ABC/Heidi GutmanFifth Harmony‘s self-titled third album is out on Friday, and it’s the first project where the girls were allowed to have creative control. As a result, they say, their new music marks the first time that they’re not just “going through the motions.”
On the new album, which features the single “Down,” the girls co-wrote over half the material, and were involved in choosing the rest. Speaking to USA Today, Normani Kordei explains, “Now, we’re not getting on stage every night and…singing the songs because we were told to sing them. This is the first time we’re excited, and believing what we sing.”
Fifth Harmony’s disc is their first without Camila Cabello, who’s launched a solo career. But Lauren Jauregui is staying positive when it comes to her former band mate.
“We’re so happy, and we moved forward, and we’re in a good place, and we hope she’s in a good place,” she tells USA Today. “And that’s really what matters.”
What also matters, the girls say, is how they can best serve as positive role models for their young fans, especially because they’re all women of color.
“We’re representing young women from across America, all different kinds of girls, and even if they’re not like any one of us, they notice that all of us are different, so they can be different too,” says Lauren.
And when Normani looks into the crowd at a show and sees “a little Caucasian girl with a Normani T-shirt on,” she says it makes her realize that “we’ve broken barriers…where people don’t look like me, or don’t have the same hair texture as me, can identify with me so deeply.”
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