Fifth Harmony

2012: The X Factor

In 2012, Ally Brooke, Camila Cabello, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane and Lauren Jauregui auditioned as solo contestants on the second season of the American televised singing competition The X Factor. They failed to progress to the "Teens" category, with Brooke failing to progress in the "Young Adults" category and were put together to form a five-piece girl group at The Fillmore, in Miami, Florida on July 27, thus qualifying for the "Groups" category. Demi Lovato, one of the judges, along with Simon Cowell helped form the group. For their qualifying song at the "judges' houses", and their first song as a group, Fifth Harmony sang an acoustic version of "Impossible". Afterwards, Marc Anthony called the performance "unbelievable" with Cowell sharing similar sentiments saying that they were "clearly one great group". Initially, the group's name was "Lylas" (an acronym for Love You Like a Sister), but another group called "The Lylas" (which consists of four of Bruno Mars' sisters) claimed that the show stole their name. Thereafter, Lylas changed their name to 1432 (a colloquial term for I Love You Too), which was announced on the first live show on October 31, during which 1432 performed "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift. Cowell and Reid were critical of the new name, and Cowell suggested that the group be renamed again. During the first live results show on November 1, 1432 performed "Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato in a sing-off with three-piece girl group Sister C. Cowell decided to send 1432 through to the Top 12 and announced that they would be renamed via the viewers online. The name chosen by the public was announced: "Fifth Harmony".

In the semi-finals stage of the show, the group performed Ellie Goulding's "Anything Could Happen" as well as Shontelle's "Impossible" for the second time during the competition. Their performance of "Anything Could Happen" was "a finals-caliber performance" according to Reid and described as "magic" by Britney Spears. However, their performance of "Impossible" received mostly negative reviews from the judges because the group had previously performed the song at Cowell's home (although not on The X Factor concert stage). Three members of the group (Camila, Lauren, and Ally) sang parts of the song in fluent Spanish. The following night's public vote results advanced Fifth Harmony to the final three along with Tate Stevens and Carly Rose Sonenclar. On the Top three live show, Fifth Harmony performed "Anything Could Happen" for the second time as their "Song of the Series" song. Their second song was a duet with The X Factor judge Demi Lovato singing "Give Your Heart a Break". Their final song of the night (and their last on the show) was "Let It Be" by The Beatles, billed as their "$5 million song". After the first round of the finals they did not receive enough votes from the public to advance to the Top two, and they finished in third place on December 20, 2012.

2013–2014: Better Together

Approximately one month following The X Factor season two finale, on January 17, Fifth Harmony was officially signed by their mentor Simon Cowell to his record label Syco Music, in a joint deal with fellow judge L.A. Reid's label Epic Records. Popdust awarded them the "Next Pop Superstar of 2013" recognition, an annual competition held for rising artists. They began recording covers of songs which were uploaded on the video sharing platform, YouTube. Three of their covers received public praise from the original artists, including Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande and Mikky Ekko. Fifth Harmony was also featured on Boyce Avenue's extended play, Cover Collaborations, Volume 2, singing covers of "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake and "When I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars.

Their debut extended play Better Together was released October 22, selling 28,000 copies in its first week and peaking on the Billboard 200 at number six. Spanish versions of the extended play, Juntos and Juntos Acoustic were released on November 8, peaking at number 2 and 12 respectively on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart. The lead single from their extended play, "Miss Movin' On" peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 76, the highest charting single from a The X Factor contestant to appear on the chart. The song was certified Gold in the United States for selling 500,000 digital downloads and streams combined. The extended play's promotional single, "Me & My Girls" charted on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart at 53.

Throughout the months of July and August 2013, Fifth Harmony performed at various shopping malls across the United States in a promo tour titled "Harmonize America". On August 5, 2013 the girl group celebrated their one-year anniversary by performing five shows in New York City. The pop-up concerts throughout the city included performances at the iHeartRadio Theater and Madison Square Park. The group was one of the opening acts for Cher Lloyd during her I Wish Tour which started on September 6, 2013. On September 11, 2013 the group announced their first concert hall tour titled "Fifth Harmony 2013", playing in concert halls in Canada and the United States. Their opening act was indie pop band AJR. On November 24, they performed "Better Together" on the red carpet at the 2013 American Music Awards. They supported Demi Lovato's Neon Lights Tour as one of three opening acts playing 27 arenas across North America. On January 23, 2014, Fifth Harmony headlined the MTV Artists To Watch concert, an annual concert which showcases breakout artists that will be promoted by MTV during the year. The concert also featured performances by Tori Kelly, Rixton, Echosmith and Jake Miller.

