Have you heard of Fifth Harmony?
Fifth Harmony is a 2010s girl group that consists Ally
Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane, 19, Lauren Jauregui and Camila Cabello.
Camila Cabello is the oly Fifth Harmony member that is not from the US but
rather a different country called Cuba. Fifth Harmony sold nearly
half-a-million albums in a career launched on TV's The X Factor less than five
years ago, by scoring two top five Billboard Hot 100 hits (Worth It in 2015 and
Work from Home earlier this year) and by proving that the group, constructed on
the whim and A&R savvy of Simon Cowell and developed with the seasoned
industry know-how of Epic Records chairman L.A. Reid, has a purpose in the pop
world. So how did things turn so sour? Well then, let’s find out.
It appears that following the girl group's routine
performance at their final Jingle Ball stop in Miami on Dec. 18, Fifth Harmony
members Ally Brooke, 23, Normani Kordei, 20, Dinah Jane, 19, and Lauren
Jauregui, 20, announced via social media that Camila Cabello had, in their
words, "decided to leave” the group. The unexpected statement was followed
by the Cuban singer's own response that, "Saying that I was 'leaving the
group' is simply not true,” Harmonizers, as their fans are known, have taken to
social media to express their confusion over what really led to the act's
downsizing from five to four. At the same time, many in the industry are
wondering what happens to the hashtag-christened "Fourth Harmony” from
here -- especially considering the label is staring down a deadline at the end
of December by which the company has to decide whether to pick up the group's
option for a third full-length album (Epic Records has not commented on the
status of the deal; reps for Fifth Harmony and Cabello declined further
comment). Although Fifth Harmony's recording contracts are structured as
individual solo deals, allowing them to make music both as a unit and on their
own, according to multiple sources, tensions had been festering among the group
members for some time as Cabello increasingly voiced her desire to pursue a
career outside the group.
Wow, that stinks. It’s sad to see Camila Cabello leaving
Fifth Harmony. Now then, here’s what Billboard has to say about why she’s
leaving Fifth Harmony after performing their final Jingle Ball stop in Miami on
December 18. Take it away, Billboard.
“Inside Camila Cabello's Fifth Harmony Exit: Where Did It
All Go Wrong?
12/21/2016 by Shirley Halperin
Fifth Harmony has already defied the odds -- by selling
nearly half-a-million albums in a career launched on TV's The X Factor less
than five years ago, by scoring two top five Billboard Hot 100 hits
("Worth It” in 2015 and "Work from Home” earlier this year) and by
proving that the group, constructed on the whim and A&R savvy of Simon
Cowell and developed with the seasoned industry know-how of Epic Records
chairman L.A. Reid, has a purpose in the pop world. So how did things turn so
sour?
In what's been a volley of she said/they said statements
over the last 72 hours, following the girl group's routine performance at their
final Jingle Ball stop in Miami on Dec. 18, Fifth Harmony members Ally Brooke,
23, Normani Kordei, 20, Dinah Jane, 19, and Lauren Jauregui, 20, announced via
social media that Camila Cabello had, in their words, "decided to leave”
the group. The unexpected statement was followed by Cabello's own response
that, "Saying that I was 'leaving the group' is simply not true,” Harmonizers,
as their fans are known, have taken to social media to express their confusion
over what really led to the act's downsizing from five to four. At the same
time, many in the industry are wondering what happens to the hashtag-christened
"Fourth Harmony” from here -- especially considering the label is staring
down a deadline at the end of December by which the company has to decide
whether to pick up the group's option for a third full-length album (Epic
Records has not commented on the status of the deal; reps for Fifth Harmony and
Cabello declined further comment).
Although Fifth Harmony's recording contracts are structured
as individual solo deals, allowing them to make music both as a unit and on
their own, according to multiple sources, tensions had been festering among the
group members for some time as Cabello increasingly voiced her desire to pursue
a career outside the group. Cabello's aspirations were no surprise to her
bandmates: Over 18 months, she'd been open about solo prospects in the press.
She had also enlisted her own manager, Roger Gold, independent of Fifth
Harmony's representative -- Jared Paul (New Kids on the Block) in the post-X
Factor years, until Dec. 2015 when Larry Rudolph of Maverick (Britney Spears)
took over for the group. But once Cabello's hit duet with Shawn Mendes, "I
Know What You Did Last Summer,” was released in November 2015, talks began in
earnest concerning the future of the group as a five-piece and rumors began to
spread that Fifth Harmony was unraveling.
