In 2012, X-Factor changed the lives of five girls who would change the way women are viewed in the entertainment industry. Prior to the group, there was not a girl group as diverse, body positive, and as talented as the women of Fifth Harmony. The ladies come from all parts of the country including Texas, Miami, and Rhode Island and incorporate their influences into their unique pop sound that would take over the radio all over the world.
Known as Fifth Harmony, the group was originally made up of Camila Cabello, Normani Kordei, Lauren Jauregui, Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane. After X-Factor, judge Simon Cowell signed the group to his record label, Syco Records, where they released two of their hit singles, “Better Together” and “Miss Moving On,” which peaked both on the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 charts. The success of these two singles led the girls to produce their first full length album “Reflection,” which was released on Feb. 3, 2015.
This album sparked a tour for the group where they ventured around the world performing the songs for all of their dedicated fans. Following the success of “Reflection,” which sold over 80,000 copies, they began working on their next album “7/27,” which was released on May 27, 2016 and was the group’s most successful album. The girls considered the songs on “Reflection” as merely catchy tunes whereas “7/27” had a majority of the songs written/co-written by them. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Brooke said “People will get a deeper insight into who we are. We talk about topics from love to heartbreak to confusion about someone. The main thing for all of us was having a ballad, a slower song. Finally, they get to hear more of a vulnerable side to us! We didn’t really have that in Reflection, and that’s something we all fought for.”
On Dec. 18, shortly after the release of “7/27” it was made public that member Camila Cabello would no longer be a part of the group. There was a statement released by the four remaining girls of Fifth Harmony which indicated that “We have tried with exhausted efforts and hearts to keep this group alive as the five of us, and we want it to be very clear that unfortunately those efforts are not mutual.” Some fans were extremely upset about her decision to leave the group, but others were supportive about this new career move as she would be able to create music and have the creative freedom that artists need to thrive in the industry.
The group threw Camila under the bus by saying how she would not cooperate when it came to discussing the future of the group and they did not know how they were going to continue. The way in which the group handled her departure was not well received by fans or Camila herself and that was when she decided to come forward.
In response to this statement, Camila released her own statement following her departure in which she thanked her fans for making her dreams come true and for their constant support: “Next year I will be working on my own music and giving you a big chunk of my heart. To our amazing fans, I will always be so thankful for the opportunities being in this group has given to me. I am even more thankful for the times that we’ve gone to get frozen yogurt together and talk about music, for the times we’ve locked eyes during a lyric, for the hugs that put pieces back together in both of us, for more love than I can put into words, and for showing me the way to myself.”
The group continued to pursue music with the release of their self-titled album Fifth Harmony which included their hit singles “Down” and “He Like That.” Fifth Harmony continued to have success after Cabello departed with their performance at the 2017 VMA’s and appearances on late night talk shows including Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Many fans were skeptical about how Fifth Harmony would continue on without Cabello, but little did they know that they would be accomplishing goals on their bucket lists.
On March 19, Fifth Harmony announced that they would be going on hiatus. In a statement from the groups Twitter account they said, “After six years going hard, non-stop, we…realized that in order to stay authentic to ourselves and to you, we do need to take some time now to go on a hiatus from Fifth Harmony in order to pursue solo endeavors.”
Jauregui, recently opened up about her thoughts going forward saying “Right now, I’m just exploring myself and getting in touch with myself creatively. To be real, I don’t want to give myself boundaries … It’s definitely different than my work with Fifth Harmony. It’s me.”
Although fans will not be getting any more music from Fifth Harmony, it should be celebrated that the ladies are now going to be able to explore with their sound and creative styles which will in turn produce even better content.
The response has been mixed from fans with some highly upset over the announcement, but others think it is time for them to move on and grow as artists. Fifth Harmony changed the way women were seen in the entertainment industry and with that they made their mark.