2014–2015: Reflection and breakthrough

In early 2014, Fifth Harmony confirmed reports that recording had begun for their full-length debut album with record producers Julian Bunetta, Daylight, Joe London and multi-instrumentalist songwriter Ricky Reed. The group stated the album is less pop, "more rhythmic" and has a more mature sound than Better Together. On December 4, 2014, the group was invited to sing at the White House for the National Christmas Tree Lighting, where they performed a cover of Mariah Carey's hit Christmas song, "All I Want for Christmas Is You". Fifth Harmony's fourth headlining promo tour was revealed at the end of March 2014, titled Fifth Times a Charm Tour, with dates in Puerto Rico and the United States. It was announced by Billboard that a representative from Epic Records had confirmed that the album release was moved from December 16, 2014 to January 27, 2015.

Due to delays in production, their debut studio album, Reflection was ultimately released on February 3, 2015. After a full week of sales, the album entered the Billboard 200 at number five with 80,000 units (with 62,000 of that coming from traditional album sales) and was eventually certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in February 2016. The album's lead single, "Boss", released on July 7, 2014, peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with first-week sales of 75,000, and received a platinum certification by the United States for selling a million digital downloads and streams combined. The second single from Reflection, the Meghan Trainor-penned "Sledgehammer", went on to become the group's first top 40 entry on the Billboard Hot 100, and was also certified platinum in the United States with the third single from the album, "Worth It", featuring American rapper Kid Ink, became the group's most successful single at the time, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, and earning the group a triple platinum certification. The song charted in the top ten in thirteen countries and received certifications from twelve countries. The success of "Worth It" was largely impacted with televised performances on the season finale of Dancing with the Stars and their debut late night appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on June 18, 2015, alongside Kid Ink for the first time.

Critically, Reflection was a success, landing in several mid-year and end of year lists, including Rolling Stone and Complex who ranked the album at 39 and 9 in the exclusively pop category, respectively. Several critics noted the group's experimentation with grungy hip-hop and retro R&B that was previously not heard on their extended play. The album was supported by the group's first major headlining tour, the Reflection Tour, visiting 63 cities in North America and 6 cities in Europe

Fifth Harmony returned to the White House on April 6, 2015 to perform at the annually-held White House Easter Egg Roll, where they sang "Happy Birthday" as part of the fifth anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" initiative. Later that year, the group released "I'm in Love with a Monster" on September 25, 2015, a song for the film Hotel Transylvania 2 which was featured in the trailer and included in the movie as well. On December 11, 2015, Fifth Harmony received the "Group of the Year" award at Billboard Women in Music 2015 ceremony, honoring the industry's most influential women.

2016–present: 7/27, Cabello's departure and Fifth Harmony

On September 23, 2015, the group announced they had started recording for their second studio album. Band members Lauren Jauregui and Dinah Jane had co-written a few songs for the album along with the likes of Mitch Allan, Jason Evigan, Aaron Pearce, Tayla Parx, etc. After a winter break, it was announced on February 25, 2016, that Fifth Harmony will be releasing their second studio album 7/27 on May 20, 2016. The album is named after the day they were formed on The X Factor. It was later announced that the album's release had been pushed back a week to May 27 to keep with the album's theme of 27.

The lead single, "Work from Home", which features American rapper Ty Dolla Sign was released on February 26, 2016, along with its music video. The single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the group's highest charting single in the United States, while reaching the top 10 in twenty-two other countries. The single also became the first top-five for an all-female group in almost a decade, following The Pussycat Dolls' song, "Buttons" which peaked at number three.

7/27 was released on May 27, 2016, debuting at number four on the Billboard 200 with 74,000 album-equivalent units (49,000 in pure album sales), making it the group's highest charting album to date. The album also marked the group's first debut in Japan and South Korea, while also managing top ten peaks in fifteen other countries. By November 2016, the album had sold 1.6 million equivalent units, that included sales, streaming and album tracks consumption. The album was supported with The 7/27 Tour which commenced on June 22, 2016 in Lima, Peru, visiting South America, North America and Europe with supporting artists Victoria Monét and JoJo. The group won two MTV Video Music Awards for "Work from Home" and "All in My Head (Flex)" and was named by Billboard the "hottest young stars" under 21 for 2016.

