fan base Normani

[New Edition]

I'll say one last thing.

 

I think Normani might be a little scared of the audience she's trying to appeal to. She wants to belong. She SHOULD belong. This IS her people. But she doesn't seem to belong and probably doesn't really feel like she does. And that audience also makes her feel that every single day, hating every move she makes even though they were the first ones telling her to leave Fifth Harmony when the group was still active. And that can be scary, so I don't blame her.

 

Either she needs to make promo/musical/brand/image concessions to appeal to the target audience she's currently making music for, or she needs to make such concessions to appeal to a wider more diverse audience. Or just be an influencer who makes music sometimes. That way, it doesn't matter whether the music goes platinum or brown paper bag. And hey, that's a viable option. No shame in it.

[Cbreezy]

4 hours ago, New Edition said:

I will say something I might get in trouble for. But I'm saying this as a Black person who's been noticing stuff as of late.

 

Black people and especially African Americans are the ones hating on her the most. Sometimes I wonder which demo hates on her more, African Americans or Camila stans. And I honestly don't know because they both seem to have the same vitriol for her. (YT gay Twinks are definitely in second place)

 

That's just a fact. Now as for why her own people seem to be so *ucking hard on her I have no idea. Maybe because they got in their heads that she was trying to replace Beyonce or something and they attacked. I remember as well as anyone should when people who hated Normani faked stanned Chloe (Beyonce's protege) just to try to get Normani out of here. Then they turned on Chloe for Halle when Chloe didn't deliver. Now they're bullying Halle. For the life of me, why is this the audience you want to cater to when they're leading the cyber bullying train?

 

But Normani has made it clear, she wants to make Black music for Black people in America because this is who she is, this is where she's from. When she was in 5H she was cut from her roots. Now she wants to make music for the audience and be accepted by them. That's why she's been very vocally against pop music and very vocally talking about how this direction and sound is her true self. But there are two problems with this.

 

1) Again, the African American audience are almost in line with Camila fans leading the charge in bullying her for whatever reason. When you go into some of these forums or watch the youtube videos it's like damn people are gleeful at the idea of her failure. I call this crabs in a bucket mentality.

 

2) She wants to appeal to Black people but isn't doing any promo directed at the audience, like others have said. Maybe the audience would actually warm up to her and quit treating her like a punching bag if she did do more promo they see as catered to them.

 

And I'll add another problem.

 

3) There's somewhat of a litmus test in terms of how 'Black' you are and whether or not you get accepted into these spaces as Black women. For a Black women to qualify as someone worth following you have to look and also ACT the part. I think especially for dark-skinned women, the expectation is that you'd be acting like a Sexxy Red always fighting with folks and getting on the blogs like JT. Normani is very quiet, keeps to herself, and a bit bougie, and there's nothing wrong with that, but she doesn't fit the 'type' that gets the audience talking, which is why some Black people may already not be inclined to accept her.

 

I actually think that the smartest thing for Normani to have done was to keep a more multicultural, multi-national approach with her music and audience targeting, but that's neither here nor there. It's completely understandable that she wants to appeal to the Not Like Us/Shade Room audience but if she wants to do that she needs to do it correctly and go all in with the right media outlets. She's fumbling completely right now.

You raised a lot of very insightful, nuanced, and culturally factual points. I agree with pretty much all of it. 

 

Yes, some of the hate was being perpetuated by stans of other acts. As Hive myself, I can admit a small corner of the fandom weren't as enthused about Mani as others. Many see her as a worthy daughter and love how much she loves on Bey publicly and acknowledges her as a central influence, Others. bizarrely feel threatened, which even feels weird to type given how different the stages of their careers are. Same goes for Ciara and Janet fans too. In short, most loved that she was continuing the DNA of our girls, with only a small pocket feeling threatened,

 

IMO, there for sure was more collective excitement around Mani - a chocolate girl continuing the lineage of MPG that we have long loved. Outside of Bey and Rih, we don't really have any flying at the levels of success high that we want for our Black Pop girls. So, a hopeful buzz is what largely greeted Mani's early days. 

 

Where I think things took a nasty turn is the wait and what that incited. The only thing I think I can compare it to is the weird dogpile on J.Lo out of nowhere now. No one can really point to a) what she's supposedly done (with concrete evidence) and b) why they all of a sudden care now after bopping to her songs after all these years. It's a textbook example of herd mentality. People are sheep and simply follow the popular consensus. All it takes is 1 or 2 notable social pages to relay a controversial "opinion" (often with a desire for likes and RTs) for the sheepy people to follow and regurgitate. Basically a "my favorite influencer said x so I now peddle that view too" tea. It's pathetic and emblematic of how much people use entertainment and entertainers as escapism from their real lives.

