The five girls from Fifth Harmony are currently the most successful girl group in the world. So it's no wonder that they refer to the Spice Girls and Destiny's Child as their role models.
You could be forgiven for thinking they are the female equivalent of British boy band One Direction when you hear the story of how Fifth Harmony came to be. Both groups were formed in the casting show The X Factor, both were formed from individual candidates into a five-piece group, both have British music producer Simon Cowell as their mentor and both finished the show in third place. And both are celebrating the biggest successes ever in the history of The X Factor in England and the USA respectively. Both One Direction and Fifth Harmony are considered the most successful participants in their respective casting shows.
The five girls - Karla Camila Cabello (19), Normani Kordei Hamilton (20), Lauren Michelle Jauregui (20), Allyson Brooke Hernandez (23) and Dinah Jane Hansen (19) - all had the dream of a pop career. A career, however, in which each of them stands alone at the center of attention. That's why each of them took part in the American version of the casting show. After the five girls made it through to the boot camp round but missed out on the live shows, the judges decided that the five girls would make a good girl group.
Why they wanted to call themselves Candl first
No sooner said than done. The five participants, who come from different parts of the USA and also from Cuba, were formed into a group. "We were already friends at boot camp, so the chemistry was an instant fit," said Dinah in an interview with US radio presenter Ryan Seacrest. They took part in the first live shows under the name Lylas until the existing band The Lylas filed a complaint and the five girls changed their name to "1432" - in reference to "I love you too".
However, this band name was publicly criticized by the judges of the casting show in the live show, so they asked the audience to vote. This is how the final name came about: Fifth Harmony. A good decision, as the band almost called themselves Candl - an acronym for the first names of the five members. The group finished the show in third place and their first EP "Better Together" followed shortly afterwards.
They all stand up for women - and none of them are divas
Fifth Harmony finally achieved their big breakthrough with their debut album "Reflection". The songs on it are hymns to the strength of women. "It's our duty to show people that a woman can be just as strong as a man," Normani told US magazine "Fashion" in May.
Unlike other girl groups, Fifth Harmony do not have a front woman. So there is no Beyoncé, no Nicole Scherzinger, who outshines all the other band members and sings most of the songs. Everyone is equal and sings equally about the power that a woman has. The songs "Worth It" and "Boss" are intended to encourage women and girls to be strong and not let themselves be beaten down.
In "Boss", stylized to the title "Bo$$", there are many references: to Jay Z, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Oprah Winfrey and also to First Lady Michelle Obama. The song is reminiscent of "Independent Women Part II" by Destiny's Child and is about women earning their own money. "Michelle Obama, purse so heavy gettin' Oprah Dollars" it says.