They performed their third single "That's My Girl" on the American Music Awards and won their first award from this show in the Collaboration of the Year category for "Work from Home". The group's last performance of 2016 and as a quintet was at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, where they performed "Worth It", "Work from Home" and "That's My Girl". On December 18, 2016, the group announced that Cabello had left the group and would continue as a four-piece. The group made their first appearance since Cabello's departure, at the 43rd People's Choice Awards on January 17, 2017. There, they performed an edited version of "Work from Home", and went on to win the award for "Favorite Group" for the second consecutive year.

On May 29, 2017, the group announced their new single, "Down", featuring guest vocals from rapper Gucci Mane. The song was released on June 2, 2017. On July 24, 2017, during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the group announced that their third studio album would be titled Fifth Harmony, which was released on August 25, 2017.

Artistry

Fifth Harmony is mainly a pop and R&B girl group. They have described their music as having a "retro feel" to it as well.

The group lists Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, the Spice Girls and Destiny's Child as their main influences.

Lana Del Rey, Adele, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Taylor Swift, Brandy, Jennifer Lopez, Patti LaBelle, Cher Lloyd, Carrie Underwood, Jessie J, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Selena, Celia Cruz, Ed Sheeran and Leona Lewis have influenced individual members of the group.

Philanthropy

Fifth Harmony supports a number of charities and organizations whose initiatives are focused on sponsoring underprivileged teenagers and promoting youth empowerment. In November 2013, they partnered with the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, and visited patients at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia while also having performed for patients at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles. The group also took part in the Social Media Mania initiative, sponsored by the executive producers of the Teen Choice Awards, which included seminars at high schools on topics such as promoting social media awareness and protecting against the dangers of technology misuse; and two members also shared some of their own experiences as victims of cyber bullying.

The group participated in Goodwill Industries' 2013 Fall Haul Donation Challenge in which schools in Wisconsin and Illinois were encouraged to donate as many items as possible to the charity organization; the school with the most donations won a private live Fifth Harmony performance. It was revealed in January 2014 that Fifth Harmony became the new face of the Aéropostale and Do Something Teens for Jeans campaign. The group recorded a public service announcement encouraging community-driven donations of "gently worn" denims to the campaign in aid of homeless teens.

In conjunction with the release of their debut album single "Boss", the group launched a self-esteem campaign in partnership with Do Something called #ImABoss. The campaign ran from July 9, 2014 through September 9, 2014 with the main goal of encouraging young people to make signs for their friends that included a compliment or unique trait of said friends. The purpose of the campaign was stated to be to instill confidence and kindness in the youth. Ally Brooke was quoted as saying "The #ImABoss campaign is exactly in line with our new single Boss because it's all about owning and sharing what makes you confident and strong."

Fifth Harmony has a partnership with Girl Scouts of America, performing a number of free concerts for young girls who have participated in various fund-raising and charitable activities for the organization. The group performed concerts in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio and Virginia. Later that year, the group was also announced as ambassadors for The Cybersmile Foundation, an anti-cyberbullying initiative. Born prematurely herself, Ally Brooke became a spokesperson for the mother and child health organization March of Dimes in November 2015, in honor of Prematurity Awareness Month and World Prematurity Day. Camila Cabello also partnered with Save the Children to show her care for Syria's children. Lauren Jauregui was involved in Do Something's campaign #LoseYourVCard to help and encourage new adults to vote and to help guide them in the process so the youth of the United States could be more involved in the final outcome. Normani Kordei was named the Diversity Ambassador of Cybersmile foundation after being abused online on the basis of her race.

Endorsements and sponsorships

In late 2013, Fifth Harmony was revealed as the faces of Jovani Fashions' Prom 2014 line. This included a feature spread in Seventeen maganize and a competition with the prize of having the girl group perform at the winner's high school prom. The following year, Fifth Harmony invited members of the media to The Grammy Museum for a press conference to reveal the group's new multi-year partnership with Mattel's Barbie brand. The group recorded a global brand anthem for Barbie, "Anything Is Possible", which they performed at the press conference. The line of dolls, made in each member's likeness, was revealed in November 2014.