 

For as much truth and authenticity as people nowadays claim to seek from music, the reality for most is that music and musicians function almost as escapism, superheroes, and villains for the average Joe. Which is why, typically sane people, don't mind taking their fingers to spew the craziest hate online now that social media gives them a direct line to whoever the timeline has dictated to be a "villain" or worthy of the villain treatment. Psychologically, it's the equivalent of screaming at "bad guy" on screen during a movie. It's also an easy vent for their own problems on the real side of their lives. Which is why you'll often find the crustiest, vilest cretins talking the most mess about others within the safety of the online space. It's all pretty sad, pathetic, hella problematic, and especially odd given how much folk aren't as passive or presumably mean in their "real life".

 

What I've found most disgusting to observe is the sheer commitment some have to continue the level of hate they spew. This, despite being presented with fresh contextualizing facts. The situation with her parents should have shut even the most cynical person up. Even if still holding certain views on her team's antics internally, her parents' diagnosis should have been the end of the dogpile (at least optically). For some it was, for others it was like "we have decided she's a target, so nothing she can say will change that". She's easy entertainment for a cheap drag / jab.

 

The same people will ironically turn around and then moan that there aren't any Black R&B Pop girls on the scene lol. Or worst still stan THEE MOST BASIC girls out there and lap up their "success". Make it make sense?!

 

At the same time and ABOVE ALL, Normani + her teams (past and present) have a LOT of blame in this. Because they have (and still have) the power to turn the tide. People are fickle as f**k. I'm seasoned enough to remember living through how much people didn't "like" Beyonce in the wake of all the DC lineup changes only to see her turn the tide in her favor by simply slaying the stage each and every time, killing it in the videos, and giving people literally no choice but to get on board. It kinda gives Mani no excuse. People WILL switch in her favor if SHE gives them reason enough to. 

Edited July 6 by Cbreezy

[Cbreezy]

6 hours ago, Flare said:

I'm a firm believer of the "Normani is trying to get dropped" theory. I think she believes another label will take her and actually let her run a whole era OR she wants to be dropped to go independent in the way Tinashe and Kehlani are. 
 

Labels definitely tell artists to praise their albums upon release. The fact she openly bashed songs is a good sign she don't care anymore about being signed. Normani is way too media trained to not know that. 

Yeah, the bashing the album thing irked me to no end. But when I took my own media-trained hat off for a sec, it probably is her hinting at just being drained by the drama and as a result not being totally satisfied with the outcome. It's giving, "just release whatever" and let's "wrap this up". In a way, and at a human level, I wouldn't blame her because I sense we only have the tip of the iceberg about what's been happening behind the scenes. 

 

(Not to sound faux mysterious or even in-the-know, but) SOMETHING big is at play behind the scenes. I can't be convinced otherwise. Longtime 5H stans will know about when they had to get Dina Lapolt involved to renegotiate their terrible deal. I could see a scenario where Mani doesn't go "public-public" with the tea (to savor industry relationships), but is making moves to get out of her deal or at the very least reneg. 

 

Total conjecture, but using the info we have front end, I would imagine there's (at the very least) basis to argue against the terms of whatever she is currently under with RCA as she initially signed via Keep Cool and got absorbed into RCA proper when Tunji bounced and effectively folded Keep Cool.

 

I would "imagine", terms were reneg'ed at that point, but at the same time maybe there is some kind of technicality that can benefit her either bouncing from the label now or reneg-ing (e.g. something fundamental to her signing with Keep Cool wasn't upheld by RCA when on their main roster).

 

I agree with @40_L3VE that actively "sabotaging" would be detrimental to her career, but I also think there is something to be said for the NOTHING of the album rollout. It's objectively like nothing I have ever seen in all my days of stanning acts dating back to TRL era. There is nothing "strategic" to it. She's sitting on a presumably amazing video and now stands to release it (if it's even coming at all) at the least beneficial time to both the single rollout and after the album exited the charts. Like it's a total chop and I think we need to collectively get really honest with ourselves about what is - or crucially isn't - playing out in front of us realtime. 

Edited July 6 by Cbreezy

[Givemeyourcoat]

10 hours ago, nocturnalbabe said:

I've been listening to Lights On nonstop since the release.