But while a source close to the situation insists
"Camila could not have been clearer about her desire to leave the group,”
refusing repeated outreach and suggestions of meetings and group discussions,
here is where the details get fuzzy -- who wasn't speaking to whom, for one.
Was it Cabello versus the four, with an occasional ally in Dinah Jane? Or was
it a full-on silent treatment, paused only when a group appearance on stage or
in the media demanded it? And was Cabello replaceable (an idea to launch a
search for a new singer via a reality show was discussed and shot down) or is
it wiser for Fifth Harmony as a brand to move forward with four? After all,
members Lauren Jauregui and Normani Kordei had also announced projects outside
the group, and had been asserting more independence of late -- Jauregui's
recent collaboration with Marian Hill and coming out as bisexual, for instance.
The idea of a "hiatus” was offered by the Cabello camp,
but the other members of Fifth Harmony would not agree to waiting out her solo
career. The iron was hot now.
There were multiple attempts at interventions -- from
bringing a therapist out on the road "to help the girls sort out their
issues,” says an insider, who claims that all but Cabello participated in
sessions with the licensed psychologist, to scheduling a "come to Jesus”
sit-down with Reid, management and the girls for which Cabello was purportedly
a no-show. But a source close to Cabello contends that a group meeting with
Reid was "never confirmed” and that previous sit-downs with a therapist
would "historically devolve into a four-against-one scenario, much like
the dynamic in the current public battle of statements we are seeing, and were
largely unproductive.” Instead, "Camila felt that the best way to communicate
effectively with her bandmates was one-on-one, which she did during the
European tour.”
Even Simon Cowell, whose Syco label is a Sony Music imprint
(as is Epic), got involved, advising the group members to look to the bigger
picture: that there's value in keeping this massive machine -- 7 million U.S.
digital downloads sold and 1.6 billion U.S. on-demand streams, as of Dec. 15,
according to Nielsen Music -- going as long as possible. "The girls wanted
the group to stay together for the business,” adds a source familiar with the
circumstances. But even Cowell eventually relented to the idea of Cabello's
exit, having been down the road before with One Direction, among many other
acts. "[Cowell] was the voice of reason. He would say, 'You can't make
people work together.'”
Others on the periphery point out that a solo album by
Cabello and another release by Fifth Harmony were not mutually exclusive. But
again, a Cabello source paints a different picture. "The group's
management made it clear that if she wanted to make any more solo music, it
wouldn't work for them,” says the insider.
Being in a girl group "is not for the faint of heart,”
offers veteran producer Ron Fair, who has worked with such artists as Christina
Aguilera and Pussycat Dolls. "The business is so hard and unforgiving that
only a rarefied few make it to hits and awards shows and fulfillment of their
dreams.” Fair stresses that the ambitions of girl group members are often
rooted in early childhood and through the years become "like a belief system.”
Once the group dynamic comes into play, however, "and as there is more and
more success, it turns into, 'What about me?' We've seen it fictionalized in
Dreamgirls and in the real-life story of The Supremes. Very few girl groups
have been able to stay together for a protracted period of time.”
One thing that isn't being debated, however, is Cabello's
potential as a breakout star. While it's not unusual for one member of a group
to try his or her hand at a solo career -- even while still attached to the
group, as Beyoncé did while still in Destiny's Child -- it is rather uncommon
for someone to stand out in a collective as much as Cabello has over the past
years. In terms of collaborations, her top 20 hit with Mendes highlighted
Cabello's breathy delivery, while her authoritative turn on Machine Gun Kelly's
"Bad Things” launched the fledgling rapper into the Hot 100 top 10. Yet
Cabello has also demonstrated -- through her hilariously self-deprecating
Snapchat antics, revealing interview quotes and intimate interactions with her
3.2 million Twitter followers -- a superstar's knack for connecting with fans
and standing out from her surroundings.
Recalling the night during which Mendes, Cabello and
songwriter Ido Zmishlany came up with the song "I Know What You Did Last
Summer” in a backstage dressing room following Mendes' opening slot on the
Taylor Swift 1989 tour, Island Records president and CEO David Massey describes
Cabello as being "completely involved in the process.” It was clear to
him, he tells Billboard, that "she was a real talent and brought this
incredibly energy and enthusiasm” to the track.
In fact, Fifth Harmony's label, Epic Records, has been
planning a Cabello solo album for the better part of a year, putting the
19-year-old in the studio with such hitmakers as Benny Blanco and Diplo in
addition to songwriters Madison Love ("Bad Things”), Johnny Mitchell and
Amarr, and producers Futuristics ("Bad Things”) and Serm (Sean Paul's
"No Lie”). According to a source, the album is well on its way, with
sessions booked through January. Cabello's first solo single could be out as
soon as March or April with an album to follow in the summer.
