Songfacts®:

• Over a horn-backed beat, Normani sings about a romantic encounter where she tries to entice the guy to spend the night with her:
  
  Imma break you off let me be your motivation
  To, stay, and give it tonight
  Baby turn around let me give you innovation
  'Cause I do it so right
  
  Normani is urging her love interest to let her show what she can do in bed.
• The bouncy track, featuring New Orleans brass, is a change of pace compared to Normani's other more R&B-oriented releases. "It was the first opportunity that I had to have fun," she told Rolling Stone. "I think that people have been waiting for me to have fun and I've had so many records like 'Waves' and 'Love Lies,' which are a little bit more R&B smooth sailing."
• Normani opened for Ariana Grande during her Sweetener US tour. Here, Grande returns the favor by co-writing this track with the former Fifth Harmony singer. The other writers are Ilya Salmanzadeh (Jennifer Lopez), Max Martin (The Weeknd) and Savan Kotecha (Usher). The song was produced by Salmanzadeh.
• The song's music video was directed by Dave Meyers (Janet Jackson, Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish) and Daniel Russell (Offset & Cardi B). A testament to the power of following your dreams, the clip opens with a young Normani at her grandmother's home in New Orleans watching BET's 106 & Park in 2008. She imagines what it would be like to one day be a performing artist like her idols. The visual then cuts to a grown Normani, who shows some impressive moves on the Los Angeles streets and the basketball court with a team of dancers.
  
  The video also acts a tribute to some of Normani's biggest inspirations by honoring classic visuals of the '90s and '00s, with nods to the likes of Britney's "...Baby One More Time," Rihanna's "Umbrella" and Beyoncé's "Crazy In Love" era.
• Normani performed this at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won Best R&B for "Waves."
• Normani enlisted 21 Savage for the "Savage Remix" of "Motivation." The new version of the track has the rapper spitting a new verse from the guy's perspective.