At first I wasn't wow by the song but now when I listen to it I replay it 😭, so much replay value and I see a performance for the song 

[Givemeyourcoat]

5 hours ago, TizTiz said:

I've said it once and it's the hill I'll die on, Normani and KeepCool should've played the game❗️

 

By now, she could've easily transitioned into Urban/Contemporary R&B she so longs to abandon. The girl makes incredible music, no matter the genre, but why would you waste the entirety of your budget making music you knew the label would never care about? Not only did you not give them the pop songs they were hoping for, but constantly make it a point to reverberate how much you'd go against Pop music, while catering to a Pop audience.

 

I don't know what to say anymore, because I think we covered all the things wrong with her mindset, her team and her label. I actually don't blame RCA though- you spent six years draining your album budget on recordings, you don't believe in the direction we want to take you, but you have no clear vision of the direction you want us to believe in, you don't like the music we think would set you off, but you want the connections and opportunities that comes with the music, and after years on prolonging your debut album, without returning a sizable return, you want us to fund an album you won't even promote? 
 

I know in this thread, if you state an opinion that's not considered praise for piss poor activities, you'll be reported, stoned, accused of personal attacks and asked how could we state such things after she worked so hard for a 2 minute tribute at an award show where they don't know her, but maybe we should all consider why ppl say she doesn't want it bad enough. 

Normani think her past success and the buzz she created is enough for her to act like that. She act like a superstar when she isn't. She is a celebrity with a small fanbase that has potential to be a superstar, she isn't yet. If her numbers doesn't make her realize then I don't know … 

[Cbreezy]

5 hours ago, TizTiz said:

I've said it once and it's the hill I'll die on, Normani and KeepCool should've played the game❗️

 

By now, she could've easily transitioned into Urban/Contemporary R&B she so longs to abandon. The girl makes incredible music, no matter the genre, but why would you waste the entirety of your budget making music you knew the label would never care about? Not only did you not give them the pop songs they were hoping for, but constantly make it a point to reverberate how much you'd go against Pop music, while catering to a Pop audience.

 

I don't know what to say anymore, because I think we covered all the things wrong with her mindset, her team and her label. I actually don't blame RCA though- you spent six years draining your album budget on recordings, you don't believe in the direction we want to take you, but you have no clear vision of the direction you want us to believe in, you don't like the music we think would set you off, but you want the connections and opportunities that comes with the music, and after years on prolonging your debut album, without returning a sizable return, you want us to fund an album you won't even promote? 
 

I know in this thread, if you state an opinion that's not considered praise for piss poor activities, you'll be reported, stoned, accused of personal attacks and asked how could we state such things after she worked so hard for a 2 minute tribute at an award show where they don't know her, but maybe we should all consider why ppl say she doesn't want it bad enough. 

Preach! You hit absolutely everything on the head. Like, everything!

 

The only thing I "blame" RCA for is not flexing their "in charge"-ness enough at the start.

 

A relatively cookie-cutter Pop-R&B album should have followed Motivation and would have perfectly aligned with her borrowing from that Ariana Grande audience by going on tour with her etc. That remains the biggest and most damaging mistake in Mani trajectory to date. IDAF about this "I needed to find myself musically" etc. People (and clearly artists) don't seem to get that "business" aspect of the music business may actually be slightly more important than the music itself. And encapsulated in the "business" aspect is pouncing with the most advantageous sound at that time, understanding your brand positioning and mapping out where you want to go, and striking while the iron is hot.

 

Coming out of 5H, Motivation and a palatable Pop-Urban sound actually made the most sense for the audience she was bringing along with her. If she wanted to assert her Urban-ness to the extent she claims, it should have simply been through the visuals, the choreo, and the features. 

 

I've always felt/said that the Wild Side sound/aesthetic etc all presented as the type of gear-shift that would have been perfect for a sophomore era ("I've grown, matured, found myself even more musically" etc). It's an easy sell and allows the audience to grow along with her. 

 

Then Dopamine would work as an even deeper exploration of that sound. 

 

We should legit be on album #3. 

 

5 hours ago, TizTiz said:

It's possible they told her no to the idea of touring, and now she's letting it be known she doesn't care. She wouldn't last a year as an independent artist, in my eyes, which makes it hard to believe that she's constantly against what the label wants.
 

Thank you too for the point about her not working indie. 

 

For every Frank Ocean and Chance The Rapper, there are so many acts that just cannot hack the indie route. Most of them actually, especially those who initially came from the major label system. Ciara (who I love) being one of the biggest and most contextually relevant examples. 

