divas show in 2002, saying, “I was feeling good about myself and she comes out and blows me away. And we’ve been friends ever since.” The story ended with images of Lauper on the red carpet at the L.A. VIP screening of her biopic, Let the Canary Sing, where, of course, she was fitted in an all-yellow Versace suit.

The feature-length film that debuted at last year’s Tribeca Festival in New York was directed by Emmy-winning documentarian Alison Ellwood (Laurel Canyon) and debuted on Paramount+ on Tuesday night. “Over the years I’ve been asked to do a documentary about my life and work, but it never felt like the right time,” Lauper, 70, said in a statement about the film. “Until now. When I first met Alison Ellwood, I knew right away I could trust her to tell my story honestly, which was incredibly important to me, and she succeeded in that. I’d like to thank Alison, the producers, and all of the amazing documentary participants who agreed to be interviewed!”

Earlier this week, Lauper announced her 23-city Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour. The singer’s first major run of shows in more than a decade is scheduled to kick off on Oct. 18 at the Bell Centre in Montreal and run through a Dec. 5 gig at the United Center in Chicago.

Watch some other footage from the handprint ceremony and movie screening below.

Lorde sure seems to be teasing her long-awaited fourth album. But in an Instagram post on Tuesday night (June 4) the 27-year-old singer raised more questions than she answered thanks to a series of cryptic pics and a caption filled with a jumble of indecipherable rune-like images.

“Use the existing tools wherever possible,” Lorde wrote, followed by what looked like a ZapfDingbats spree, including a copyright symbol, three different L figures, the number four in parentheses and a recycling logo. “If the tools do not exist you are spiritually obligated to create them,” she added along with an even longer string of confounding images, with the repeated run of Ls, another 4 and a variety of stars, the number 27 and what appeared to be a Tarot card, the infinity symbol, a shark, a rabbit and an Egyptian figure.

What does it all mean? Lorde didn’t offer any explanation, and the accompanying photos didn’t really help, as they consisted of a pic of her in an all-black outfit staring over a balcony, then spitting off said balcony, holding a pill in her hand with the word “spit” imprinted on it, as well as a nightstand featuring a pile of books and an ashtray filled with gold jewelry and a close-up shot of her at a swimming pool. The post is currently the only offering on her Insta account, whose tagline reads, “THE THEMES ARE ALWAYS THE SAME— A RETURN TO INNOCENCE— THE MYSTERIES OF THE BLOOD— AN ITCH FOR THE TRANSCENDENTAL.”

At press time there was no firm information on the follow-up to Lorde’s 2021 Solar Power album. In December, she offered an equally confusing update she posted an image of herself in striped pajamas in which she appeared to be listening to something while staring at the camera with the caption, “listening to myself.”

She teased a couple of new songs during a headlining gig at the Boardmasters Festival in the U.K. last summer, with song sleuths speculating that the tracks might be called “Silver Moon” and “Invisible Ink.” Responding to fans getting hyped up about what seemed like L4 season being right around the corner, Lorde wrote at the time, “We’re not CLOSE close you guys… i’m just getting so hype n needed to let u know .. start ur excitement on a low flame and bring it up to a gentle simmer .. we building stamina for this chapter.”

The singer, who is expert at staying out of the spotlight between albums, opened up in September in an emotional letter to fans in which she revealed that she was “living with heartbreak again.” The note described both emotional and physical pain, explaining, “It’s different but the same. I ache all the time, I forget why and then remember. I’m not trying to hide from the pain, I understand now that pain isn’t something to hide from, that there’s actually great beauty in moving with it. But sometimes I’m sick of being with myself.”

Check out Lorde’s post below.