Normani Set To Break New Grounds In Hollywood

Normani is about to secure her first acting bag!

The former member of the popular girl group Fifth Harmony is known for thrilling her fans across the globe with her beautiful music and equally sultry videos. Now, the hard-working star is set to make her TV screen debut in a thriller set in the 80s alongside a star-studded cast.

Steady making waves in the industry, the 26-year-old is ready to take the world of films by storm in a big way in the movie "Freaky Tales," written and directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden from "Captain Marvel" alongside a list of big industry names.

Set in Oakland in 1987, it is an innovative and riveting film inspired by Ryan Fleck's childhood experience in the bay. The movie comprises four interconnected stories with distinct characters, real-life locations, and notable historical events (some real, some imagined).

According to reports from Entertainment One, who intend to finance and co-produce with MACRO Film Studio, the star-studded cast comprises Ben Mendelsohn from "The Year My Voice Broke," Pedro Pascal from "The Mandalorians," and Jay Ellis from "Top Gun: Maverick."

While principal photography began November 14th, other actors include Jack Champion from "Scream 6," Dominique Thorne "Black Panther," Angus Cloud "Euphoria," Keir Gilchrist "Atypical" and Michelle Farrah Huang. 

Jen Gorton, Jillian Share, and Chanel Vidal from eOne will be in charge of the film's production, with Share and Gorton executive producing. At the same time, Jelani Johnson and Poppy Hanks from MACRO Film Studios will be producers.

Other executive producers are Charles D. King, James F. Lopez and Too Short, and his manager David Weintraub. For music, Oakland native "Grammy Award" winner Raphael Saadiq will be in charge. 

Apart from the upcoming movie, the "Wild Side" singer — a trained dancer — has been seen blowing up screens in music videos. The Blast shared that she recently starred as Chris Brown's video vixen in his latest single, "Warm Embrace." 

The steamy work directed by Arrad features some sexy choreography as they dance seductively with incredible chemistry, with the star straddling his knees and possibly exchanging a kiss underwater. 

While it left many surprised and happy with the collaboration, many others came with opinions ranging from disappointment for the "Love Lies" singer over why she would choose to work with the "Privacy" singer because of previous harassment and colorism allegations. 

A sense of betrayal also accompanied it because she has worked with Fenty, owned by his ex-girlfriend Rihanna whom he was sentenced for beating up years ago. In a tweet that has become popular, a fan noted:

"Idk why the new R&B girls feel the need to collaborate with him. First ella mai, HER, chlöe, now normani. It is disappointing. I can't say I get it because he has repeated his behavior toward women, kicks dark skin women out of clubs he's in and has made the same song since 2012."

Another user asked, "how can you model for Fenty and then do this?" While one user stated sarcastically, "Well, at least this is the first Darkskin Love-interest Chris Brown has had in his videos. Can we clap for that… 🤭😂."

Fans of the actress will recall that in 2012 she rose to fame after moving from auditioning as a solo act on the talent competition series "The X Factor" to a formulated all-female group.

That group became one of the best-selling girl groups internationally before disbanding in 2018. Now a global sensation in her own right, The Blast shared that Normani felt incredibly grateful for the opportunity that was given to her so long ago.   

The Atlanta native took to her Instagram story to post some throwback pictures of her time with the group. The first image was the 2016 cover art of their second studio album, "7/27," which she tagged with mind-blown emojis and "10 years."

The following slide was from a photoshoot featuring the girls in several outfits, with the "Motivation" singer in a long-sleeve turtleneck dress with a thigh-high slit that displayed her toned legs. She captioned the post, "forever grateful 🤍."