 

For the girls especially, the expectations are big videos, big looks, big choreo. That is not happening on an indie budget. 

 

I do think, though, that while she may not be pushing against the label actively, there has been an impasse between both sides when it comes to a) sound and b) further spend. It's telling that they seemed to be all-aboard at the point of Motivation, yet it's basically been touch and go and generally "no" since. 

 

I have never seen an album from an act like Mani arrive with such a pronounced air of nothing. Even indie acts have their projects pushed more by the BMG's, eOne's etc. So, it's clear as day there is a something at play label side. They did the bare bones "label services" rollout (handful of NMF placements, standard social posts from the streamers and official label channels) and bounced lol. Like wtf.

 

Even if there are videos in the can waiting for release, it is abundantly clear that there is no budget left to "work" them and no active push to come nor prioritization from the label. Fiscally, an album that lasted two weeks on the charts and sold essentially nothing, there isn't even justification for it.

 

What I really want to know is the nuance of the nonsense. Is it that she kept recording and "finding her sound" and didn't know her budget was evaporating in real time? Did Brandon, who we are in agreement was a green and inexperienced manager with more ambition than know-how, didn't "manage" the label relationship well? Was she ill-informed on the business side and left to pick up the pieces when key people bounced (like Tunji and Brandon)? Was she pushing for R&B while the label were only willing to invest in her as mainly Pop act? I know her "official excuses", but how many versions of the album actually existed over the years. I know she recorded a bunch, but I'm not buying that this is the only time they came to the label with a full body of work with intent to release. 

 

It's all so baffling and I hope we one day get the tea, Either from her or our now-departed(?) insiders lol. 

 

[Givemeyourcoat]

17 minutes ago, Cbreezy said:

Preach! You hit absolutely everything on the head. Like, everything!

 

The only thing I "blame" RCA for is not flexing their "in charge"-ness enough at the start.

 

A relatively cookie-cutter Pop-R&B album should have followed Motivation and would have perfectly aligned with her borrowing from that Ariana Grande audience by going on tour with her etc. That remains the biggest and most damaging mistake in Mani trajectory to date. IDAF about this "I needed to find myself musically" etc. People (and clearly artists) don't seem to get that "business" aspect of the music business may actually be slightly more important than the music itself. And encapsulated in the "business" aspect is pouncing with the most advantageous sound at that time, understanding your brand positioning and mapping out where you want to go, and striking while the iron is hot.

 

Coming out of 5H, Motivation and a palatable Pop-Urban sound actually made the most sense for the audience she was bringing along with her. If she wanted to assert her Urban-ness to the extent she claims, it should have simply been through the visuals, the choreo, and the features. 

 

I've always felt/said that the Wild Side sound/aesthetic etc all presented as the type of gear-shift that would have been perfect for a sophomore era ("I've grown, matured, found myself even more musically" etc). It's an easy sell and allows the audience to grow along with her. 

 

Then Dopamine would work as an even deeper exploration of that sound. 

 

We should legit be on album #3. 

 

Thank you too for the point about her not working indie. 

 

For every Frank Ocean and Chance The Rapper, there are so many acts that just cannot hack the indie route. Most of them actually, especially those who initially came from the major label system. Ciara (who I love) being one of the biggest and most contextually relevant examples. 

 

For the girls especially, the expectations are big videos, big looks, big choreo. That is not happening on an indie budget. 

 

I do think, though, that while she may not be pushing against the label actively, there has been an impasse between both sides when it comes to a) sound and b) further spend. It's telling that they seemed to be all-aboard at the point of Motivation, yet it's basically been touch and go and generally "no" since. 

 

I have never seen an album from an act like Mani arrive with such a pronounced air of nothing. Even indie acts have their projects pushed more by the BMG's, eOne's etc. So, it's clear as day there is a something at play label side. They did the bare bones "label services" rollout (handful of NMF placements, standard social posts from the streamers and official label channels) and bounced lol. Like wtf.

 

Even if there are videos in the can waiting for release, it is abundantly clear that there is no budget left to "work" them and no active push to come nor prioritization from the label. Fiscally, an album that lasted two weeks on the charts and sold essentially nothing, there isn't even justification for it.

