Girl groups are back!
And why Black women are so excited and frustrated about this.
by Kaliyah Grahampublished 05/02/26
And why Black women are so excited and frustrated about this.
by Kaliyah Grahampublished 05/02/26
All throughout my life, I’ve spent countless hours dedicated towards music and performance. My family still recounts memories of me singing lyrics I created on the spot, or times I’ve spent hours dancing to music videos while being mere inches away from the television screen. So to a little black girl who fell in love with music, Normani Kordei Hamilton became one of my biggest role models. She represented the intersectional celebration of African American culture and feminism reaching mainstream heights, while uniquely marketing herself with authenticity and relatability. Retrospectively, the group’s hit feminist anthem, “BO$$,” marked a formative era for Normani. She became the face of a song riddled with references to successful black figures and black excellence, with Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey being referred to throughout the chorus. She was able to use her identity as the “token” black woman to positively influence the perception of her racial community within the media; she became the face of new-aged black independence and financial liberation.
Even though I cherish the nostalgia from my “Harmonizer” fangirl days (and I still tear up while listening to Miss Movin’ On), their legacy became stained by their traumatic breakup. A couple of months prior to Camila Cabello’s permanent hiatus from group activities, Normani Kordei Hamilton experienced a brutal racial hate campaign from their own fanbase. The five members appeared in an interview with Galore magazine, during which Normani was asked to “describe each girl in one word.” She was able to give in-depth answers about Ally, Dinah, and Lauren respectively; although for Camila, she appeared unsure and less profound. Her exact words were “Very quirky. Yeah, very quirky. Um, cute. Quirky.”
A very unfortunate answer, however, it definitely didn’t warrant the mass amounts of racist tweets she received: including verbal and photoshopped images of death threats, references to apes, lynching, and the n-word. Subsequently, old posts of Camila Cabello’s Tumblr account resurfaced, displaying her usage of racist language and slurs. By that point, Normani’s racial identity was not just being weaponized by her own fanbase, but was enabled by her own bandmate. Not only did the environment become unsafe for all black fans of Fifth Harmony, but now fans were bought into the manufactured rivalries and misogynistic stereotypes that the music industry pushes onto every girl group. Women are “lazy,” “emotional,” “dramatic,” and “catty.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only instance of black women experiencing racism and misogynistic stereotypes while being in a girl group. Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Little Mix’s only black member, has spoken out on numerous occasions about the racism and isolationism she experienced while being in the group. In her documentary, “Race, Pop, & Power,” she details her experience of feeling like the least favorite member among their fans in every predominantly white setting. It wasn’t until one of their shows in Brazil, with a predominately black audience, where she experienced instances of a crowd shouting her name and paying attention to her. The backlash following the release of this documentary was very cruel, and opened the flood gates for more racial hate.
Similarly, Melody Thornton, the Pussycat Dolls’ only black member, has also spoken out about her being labeled as “weak” and “lazy,” stating she felt a constant pressure to work harder than her other members in order to avoid racial stereotyping.
And have you ever asked yourself, “why was the only black member of the spice girls given the nickname ‘scary?’ Mel B, “scary spice,” has given multiple explanations to the nickname; she often states that it was due to her “larger than life” curly hair, her blunt and wild personality, and her leopard print branding. She’s admitted to embracing the title and finding it representative of her nature; however, it doesn’t excuse the fact that it was originally pushed onto her by a magazine, the music industry, and her fans. Non-black people are equating the term “scary” to pre-existing racial stereotypes, which is harmful to the image of all black artists in predominately white music spaces.
Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Many BIPOC fans were very excited about Katseye going mainstream. Particularly, many Black and Brown women took to social media to express their appreciation of Manon and Lara becoming the new role models for little dark-skinned girls around the world. However, many other fans were quick to criticize the formation of the group, a “Survival Show” featured in the Netflix documentary Popstar Academy.
The production of the documentary often framed the narrative that Manon was “lazy,” missed a lot of rehearsal, and was undeserving of her spot in the group, which prompted many fans to bully her for years. Contextually, she mentioned not having a background in singing or dancing, and often took time off due to her lack of stamina or health issues. There’s also the cultural difference— she grew up in Germany, a country that values taking time off more than the fast-paced American work culture. Whether you or other members believed that she should’ve shown up to rehearsal more, it is still racially harmful to call the only black woman in a girl group “lazy” for years into her career. In general, the nature of the show pitted women against each other, and manufactured rivalries against the only Black and Brown women. Manon and Lara may be celebrated within their communities, but it came at the cost of them receiving the most racial hate within their group.
Then on February 20 (2026, of this year), HYBE and Geffen, Katseye’s joint record labels announced that Manon will be taking a temporary hiatus to focus on her health and wellbeing. Rumors began to circulate that this hiatus was forced onto her, following a message she sent out on Weverse; “I’m healthy, I’m okay, and I’m taking care of myself. Thank you for checking in! Sometimes things unfold in ways we don’t fully control, but I’m trusting the bigger picture.” Many of Katseye’s black fans began to see a pattern of the only black member being mistreated within their group’s management again. With the hate she received following the survival show, the amount of times she was given less screentime in brand deals and put in the back of choreographies, and the social media posts she’s liked referencing racial mistreatment in girl groups, many fans were quick to announce their disapproval of the group following her hiatus. Once Melody Thornton went onto social media to vocalize her support for Manon, the pattern became clear.
Manon’s future with Katseye is still unclear, but regardless of whether she’ll be in or out of the group, the management and music industry still took advantage of the long history of racial discrimination against black women for marketing purposes. This is especially disheartening since many of these girl groups profit off of the music genres, clothes, and culture that was founded from African Americans. It is continuously unfair to use black culture and members to bring in engagement from a black fanbase, yet inevitably disrespect the same legacy and community. I don’t blame black fans for not wanting to support Katseye or any other girl group because of the exploitative management. In fact, I think we should all be more critical of record labels and management teams going forward. However, we should not tear down girls to uplift others.
Personally, I really love Normani’s solo music. However, due to her seven year delay in her album rollout, she is constantly called “lazy” and accused of not taking music seriously. I really encourage others to show her some grace— in that seven year period both of her parents battled cancer, and she was probably “shelved” or punished by her record label. You can support Camila or Normani without harming the other’s hard work. You can wait till you have all of the facts before you accuse Manon or the other Katseye members of hating each other. You can also choose to engage in other music! I highly recommend FLO’s grammy nominated album “Access All Areas,” and love that they’re popularizing contemporary R&B, a genre often underrepresented. I also really recommend Say Now; I think they’re super fun to watch perform, and they are constantly releasing a lot of new and interesting pop-fusion tracks.
So next time you find yourself out in public and hear “Golden” on the radio for the hundredth time, actually listen to the lyrics and internalize them. It’s “we’re” gonna be golden. There’s no I in we.
Kaliyah Graham B '28 is currently obsessed with All For You by Janet Jackson