Sony Music Entertainment announced that they would be launching endorsement deals between Fifth Harmony and a number of companies, including two clothing lines with Wet Seal. The first clothing line with Wet Seal was launched in August 2014 in 200 stores across America, featuring a collection from each member based on their individual style. Among other licensing agreements signed by Sony Music on behalf of Fifth Harmony were JCorp (apparel), Accessory Innovations (accessories), Brown Trout (posters) and Sky High (back-to-school supplies).

As an opening act on Demi Lovato's The Neon Lights Tour, Fifth Harmony teamed up with Clean & Clear. The group recorded a series of commercials for the product, which were shown to arenas of concert attendees and later uploaded onto the company's YouTube account. Several months later, Clean & Clear commercials featuring the group were played on the MTV channel in the run-up to the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards with the commercials airing on national television the following year. Hershey's Caramels also featured the group's single "Worth It" on national television.

During the summer of 2015, Fifth Harmony were named as the faces of Candie's, a clothing brand stocked exclusively at Kohl's. With this endorsement deal, Fifth Harmony became the first girl group to face the brand since Destiny's Child. The group recorded a jingle and music video for the brand, titled "Rock Your Candie's", which premiered at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards.

Ally Brooke

Allyson Brooke Hernandez was born on (1993-07-07) July 7, 1993 , to Jerry and Patricia Hernandez; she is of Mexican descent. Brooke auditioned for The X Factor in Austin, Texas, singing "On My Knees" from contemporary Christian and Latin pop singer Jaci Velasquez. During a recap of season two of The X Factor, the Huffington Post described her audition as one of the highlights of the season, stating that "it was a quiet but controlled performance, hitting some amazing grace notes". She credits Selena as her main artistic influence.

Besides her work with Fifth Harmony, Brooke was also featured on American DJ-duo Lost Kings song "Look At Us Now" along with American rapper ASAP Ferg.

Normani Kordei

Normani Kordei Hamilton was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on (1996-05-31) May 31, 1996 . She spent her early years in New Orleans, and her family relocated to Houston, Texas after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Kordei recorded her first single at age 13. She credits Beyoncé as her main artistic influence. She has done several minor solo projects, such as two dance videos with Fifth Harmony choreographer Sean Bankhead, and two covers of Tory Lanez's "Say It" and Drake's "Fake Love/Sneakin'".

On March 1, 2017, Kordei was revealed as one of the contestants who would compete on season 24 of Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy. The couple reached the finals, and placed third.

Kordei confirmed that she is working on "new song ideas" with R&B singer Khalid.

Lauren Jauregui

Lauren Michelle Jauregui was born June 27, 1996 (age 21) and was raised in Miami, Florida. Her parents are from Cuba. At 16, Jauregui auditioned for The X Factor.

Jauregui came out as bisexual in an open letter to President-elect Donald Trump's voters, published in Billboard magazine on November 18, 2016. A collaboration between Jauregui and American electro-pop duo Marian Hill, titled "Back to Me", premiered on December 9, 2016. In May 2017, Jauregui was featured on a collaborative track called "Strangers" from Halsey's sophomore studio album. Jauregui received the award for Celebrity of the Year at the British LGBT Awards 2017.

Dinah Jane

Dinah Jane Hansen Amasio was born on (1997-06-22) June 22, 1997 and raised in Santa Ana, California. She is of Polynesian and Tongan descent.

During the final round of bootcamp, Hansen sang "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Kelly Clarkson with another contestant. She forgot part of the song throughout the performance. Hansen was eliminated as a solo performer, but was later brought back into the competition to form Fifth Harmony. In 2015, Hansen auditioned for the role of the main character in the then-upcoming animated film Moana; the role eventually went to Auli'i Cravalho.

Fuse included Hansen on an article of the faces of future Asian and Pacific history, honoring the most promising entertainers of the region in 2017.

Camila Cabello

Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao was born in Havana, Cuba, on (1997-03-03) March 3, 1997 . By the time she was five years old, Cabello had lived in Havana and Mexico, before relocating to the United States. While growing up she listened to Hispanic artists such as Celia Cruz and Alejandro Fernandez. Cabello auditioned for The X Factor in North Carolina.

In November 2015, Cabello released a duet with Canadian singer Shawn Mendes titled "I Know What You Did Last Summer". In October 2016 she released a collaboration with American rapper Machine Gun Kelly called "Bad Things".

On December 18, 2016, Fifth Harmony announced that Cabello had left the group.

Discography

Tours