 

What I really want to know is the nuance of the nonsense. Is it that she kept recording and "finding her sound" and didn't know her budget was evaporating in real time? Did Brandon, who we are in agreement was a green and inexperienced manager with more ambition than know-how, didn't "manage" the label relationship well? Was she ill-informed on the business side and left to pick up the pieces when key people bounced (like Tunji and Brandon)? Was she pushing for R&B while the label were only willing to invest in her as mainly Pop act? I know her "official excuses", but how many versions of the album actually existed over the years. I know she recorded a bunch, but I'm not buying that this is the only time they came to the label with a full body of work with intent to release. 

 

It's all so baffling and I hope we one day get the tea, Either from her or our now-departed(?) insiders lol. 

 

After all those observations, I don't know how she will rebound from all this. Either she continues to make the sound she makes right now but needs to be out there and promoting the places that will actually like her music or she goes back to pop music since she is more comfortable doing promo there. 

[Givemeyourcoat]

Also I'm tired of stans acting like caring about numbers is bad and we should stop stanning her. Normani literally said she wanted to be on M. Jackson level, Beyonce and Janet. Those people used to SELL, M.Jackson has the best selling album of all the times. And Normani calls herself « R&B Pop Star DIVA » again a diva SELLS. Either she act like she talk or her quotes are just gonna end up being memes

Edited July 6 by Givemeyourcoat

[Givemeyourcoat]

I truly hope Normani realizes all the wrongs because omg we will never be free from the suffer and frustration  

[Cbreezy]

14 minutes ago, Givemeyourcoat said:

Also I'm tired of stans acting like caring about numbers is bad and we should stop stanning her. Normani literally said she wanted to be on M. Jackson level, Beyonce and Janet. Those people used to SELL, M.Jackson has the best selling album of all the times. And Normani calls herself « R&B Pop Star DIVA » again a diva SELLS. Either she act like she talk or her quotes are just gonna end up being memes

Exactly!

 

Not to sound elitist, but I really feel like most have these fairy goggles on and forget that it's a business. Or literally consume music and the music business as if it's an episode of Empire. An artist somehow just does what they want and things just...happen. 

 

The reality is that the math needs to math and for Mani to keep giving the quality output she gives, especially visually, she'll need to show and prove to the label who ultimately cut the check. 

 

Some corners of the fandom/ those with blinders on to how the biz works are in for the rudest awakening if things don't change soon. Which leads me to...

51 minutes ago, Givemeyourcoat said:

After all those observations, I don't know how she will rebound from all this. Either she continues to make the sound she makes right now but needs to be out there and promoting the places that will actually like her music or she goes back to pop music since she is more comfortable doing promo there. 

I really think if there's not some kind of drastic change, I see the Tinashe route for her. 

 

Pre-Dopamine, I remember saying something to that effect on here and being met with a lot of defensiveness. But that's where it's currently trending. 

 

In one regard, I could see her voluntarily evolving her mindset of what her career could and should look like (e.g. letting go of the MJ/Bey dream AND BUDGET and just serving quality output with the odd viral moment here and there). It's easy to see how she'd be traumatized by the major label experience.

 

At the same time, it will irk me to no end because of what "could" have been and also because not becoming what could have been would feel more like the end result of bad strategy, missing pivotal moments, and not reading the room. Basically all ish that was avoidable. With Tinashe, it was clear she did every angle the label wanted (R&B, Bubblegum Pop, the big collabs, etc. Exhausted it all and it didn't work. Each side did their part, with Mani - at least as of now - it doesn't feel like the case on either side.

[Givemeyourcoat]

2 minutes ago, Cbreezy said:

Exactly!

 

Not to sound elitist, but I really feel like most have these fairy goggles on and forget that it's a business. Or literally consume music and the music business as if it's an episode of Empire. An artist somehow just does what they want and things just...happen. 

 

The reality is that the math needs to math and for Mani to keep giving the quality output she gives, especially visually, she'll need to show and prove to the label who ultimately cut the check. 

 

Some corners of the fandom/ those with blinders on to how the biz works are in for the rudest awakening if things don't change soon. Which leads me to...

I really think if there's not some kind of drastic change, I see the Tinashe route for her. 

 

Pre-Dopamine, I remember saying something to that effect on here and being met with a lot of defensiveness. But that's where it's currently trending. 

 

In one regard, I could see her voluntarily evolving her mindset of what her career could and should look like (e.g. letting go of the MJ/Bey dream AND BUDGET and just serving quality output with the odd viral moment here and there). It's easy to see how she'd be traumatized by the major label experience.

