Normani bruises knees doing splits at MTV Video Music Awards

***image_caption***

Normani had "bruises" on her knees from doing the splits for her performance at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards.

The former Fifth Harmony star made her solo debut at the ceremony in New Jersey on Monday night (26.08.19), and as well as being one of the big winners of the night, collecting the Moon Man for Best R&B music video for 'Motivation', the 23-year-old star delivered one of the highlight performances of the evening, and admitted a lot of "blood, sweat and tears" went into recreating moments from the promo, which sees her twerk and have clothes ripped off her.

She told 'Entertainment Tonight': "Oh my goodness, people don't have any idea!

"It's three minutes I'm up there on stage, but they don't have the slightest idea of the hard work, blood, sweat, tears - I literally have bruises on my knees [from] however many times I did that split."

Thanking her choreographer, Sean Bankhead, for pushing her to the max, she continued: "[He] is incredible. He pushes me to the fullest of my capacity.

"I swear that man thinks I can do anything and everything. I'm like, 'You really think that?' And he's like, 'Because you can!'"

And giving a nod to her dancers, she added: "They kept me energised on the stage. Kept me confident."

The 'Dancing with a Stranger' hitmaker - who showed off her taut tummy in a purple velour two-piece - also revealed she "freaked out" during the performance when one of her dancers was meant to remove just one part of her outfit but ended up getting caught up in the material.

She admitted: "I was honestly still freaked out about the fact that the situation wasn't working but I was like, 'Go for it.'

"Aye! I'm so happy [how it turned out]!"

Normani gushed about how "grateful" she is to have been honoured with her first solo VMAs statuette so early on in her career, and admitted getting to be a part of the moment in "pop culture" history is "really crazy".

She beamed: "I've worked incredibly hard seven, eight long years in [preparation for] this moment and it's just really beautiful because it's also the beginning.

"So, I'm just really, really grateful for the opportunity.

"I feel like the VMAs is unlike any other show.

"This is where the biggest moments in pop culture happen and the fact that I got to be a part of that tonight is really crazy."