Normani brought a serious sense of cool to the stage at The Tonight Show with a polished performance of her single “Waves.” The former Fifth Harmony singer, dressed in a sultry black crop top and skirt, got some help from a group of dancers as well as rapper 6LACK, who guests on the single.
The singer and her tightly choreographed dancers take on most of the vibe-y performance, with Normani crooning smoothly amidst clouds of smoke and while crouched on the floor. 6BLACK joins partway through for his guest verse before Normani brings the song to an end in another cloud of blue smoke.
Normani, who recently collaborated with Sam Smith on “Dancing With a Stranger,” dropped the official music video for “Waves” in February. She released her first solo single, R&B-inspired “Love Lies” featuring Khalid, last year after Fifth Harmony announced an indefinite hiatus. The singer told Rolling Stone that she was initially nervous to release an R&B number as her debut solo single.
“There was some uncertainty,” Normani said. “It’s a big deal putting out music that’s different from what everybody’s used to hearing from you, or seeing you as. [“Love Lies”] is a slower, mellower song among all the big, up-tempo hip-hop records right now that are really dominating, like Migos. But I think it is a real moment for R&B. There’s so much great music, like Ella [Mai], SZA, Khalid — and I’m excited to be a part of that.”