 

At the same time, it will irk me to no end because of what "could" have been and also because not becoming what could have been would feel more like the end result of bad strategy, missing pivotal moments, and not reading the room. Basically all ish that was avoidable. With Tinashe, it was clear she did every angle the label wanted (R&B, Bubblegum Pop, the big collabs, etc. Exhausted it all and it didn't work. Each side did their part, with Mani - at least as of now - it doesn't feel like the case on either side.

This is just sad. I really thought she was gonna be a superstar but seeing how things are going it doesn't look good at all. 

[justifymythreads]

I'm pretty sure they are waiting for the VMA's to release CP and the mv. That's the only big music centric event that's coming up. I wouldn't be surprised if they inked some type of deal that says she can't perform it anywhere other than the VMA's. Similar to Motivation; where they inked the deal saying she will make a song for the VMA's. 

 

If that's the case she needs to start promoting 1:59. It's not a heavy dance or choreo needed song and it's the only one they sent to radio. Get a simple Airbnb and shoot a simple acoustic performance. Like if she isn't going to anymore funding for this era atleast do something to soften the blow of the album only selling 13k. Like the song is going up the urban charts bring more attention to it. Also, if you noticed when asked she always says there's more to come but there's no hints or any type of suggestion that she's got anything else planned. Like what? I'm not asking her to give us a full set of music but something. Also, All Yours and Tantrums are getting recognition try making a trend or try maybe getting James to give a live rendition; something! Like I get the whole "I need my space and so want a quiet life" thing but it's her career. Like it wouldn't take nothing to sell herself and even if she gets hate just block them. I mean social media can't be that bad if she never posts at all but when she does it's literally the bare minimum. Give us some incentive as fans to keep up with you. 

[Givemeyourcoat]

1 hour ago, justifymythreads said:

I'm pretty sure they are waiting for the VMA's to release CP and the mv. That's the only big music centric event that's coming up. I wouldn't be surprised if they inked some type of deal that says she can't perform it anywhere other than the VMA's. Similar to Motivation; where they inked the deal saying she will make a song for the VMA's. 

 

If that's the case she needs to start promoting 1:59. It's not a heavy dance or choreo needed song and it's the only one they sent to radio. Get a simple Airbnb and shoot a simple acoustic performance. Like if she isn't going to anymore funding for this era atleast do something to soften the blow of the album only selling 13k. Like the song is going up the urban charts bring more attention to it. Also, if you noticed when asked she always says there's more to come but there's no hints or any type of suggestion that she's got anything else planned. Like what? I'm not asking her to give us a full set of music but something. Also, All Yours and Tantrums are getting recognition try making a trend or try maybe getting James to give a live rendition; something! Like I get the whole "I need my space and so want a quiet life" thing but it's her career. Like it wouldn't take nothing to sell herself and even if she gets hate just block them. I mean social media can't be that bad if she never posts at all but when she does it's literally the bare minimum. Give us some incentive as fans to keep up with you. 

Like I get if you don't want to show yourself and your lifestyle but at least live for your own work if you want your art « to speak for yourself » or « it's art before anything else ». It means posting regularly content about the album you just dropped weither it's « how I recorded all yours » « how we wrote this song », sit down performance of insomnia ect. She does interviews and go silent. What she does is def not enough, and she still don't understand that… 

and for all that all she needs is a f**ing phone! 

Edited July 6 by Givemeyourcoat

[ToraeGilt]

4 hours ago, Givemeyourcoat said:

This is just sad. I really thought she was gonna be a superstar but seeing how things are going it doesn't look good at all. 

Same! The way I had high hopes for her and her career just for it to fumble like this? 

[remming]

I love all the deep dive posts in here . I just wanted to say that last year WheresJay posted something that made me believe that Normani was still trying to fight for a certain sound. There seemed to be no urgency from that side at all despite Normani not releasing in years. I am of the opinion that a lot of people in Normani's camp is sort of delusional. She's too busy trying to fight for the perfect sound or perfect album when she should be more concerned with building a proper fanbase. 

 

Anyways she was at a gay bar yesterday on crutches and I have no idea why she didn't pull a bunch of them aside to do a tiktok of All Yours. They would have done it and it would have been good and simple promo 

 

 

[justifymythreads]

4 minutes ago, remming said:

I love all the deep dive posts in here . I just wanted to say that last year WheresJay posted something that made me believe that Normani was still trying to fight for a certain sound. There seemed to be no urgency from that side at all despite Normani not releasing in years. I am of the opinion that a lot of people in Normani's camp is sort of delusional. She's too busy trying to fight for the perfect sound or perfect album when she should be more concerned with building a proper fanbase. 

