By AARON KREIN
Arts Editor
Last Wednesday, the most popular girl group in years, Fifth Harmony, took the stage at the 43rd Annual People’s Choice Awards with their first performance since the departure of band mate Camilla Cabello. Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane, Normani Kordei and Ally Brooke opened with a subtle statement in their harmonizing of the lyrics, “We ain’t worried about nothing, we ain’t worried about nada.”
The nearly seamless switch of “I” to “we” in their hit, “Work from Home,” set social media on fire, making audiences believe that it was the group’s response to being labeled as “over.” It brings into question, will the group be able to be successful as a foursome or will they need to find a replacement?
It was announced after the new year that Fifth Harmony re-signed to Epic Records as a four-part group with the same name. Many people are wondering why the name hasn’t changed to Fourth Harmony or even simply just Harmony.
Perhaps the label doesn’t want to change the name to avoid confusion from audiences. This happened in the mid-’90s when New Kids on the Block shortened their name to the initials NKOTB to seem more mature. However, the group reverted to the original name on their next release a decade later.
Beyond that, can the group itself move on without Cabello and remain successful? Well, it can be done and a perfect testament to that is The Spice Girls.
After achieving international success with “Wannabe” and other singles during the “Spiceworld” era, Geri Halliwell announced in May 1998 that she would be leaving The Spice Girls to pursue a solo career. This came after Halliwell stated it was due to differences between the others in the group, which many speculate may be the same for Fifth Harmony.
Instead of finding another girl, The Spice Girls recorded an album called “Forever” as a foursome, which was released in 2001. Despite being commercially inferior to their first two releases, the album spawned international hits like “Holler” and “Goodbye” as well as cemented them as the best-selling girl group of all time.
With that said, Fifth Harmony has achieved a lot in the past couple of years. They are the most successful act from the short-lived U.S. version of “The X Factor” and have been able to edge out competition such as Little Mix to become the dominant girl group in the country. Their first two albums, “Reflection” and “7/27,” peaked in the top five on the Billboard 200 and their single “Work for Home” became the group’s first top ten single. So, maybe the group will be fine without another member.
On the other hand, there have been groups such as Destiny’s Child who’ve replaced members, which did led to their peaking success. After LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson left the group in 1999 due to management disagreements, the members were subsequently replaced by former background vocalists Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams. After Franklin left the group before the third album started production, the group decided to move on as a three-part group with Williams included.
That decision led to the group’s most successful album in 2001, titled “Survivor,” which spawned the second most successful girl group single of all time, “Independent Women Part 1.” The track spent eleven weeks at number one and led the group to win the Billboard Music Award two years in a row. Though many people love to use the “Poor Michelle” meme, some forget to realize the addition of Williams to the group brought them to new heights. If Fifth Harmony keeps their name, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to find another member.
Cabello, who decided to go solo after success with Shawn Mendes and Machine Gun Kelly, isn’t the first major departure to throw a music group off course. The internet coined the term “pulling a Zayn” after the news of Cabello’s exit made waves in reference to Malik’s departure from One Direction two years ago. With his first single, “Pillowtalk,” and his album, “Mind of Mine,” both debuting at number one in the U.S., Malik made a great choice. But can Cabello manage to see the same individual strides?
In terms of Fifth Harmony, I think the hype of this PCA performance is to their benefit. Jauregui was able to hold up Cabello’s part in the beginning and they replaced her ending lyrics with a short but sweet dance break. They also seemed to have a more sensual look than usual with tight leather outfits and fish-net stockings.
Whether they add another member or not, I look forward to seeing how the group evolves from this plot twist. Cabello might be “Miss Movin’ On” but I hope the group isn’t “Going Nowhere” and perhaps “Gonna Get Better.”
