Normani Reveals Her “Mount Rushmore” Of Female Singers And Dancers

Key Takeaways:

• Normani revealed her admiration for five legendary women who influenced her musical journey.
• Her picks came during a sit-down with Ciara on “Level Up Radio,” where they also discussed their “Ecstasy (Remix)” collab.
• Ciara added Mýa as her own honorable mention, sharing a personal story about writing for her at age 15.

Ciara’s “Level Up Radio” returned for its second season with a very special guest: Normani. During Wednesday’s (Oct. 22) episode, the two exchanged plenty of compliments, discussed their recent “Ecstasy (Remix)” collab, and, in one of the sit-down’s highlights, the DOPAMINE artist revealed her Mount Rushmore of female singers and dancers.

When Ciara asked her to name her picks, Normani immediately answered, “Janet [Jackson], you, Tina Turner.” After thinking for a moment, she added, “Let’s see, who else? [Beyoncé],” to which the “Goodies” hitmaker responded, “That’s a good one.”

Normani paused for a bit before squeezing in one more R&B icon on her list: “I’ma throw in Teena Marie.” CiCi reacted, “OK, that’s a real classic, unexpected one.” The Houston-bred singer explained that she “grew up” listening to Marie, leading Ciara to jokingly tease her for not growing up on 112 — the R&B group known for “Cupid” and “Anywhere” — as well.

Ciara later gave a special shoutout to Mýa as her honorable mention. “She was so dope,” she shared. “Growing up, she was actually someone that I wrote for when I was really young, and I was just starting to really work as a writer or develop my penmanship. I was 15 years old.” Check out the full clip below.

Having Normani on “Level Up Radio” made perfect sense, especially since “Ecstasy (Remix)” marked her second feature since DOPAMINE — the first being Khalid’s “Personal” last year. Also featured on the CiCi (Deluxe) track was Teyana Taylor, whom Ciara said she was thrilled to have join the record.

“I feel like collaboration was different [back] then,” Normani said. Ciara responded, “It was really common, right? That’s why, for me, it’s nostalgic when we got together to do ‘Ecstasy’ — me, you, and Teyana — because it’s kind of what I grew up loving.”