Normani Got Personal About "Wild Side," Mom's Cancer Diagnosis

Sara Delgado
·3 min read
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In a new interview with Power 106 Los Angeles, Normani got up close and personal with host Bryhana about the release of her new song "Wild Side" earlier this month, revealing that her mother’s ongoing battle with breast cancer was what ultimately motivated her to put out the song.

"I had a lot of personal things going on in my life. This past year, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer so for me, this work that I was able to put out into the world, like, this really saved me, to be completely honest,” the singer recounted. “Even just being on FaceTime with her as she's going through her chemo and her radiation, and just wanting me to update her on how this video is going, and how the music is coming, like, it really got her through that. It got my family through the darkest time of our lives.

“This was the second time that she had to go through cancer. The first time I was four. So for it to happen all over again, in such a pivotal and heightened moment for my career,” Normani later added. “There's so many moments I was like, 'I need to be at home' and I felt guilty for not being able to be physically there with her."

Normani also opened up about how her mother pushed her to be the best version of herself artistically pretty much from the very moment she was diagnosed. "I literally remember being in the doctor's office with her. Right after she had her surgery. This was in October,” the singer recalled with tears in her eyes. “She was like, 'Baby, I'm gonna be fine. What I need you to do is focus. I need you to be Normani. I need you to be the best version of yourself. I need you to continue to work hard. We gotta get this music out. We got the world to impact.' She was just like, 'I'm gonna be fine.' Anything that my mom says, to be completely honest, I believe. I believe." 

Normani also said that her mom’s "strength throughout her experience has been the strength that I've needed, honestly, to even be able to allow this to even be a thought.”

For years, Normani has reiterated multiple times that the follow-up to 2019’s “Motivation” had to be one of her most personal releases to date – and she’s delivered. As for the long-anticipated album, Normani asked fans to trust her. “Part of it was me overthinking, yes, but also I've been making the best music that I feel like I've personally ever created. In order to get to that place, I needed time,” she mentioned of the upcoming album, which she also revealed will have only women as featured artists. 

You can watch the full segment below:

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue