The risk any musical group takes in adding more than one person to the mix of singing is the inevitable clash of personalities. From Take That to Destiny’s Child, there is always invariably going to be that one (or two or three) person who either thinks he or she is better off solo or that he or she is worth more to the group than he or she gets credit for. In Camila Cabello of Fifth Harmony’s case, it’s about the former category.
When the new-fangled Spice Girls act was formed in 2012 via X Factor, Cabello had auditioned as a solo singer to begin with. After being eliminated, she was brought back in conjunction with Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui and Normani Kordei to form Fifth Harmony. With her desire for singular fame separate from her bandmates established from the outset, it was written from the beginning that Cabello would jump ship.
Unfortunately for the remaining four girls in the act, it is a pattern best described as the Ginger Spice effect. And, like the Spice Girls, Fifth Harmony only released two wildly successful albums (one of which included millennial anthem “Work From Home“) before losing the key ingredient to their prosperity. Not to say that any one member of a girl group is better than another, but, let’s be real, Camila had the charisma (this is not a euphemism for “most porn star potential“). Like Ginger a.k.a. Geri Halliwell, Cabello’s conduct is indicative of the underlying issues that stem from too much popularity at such a rapid rate.
Chief among these issues is exhaustion from the tour schedules, the media appearances and, most significantly, the pressure to sustain and outshine the precedents of success set by the group. But perhaps, more than anything, it’s having to be lumped in with the same four people, day in and day out. Eventually, it can get to the type of bitch who just wants to carve out her own identity.
Unlike Spice Girls, however, Fifth Harmony has made the grave error of naming themselves as an allusion to having five members, which will serve as a definite sting as they continue to attempt performing in a foursome capacity. If they’re smart, they’ll release a “Goodbye“-esque track while audiences still find them relevant. Or else they’ll just have to wait for the reunion ten years from the time of their breakup.
