After just six years in the music industry, Fifth Harmony has decided to take a break from recording and performing. On Monday, Dinah Jane, Ally Brooke, Lauren Jauregui, and Normani Kordei announced in a joint statement on Twitter that they will take a hiatus in order to pursue endeavors as solo artists.
According to the group, the decision was solely based on staying authentic within their respective talents as artists. Although rumors were rampant on social media, the group made it official to their fans on their twitter account, which stated in part: “We realized that in order to stay authentic to ourselves and to you, we do need to take some time, for now, to go on a hiatus…to pursue solo endeavors.” The rumor was exacerbated due to former member Camila Cabello going solo in December 2016. Cabello debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in January 2018 with the lead single “Havana” from her self-titled album.
Fifth Harmony was formed after being on the hit singing competition show, The X Factor, in the second season. The group signed a dual recording deal with Sysco Records and Epic Records. Simon Cowell, who was one of the judges on The X Factor, owns the production company for Sysco Records. Since 2016, Fifth Harmony has sold 456,000 albums. According to Nielson Soundscan, the group has also sold seven million digital songs and accumulated over 1.6 billion on-demand streams since its first album was released. In 2017, Fifth Harmony performed at the 43rd People’s Choice Awards without former member Cabello for the first time. Later that year, they released their third album with the title “Fifth Harmony”, which debuted at number four on the Billboard 200.
According to a source familiar with the group, each member is supportive of the decision for the hiatus. The speculation and rumors that were spread on social media about the hiatus being about Cabello were said to be untrue, and the group actually decided to use the time during the tour break to take the hiatus since their schedules have been nonstop. The source also indicated that everything among the members is fine and that they are in a “good place” for when they resume touring through 2018.
Fifth Harmony performed with Pit Bull at the 2018 Latin American Awards. Pit Bull was also honored with the Latin AMA Dick Clark Achievement Award.