But right now, five girls and their various representatives
(three of the five have their own attorneys and lawyer Dina LaPolt represents
the group) are dealing with a very cold December. Between the 18th of the month
(a day the four girls understood to be Cabello's last with the group, while a
source in the Cabello camp claims it only marked the end of their commitments
on this album cycle and "did not mean that she wanted to withdraw from the
band”) and the end of the year, when Epic's option for a third album by Fifth
Harmony comes up, Harmonizers' entire universe could be upended.
"I think it's a huge mistake,” says one industry power
player who believes they should have stuck it out for a third album. "This
is the group's moment. They just had the biggest record of their career and the
next record is 'the one.' [Camila has] had success but all with singles that
aren't hers.” (Worth noting: Cabello and Machine Gun Kelly share equal billing
on "Bad Things.")
Fifth Harmony has sold 424,000 albums in the U.S. to date,
but its debut full-length set, Reflection, moved twice as many units as their
most recent album, 7/27, so the metrics don't exactly point to a sure thing
either. From the label's perspective, even on the heels of three top 40 hits,
to put out a new Fifth Harmony album is an expensive endeavor and a risky one.
The safer bet for Epic might be to throw its weight behind Cabello as
tomorrow's star. (Also worth noting: On the same week when their internal drama
went public, Fifth Harmony's latest single, "That's My Girl,” dropped out
of the Hot 100 and its spins at top 40 radio were cut in half, signaling that
the plug may have been pulled on further promotion of the song.)
If there's a backlash beyond the fan army turf war, it may
be due to the way the announcements were handled. Unlike One Direction, another
X Factor-spawned group, where exiting member Zayn Malik released a statement at
the same time as his former bandmates and Cowell ("I have to do what feels
right in my heart,” Malik's read, followed by praise for the group that put him
on the global map), a source close to Cabello tells Billboard she was
"completely blindsided” by the post on the official Fifth Harmony social
channels (the group boasts 3.65 million Twitter followers and 7.5 million
Facebook likes), which squarely put the onus of the departure on her.
"This all [stems from] the girls' jealousy,” says the insider.
"You've read this story a million times.”
What happened to precipitate a pre-emptive post by the four
girls is a subject of some debate, although it seems there were a few attempts
to structure a joint announcement -- ultimately unsuccessful. And it's not
helping that Harmonizers are up in arms over leaked audio of group members complaining
of being treated "like slaves." But by whom is also unclear.
"The whole thing was handled horribly,” says Los
Angeles radio personality Chris Booker of AMP Radio, adding the caveat,
"which, in 2016, is a very good thing because it's a headline -- that's
the game now. If the remaining ladies of 'Fourth Harmony' say nice things, it's
a nonstory.” Still, the veteran jock notes that a modicum of decency is called
for in situations where a key member is exiting. Says Booker: "The right
response from Fifth Harmony should have been, 'We love you, girl, we will miss
you, go slay the world, blah, blah f---ing blah.'”
"It's very perilous to break up the winning team. I've
seen it wreak havoc,” says Fair. At the same time, he adds, "Who's to stop
the kid from taking a shot or forever regretting it? When it's not a marketing
or a business decision but it's someone's hopes and dreams? The key is to
manage the team and keep the train on the track. But who's to say Fifth Harmony
as Fourth Harmony isn't a more robust, punchy proposition than it was with the
extra spoke on the wheel? Today, the song is so dominant in the success recipe
that as long as the girls and their team can continue to identify those great
songs, they will be on top.”
For her part, Cabello has seemed quite deft at
compartmentalizing the group's needs with her own career, telling Billboard
back in February, "Fifth Harmony is amazing, that we can all come from
different places and have different music tastes and have different ideas of
what music we would like to make but all come together to be like, 'OK, this is
our sound.' But at the end of the day, you feel kind of stifled when you can't
completely express who you are without any compromises.” Learning to play
guitar and being inspired by the likes of Ed Sheeran and John Mayer, she added,
"This is who I am.” It's a sentiment echoed in her own statement the day
after news of the split was revealed. "Be courageous in the pursuit of
what makes your heart pound and what makes you come alive with purpose,” she
wrote. "Our happiness is our own responsibility.”
Thanks, Billboard. It looks life Fifth Harmony moved on to Camila Cabello-less Fifth Harmony. I'm sure Camila Cabello can happily do her solo career sometime in the future. Best of luck for your solo career, Camila Cabello.
What say you?
