"This past year, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer," the “Motivation” singer shared. "For me, this work that I was able to put out into the world really saved me, to be completely honest.”
“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, it really got her through that.”
“It got my family through the darkest time of our lives,” Normani added.
The Fifth Harmony alum explained that this is the “second time” her mom “had to go through cancer."
“The first time, I was 4,” Normani said. “So for it to happen all over again, in such a pivotal and heightened moment for my career...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.”
However, Normani’s mom wanted what was best for her and she told her daughter to focus on her career.
"She's 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,'" she remembered her mom telling her. "'I need you to continue to work hard. We gotta get this music out. We have the world to impact.'”
“She was just like, 'I'm gonna be fine.' Anything that my mom says, to be completely honest, I believe."
While taking her mom’s advice, Normani released her “Wild Side” music video on July 16, and it already has over 21 million views.