Normani Thanks Beyoncé and Janet Jackson for Showing Her a Woman with 'Curves' Can Be Successful

The 25-year-old singer says she works to stay body positive: "I constantly remind myself to be kind to myself"

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Normani. Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Normani wants to use her platform as an artist to help her fans feel confident in themselves and their bodies, but it took work for the singer to get to that place herself.

The "Motivation" singer, 25, said that she now feels "very confident," which she credits to having positive role models, both at home and in the music world.

"A lot of that has to do with being raised in a household with women that I really, really looked up to," she told Yahoo! Life. "That being my grandmother, that being my mom. And then my dad being the first man in my life that I love and him always encouraging that I was beautiful."

"It could have went a different route in how I was able to view myself," the Fifth Harmony alum added. "Not saying that I didn't have those moments, but I'm definitely really, really grateful for their support and just the fact that they've always told me that I was beautiful and my chocolate skin makes me beautiful aside from what society says."

Normani attends Michael Rubin's 2022 Fanatics Super Bowl Party on February 12, 2022 in Culver City, California.
Normani. Kevin Mazur/Getty

Normani also said that her close relationship with her parents made her proud of the features she inherited from them.

"I'm able to appreciate the things that give my body or my face character," she said. "I see my mom's thighs and I see my dad's nose and I just really, really appreciate that."

RELATED VIDEO: Normani Honors Some 2000s Pop Icons Including Beyoncé with Her New Music Video — Watch

And when Normani worried about her ability to find her place in music as a young Black woman, she appreciated knowing that women had forged the path before her.

"It was so important for me to have a Janet [Jackson] and have a [Beyoncé] with curves to find my place and to also know that, 'Okay, she looks like me. And she's successful. She's beautiful and I can do the same thing.' Little Black me needed to see that," Normani said.

"Being a Black woman, just to be seen or noticed, we have to do a lot more and work 10 times as hard."

And Normani said that she tries to give herself a boost whenever she can.

"I constantly remind myself to be kind to myself," she said. "Even though you can't expect the rest of the world to do that, it's like at the end of the day, somebody has to, so why not show up for yourself? Why not lift yourself up?"

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