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Listen up, haters: If you thought that basketball trick in Normani‘s “Motivation” video was a fake, CGI-indebted dupe, we’re pleased to report that it was actually 100 percent real. Yep, Normani really did that.
Speaking to MTV News on Sunday (August 25) ahead of her VMA performance, the singer explained how she pulled off the impressive b-ball handling. Turns out, it wasn’t just one and done.
“It was real. The first time I did it, it didn’t look like that. It was trash. But I had time to practice,” she told MTV News correspondent B. Dot, adding that she definitely didn’t think it would become such a viral moment.
“Honestly, watching the video, no,” she admitted. “But maybe that’s because I watched it legit probably 500 times. There [were] about 50 different versions of the video; we were going back and forth on it. And honestly, for myself, I wasn’t super confident in it, which is the crazy thing. … I have to trust the process, and it’s all a growing experience.”
Along with sharing that fascinating tidbit, Normani also told us how she’s feeling heading into her debut solo VMA performance, which she promised will be “a level up” from the “Motivation” video.
“I feel like I should be more nervous than I am, but I’m excited,” she said. “You know, this is a moment that I’ve been waiting for for such a long time and I feel like there’s so much bottled up in me that I feel like the world has yet to experience. So I’m more excited than anything, just to be like, ‘This is who I am. This is who I’ve known that I was all along.'”
Check out Normani’s full MTV News interview below to hear more about the “Motivation” video, her grandma’s cameo, and Kelly Rowland’s glowing reaction. And don’t miss Normani’s VMA performance when the show airs live from the Prudential Center TONIGHT (August 26) at 8 p.m. ET/PT!
