Normani, Ciara share tearful moment: 'You're somebody that I've looked up to forever'
Normani put to rest the expression “never meet your heroes” when she had a heart-to-heart with her childhood idol, R&B singer Ciara.
The two singers reconnected during an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Thursday, which Ciara guest hosted. The conversation started off lighthearted and playful, with Normani and Ciara recounting an elegant dinner turned dance party with Megan Thee Stallion in Venice, Italy. However, things quickly took a sentimental turn when Ciara brought up Normani’s performance at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, which she introduced during the ceremony.
“That really meant a lot to me for you to be able to share that moment, you know?” Normani told the Grammy-winning singer. “You're somebody that I've looked up to forever. I've always felt like representation was so key and being a little girl in my grandmother's living room learning the '1, 2 Step' and 'Goodies.'
“Literally, the earliest memories that I have, you were a part of that, and you really helped shape the artist and the woman that I felt like I could be. You know, you opened my mind to those possibilities, like, Black girl magic."
The heartfelt revelation touched Ciara, who became a bit teary-eyed afterward. “Don’t make cry,” she said. “That is so awesome.”
Ciara rocked the music world with the release of her debut album “Goodies,” which has sold 3 million copies to date in the U.S., according to the Recording Industry Association of America. During her nearly two-decade career, Ciara has racked up eight top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the No. 1 hit “Goodies.”
This isn’t the first time Normani has been vocal about drawing inspiration from her musical influences. She previously told USA TODAY that Destiny’s Child singer Kelly Rowland helped her through a "challenging" time almost a year and a half ago when she started to fall out of love with music.
"So many things around music can kind of jade the experience and how you feel toward that thing that you really love to do,” Normani said. “She kinda helped me get back to that and my initial purpose in music."
More: Normani says Kelly Rowland helped her rediscover her 'purpose in music' after going solo
Highlighting the impact these women have had on her artistry and personal growth remains important to Normani, she said.
"They gave me the opportunity to be the Black girl that I am today and the Black artist and woman that I’ve evolved into," Normani told Entertainment Tonight at the 2021 BET Soul Train Awards. "Them giving me representation at an early age for me to be able to, when I was 4 or 5 years old, tell my mom and my dad, 'I wanna be like Janet (Jackson), I wanna dance like Ciara, I wanna be like Beyoncé.' What I’m seeing on the television is who I wanna be, and it really opened my mind to the possibilities of who I've had the opportunity of becoming, and for me that means absolutely everything."
During her conversation with Ciara, Normani also shared that her upcoming debut album is near completion.
“People really underestimate how hard it is and how much effort we put into one project, one body of work,” Normani said. “Coming out of a girl group, there was a lot that I had to figure out about myself and fears that I had to deal with head-on … When you give your baby out to the world, which is our music, that’s the deepest part of me; you give people the opportunity to kind of pick it apart and have an opinion on it, but I believe in what I’m doing now.”
Earlier this year, Normani released the sensual slow jam “Wild Side,” featuring rapper Cardi B. The song peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop digital songs sales chart, and its music video has amassed over 86 million views.
More: Normani releases first single in over a year with steamy 'Wild Side' video featuring Cardi B
Contributing: Rasha Ali, Elise Brisco
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Normani, Ciara share tearful moment, bond over 'Black girl magic'
