Before Normani came onstage at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards in May, the show was kind of bland. During the intro to “Love Lies,” her duet partner had basic command of the stage and received a relatively muted reception from the crowd. And then, when the stage door lifted to reveal the outline of her silhouette, before she could even get out a note, the crowd, like true stans, went more than a little bit crazy. Normani has that kind of star power.

Rolling around on the floor in a tiny leotard, her dance moves were not only sultry, but executed with the killer precision and carefree attitude audiences have come to expect from the likes of Beyoncé. Somewhat controversially, Twitter has dubbed the 22-year-old Normani — the possible breakout star of her own massively successful girl group — the second coming of Bey. Normani is clearly pleased when I ask her about this during a recent sit-down at a studio in Brooklyn, even if she maintains a modicum of modesty: “It’s flattering but I definitely have room to grow and improve. I want to work for my spot. It’s not fair that I’m the next Beyoncé just yet. But I hope to become that.”