 

Anyways she was at a gay bar yesterday on crutches and I have no idea why she didn't pull a bunch of them aside to do a tiktok of All Yours. They would have done it and it would have been good and simple promo 

 

 

Exactly what I was saying. However, everyone was trying talk over me in the thread. I get Normani is music first but at what cost? She had her golden moment with Motivation throw away a song that could've gotten you way more press and recognition then say she didn't like it. Just to put out a project that isn't anything like Motivation and still be unhappy. I think Normani is trying to psych herself out by saying that she doesn't like her music that way if nobody likes it then she can say she told them so. I just think she's very fragile and can't take a lot of criticism but that's what artists do. They release and if it isn't someone's cup of tea; you don't cry you show them why you released it. I remember years ago Doja said she wasn't a huge fan of Say So but guess what she released it and went on to become a force to be reckoned with because she bit the bullet and performed with all she had. Now she's making the music wants to. 

[remming]

3 minutes ago, justifymythreads said:

Exactly what I was saying. However, everyone was trying talk over me in the thread. I get Normani is music first but at what cost? She had her golden moment with Motivation throw away a song that could've gotten you way more press and recognition then say she didn't like it. Just to put out a project that isn't anything like Motivation and still be unhappy. I think Normani is trying to psych herself out by saying that she doesn't like her music that way if nobody likes it then she can say she told them so. I just think she's very fragile and can't take a lot of criticism but that's what artists do. They release and if it isn't someone's cup of tea; you don't cry you show them why you released it. I remember years ago Doja said she wasn't a huge fan of Say So but guess what she released it and went on to become a force to be reckoned with because she bit the bullet and performed with all she had. Now she's making the music wants to. 

 

ITA. I also feel like a lot of newer acts believe their music/artistry is so special that they don't want to put out anything expect what they want but it's silly. Don't get me wrong I don't think Normani would have been able to create an album as strong as Dopamine a few years ago but nobody expected her to. There would have been grace given to her because she was a new artist 

 

 

 

Also I am posting this tweet because people a few pages ago were acting like she seriously injured. She's fine and moving around with no problem so there should be no issues with people bringing up the fact that she can do more promo 

[Flare]

20 hours ago, Hellmouth said:

"I don't take any of this for granted." She said.

"You only get to release your first album once." She said.

"I want a body of work that I can stand behind." She said.

"🚀🚀🚀" They said.

 

This got me crying. 😭

 

Their actions never back up these big statements. Also, these statements wouldn't feel as big if she communicated more often. It's like everything they do is just not fitting the moment of where the music industry is now (it's a tiktok world for real). It almost feels like an old artist trying to make a comeback and failing too. 
 

This all goes back to the original problem, Normani is not being treated as a new artist by the public but SHE AND HER TEAM don't move her like a new artist. If people saw her operating like Tyla, everyone would take this era more serious + give her more space (less random Beyonce and MJ comparisons for example 💀)

[troubledparadise]

On 7/5/2024 at 2:34 PM, NormaniQueen said:

@WheresJay @wildsidenormani @troubledparadise WE NEED Y'ALL, IT'S ROUGH OUT HERE! 😔

at this point, i genuinely don't know what to say 

 

i don't know what her team is doing now in terms of releasing the music video(s), merch, promo, performances, etc

 

im out of the loop cause stuff should've already been happening by now, (the BET performance cancellation cause she "broke/sprained" her leg, like girl you could've got on that stage and sat in a chair while your dancers did choreo... don't even get me started)

 

idk guys im sorry lets just pray the ball will get rolling soon and keep streaming the album 

 

if i find out anything, i'll let yall know

[shelven]

At a certain point, you just have to accept it is what it is. We've seen the way that she, her team and her inner circle operate for literally 6 years now - it's been an incredibly consistent pattern, as much as everyone likes to convince themselves that it'll be different this time. She drops music, sort of pretends to promote it for like two weeks, and then disappears. I just can't ever see that changing based on how many times we've hoped it would change and then been wrong. So the only thing to hope for now is that she at least is able to put out another album in some capacity (whether some low-budget release on RCA, on a smaller label, or as an independent artist) so that we can get more music from her.

