Normani's Injury Isn't Slowing Her Down On 'DWTS'

An injury on Dancing With the Stars seems like it should be the end for a pro or contestant that season, but they all continue to prove that the human body is resilient. During Week 7, Normani Kordei suffered a back injury that luckily didn’t result in surgery or sitting out for the week, but she was also in pain throughout each rehearsal session. So, will Normani Kordei’s injury hurt her chances on Dancing With the Stars?

She and partner Val Chmerkovskiy have been strong competitors this season, so it would be a shame if an injury that Kordei has no control over would be the thing to take them out of the running for that coveted Mirror Ball trophy. Somehow, though, despite having a back injury that her doctor strongly advised to be dealt with through medication, Kordei and Chmerkovskiy earned their first perfect score after their Week 7 routine.

I honestly don’t know how a contestant somehow does better while injured, but there’s clearly nothing that’s going to stop Kordei from continuing on with this season of DWTS. During rehearsals for her Week 7 performance with Chmerkovskiy, Kordei admitted, "This is actually the most unprepared I've felt," but added, "I'm gonna fight through it, because I just wanna be the best, even if it hurts."

And when she fought through the pain, she obviously won out in the end because the perfect score afforded her and Chmerkovskiy immunity for the night and kept them in the running.

On DWTS, Kordei’s doctor’s advice to her was to be on medication to manage the pain and to modify her choreography with Chmerkovskiy in order to work around the discomfort. And somehow they managed to not only do that, but to also be the shining couple of the night, so it’s probably safe to say that Kordei’s injury on DWTS isn’t going to be slowing her down any time soon.

The Fifth Harmony member also has time on her side, though. As a 20-year-old experienced dancer, having a strained muscle or two might be painful and a challenge to deal with on a dancing competition show, but she’ll likely bounce back as long as she plays it relatively safe. After last Monday's episode, she spoke to Us Weekly about her injury and the performance that followed it.

"I’m on medication, and I just have to pace myself and take things step by step," Kordei said. She added that the doctor "literally told me if I keep going at the rate that I'm going that I could crack my hip, which I don't want. I have three weeks left of the competition and it’s, like, so close, but so far. I just have to play it smart."

With so little time left in the competition, the contestants are going to be narrowed down to the very best, so it’ll be much fiercer competition as Season 24 ends, but Kordei has proven that she can still come out on top, even with an injury.