A few weeks ago, rumors began to emerge that a Fifth Harmony member was set to compete on the upcoming 24th season of “Dancing With The Stars.”
In recent days, numerous outlets identified the rumored Fifth Harmony member as Normani Kordei.
Wednesday, ABC confirmed the news. Normani will indeed be competing on the upcoming cycle.
ABC also revealed that Valentin “Val” Chmerkovskiy will be her professional partner on the upcoming season.
In conjunction with the news, ABC issued clips of a recent interview. Transcripts from some of the clips follow.
The new season premieres on March 20.
Why she is doing the show
Normani: I wanted to be on Dancing With The Stars, because this is a show that I’ve actually grown up watching. Especially with my grandmother; I remember, she would have her little logbook – I have to tell this story to everybody. She would keep track of everybody’s scores and who got passed onto the next week or who got eliminated. It’s just been a dream of hers to see me on the show, so it means a lot to me but it also means the world to her.
Valentin: So what you should do is go through this logbook and see the average of scores that I get.
Normani: I’m pretty sure you’re going to see it…week after week.
On their first meeting
Valentin: Our first meeting was cool. It was very brief, and we actually haven’t spent much time [together] before this interview. We’re just getting to know each other. For me, it’s always very flattering and very reassuring to see someone excited to see me, cause usually I get, “Oh…”
Normani: I, like, screamed.
Valentin: It means a lot to me to know that she is a fan of the show and has a lot of respect for me. So I want to reciprocate that, and I’m going to go above and beyond for her this season. I hope she does well. I hope we win.
On what she brings to the competition
Valentin: I think…she’s young, but she has a great sense of self, strength and femininity. I hope she’s going to bring that strength to the competition. At the same time, for me, strength is not just confidence but also embracing your flaws and vulnerability. She seems like somebody that, at least at first glance, is very comfortable with the things that she’s not…and so she can embrace all the things that she is.
On what the competition means to her
Normani: I would definitely say that … it’s more a competition within myself and not with other people. I think, at the end of the day, you have to be happy with who you are and what you present and bring to the table. I know my work ethic is out of this world, so I’m really excited for the journey and just the teamwork and comraderie between the two of us. At the end of the day, it’s not just about the trophy…although, we hope [we win]…but just the bond that we have and the growth and America feeling like they’re also part of us.