[troubledparadise]

Just now, shelven said:

At a certain point, you just have to accept it is what it is. We've seen the way that she, her team and her inner circle operate for literally 6 years now - it's been an incredibly consistent pattern, as much as everyone likes to convince themselves that it'll be different this time. She drops music, sort of pretends to promote it for like two weeks, and then disappears. I just can't ever see that changing based on how many times we've hoped it would change and then been wrong. So the only thing to hope for now is that she at least is able to put out another album in some capacity (whether some low-budget release on RCA, on a smaller label, or as an independent artist) so that we can get more music from her.

took the words out of my mouth

[nocturnalbabe]

16 hours ago, TizTiz said:

I've said it once and it's the hill I'll die on, Normani and KeepCool should've played the game❗️

 

By now, she could've easily transitioned into Urban/Contemporary R&B she so longs to abandon. The girl makes incredible music, no matter the genre, but why would you waste the entirety of your budget making music you knew the label would never care about? Not only did you not give them the pop songs they were hoping for, but constantly make it a point to reverberate how much you'd go against Pop music, while catering to a Pop audience.

 

I don't know what to say anymore, because I think we covered all the things wrong with her mindset, her team and her label. I actually don't blame RCA though- you spent six years draining your album budget on recordings, you don't believe in the direction we want to take you, but you have no clear vision of the direction you want us to believe in, you don't like the music we think would set you off, but you want the connections and opportunities that comes with the music, and after years on prolonging your debut album, without returning a sizable return, you want us to fund an album you won't even promote? 
 

I know in this thread, if you state an opinion that's not considered praise for piss poor activities, you'll be reported, stoned, accused of personal attacks and asked how could we state such things after she worked so hard for a 2 minute tribute at an award show where they don't know her, but maybe we should all consider why ppl say she doesn't want it bad enough. 

I personally feel like she "didn't play the game" because she was still scarred by making and creating pop songs she didn't have any say in.

 

I do think she should explore the pop route more like Rihanna did but she's the one who has to sing and present these songs so honestly I can't say much because I can empathize that she is still dealing with her trauma from that group and then the added online hate she gets now.

[Givemeyourcoat]

1 hour ago, troubledparadise said:

at this point, i genuinely don't know what to say 

 

i don't know what her team is doing now in terms of releasing the music video(s), merch, promo, performances, etc

 

im out of the loop cause stuff should've already been happening by now, (the BET performance cancellation cause she "broke/sprained" her leg, like girl you could've got on that stage and sat in a chair while your dancers did choreo... don't even get me started)

 

idk guys im sorry lets just pray the ball will get rolling soon and keep streaming the album 

 

if i find out anything, i'll let yall know

5 days ago you were saying the era is far from over and now you're saying that 😕? You sure you knew something in the first place ?

[Givemeyourcoat]

1 hour ago, troubledparadise said:

at this point, i genuinely don't know what to say 

 

i don't know what her team is doing now in terms of releasing the music video(s), merch, promo, performances, etc

 

im out of the loop cause stuff should've already been happening by now, (the BET performance cancellation cause she "broke/sprained" her leg, like girl you could've got on that stage and sat in a chair while your dancers did choreo... don't even get me started)

 

idk guys im sorry lets just pray the ball will get rolling soon and keep streaming the album 

 

if i find out anything, i'll let yall know

So you're saying she wasn't a part of the tribute but had a perf of her own? Because if she was a part of the tribute of another artist I don't see the point of sitting when all the girls that were a part of it were dancing 

[Givemeyourcoat]

4 hours ago, Flare said:

This got me crying. 😭

 

Their actions never back up these big statements. Also, these statements wouldn't feel as big if she communicated more often. It's like everything they do is just not fitting the moment of where the music industry is now (it's a tiktok world for real). It almost feels like an old artist trying to make a comeback and failing too. 
 

This all goes back to the original problem, Normani is not being treated as a new artist by the public but SHE AND HER TEAM don't move her like a new artist. If people saw her operating like Tyla, everyone would take this era more serious + give her more space (less random Beyonce and MJ comparisons for example 💀)

You didn't hear her? She said she wish she was an artist during the Jackson's and co time aka she don't like social medias/ she's too cool for that 💀. Her team think she is a superstar when it's not the case, that's why they have no problem with her barely making content with her socials media. Nobody has sense of reality in her team and Normani is the first one. They thought the likes on her announcement and the fact that she trends time to time her album would've sell 100K first week. La folie des grandeurs quand tu nous tiens..

 

either your a new artist and use the f*ck out of TikTok to make a song go viral or your already a big artist with a big fanbase and fans/ gp gonna naturally make song that very much loved by everyone go viral, then it's a hit. 

Edited July 6 by Givemeyourcoat