Destination Jam: Our Top 5 Fifth Harmony songs to celebrate the brilliant girl group's eighth anniversary
Hi there, music lovers. As you might have already gathered from recent trending news, popular girl group Fifth Harmony aka 5H has been making waves online recently for two rather special reasons. First off, and most importantly, the singing stars are celebrating their eighth anniversary, since they first dazzled the world with their talent, style, and potential when they appeared on 'The X Factor' on July 27, 2012 (They even have an album called 7/27). Back then, the stunning quintet consisted of Camila Cabello, Lauren Jauregui, Ally Brooke, Dinah-Jane Hansen and Normani Hamilton, who have all gone on to pursue successful solo careers since.
The uber-popular Camila Cabello (of 'Senorita' and Shawn Mendes fame) was the first to depart in 2016, and the group eventually went on hiatus in 2018, with members like Ally Brooke and Normani busy earning plaudits for their immense talents of late. Which brings us to our second reason for celebration, since Ally Brooke recently won an Emmy Award for her theme song on Nickelodeon’s ‘The Casagrandes’. Thanks to more than 7 million digital downloads and over 1.6 billion streams, Fifth Harmony was dubbed "the biggest girl group of the 2010s." So let's celebrate this immensely talented group with our latest Destination Jam.
'Boss'
This catchy dance-pop song, often stylized as 'BO$$' was the lead single from Fifth Harmony's debut album, 'Reflection' in 2015. With lyrics like "Working for the money 'cause that's what my mama taught me / So your ass better show me some respect" and references to Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama, the song quickly became a feminist anthem, which encouraged young women to become strong, confident and independent on their own. The song eventually peaked at No. 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and went on to be certified platinum in the United States.
“The whole point of this song is for girls who are our age to turn it on and feel confident and empowered because at this age being insecure is such a normal, common thing,” Camila Cabello told MTV. “So I think when you turn that song on, feel sexy and feel good about yourself. So the whole point is about being yourself and liking it.”
'Worth It'
This track was released as the third single from Fifth Harmony's debut studio album 'Reflection' in 2015, and features the American rapper Kid Ink. A crossover smash hit of dance-pop and R&B, the track featured horns and strong Middle Eastern influences, a signature motif often used by the song's writer, Ori Kaplan. The track was immensely successful, and went on to peak at No. 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was later certified triple platinum in the United States.
With lyrics like "Just give me you, that's all I wanna do / And if what they say is true, if it's true, I might give me to you", the empowering jam talks about being in control while hooking up with a man at a club. The music video has over 1.8 billion views on YouTube alone, a sure sign of the song's immense popularity.
'Work From Home'
This song is one of Fifth Harmony's biggest smash hits, and was released as the lead single from the group's second studio album '7/27', which celebrates the date the artistes first got together. Featuring the rapper Ty Dolla Sign, this was another crossover smash hit that melded elements of R&B with trap music and tropical house beats. There was also plenty of innuendo in the flirty lyrics, where the word "work" was used as a euphemism for sex with the girls' respective lovers — "Let's put it into motion, I'ma give you a promotion / I'll make it feel like a vacay, turn the bed into an ocean."
Speaking about the song, Fifth Harmony admitted, "Our A&R Joey [Arbagey] played it to us one day, and he was like, ‘Oh, this is gonna be a big one’. We heard it and we just fell in love with it. We were just obsessed with it because it’s laidback and chill and has a kind of urban pocket to it." The song peaked at No 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and the music video has over 2.3 billion views on YouTube.
'All In My Head (Flex)'
This fun and breezy track featured on Fifth Harmony's second studio album '7/27' which released in 2016. Featuring a collaboration with the American rapper Fetty Wap, this song was also considered a crossover hit, since it included elements of reggae and trap, as well as synths, guitars, and percussive finger snaps. It's also notable that this single contains an interpolation of the track 'Flex' by Mad Cobra, which released in 1995.
Speaking about the song on Instagram prior to the release of '7/27', Fifth Harmony member Dinah-Jane Hansen had mentioned, "the vibe and rhythm to this I feel represents me best as a South Pacific Islander... This is just one of those feel-good songs that you can't help but jam to, no matter where you're at or who you're with!" The song did well commercially too, peaking at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, while the YouTube music video has over 414 million views at last count.
'Down'
This song was released as the lead single from the group's self-titled third studio album, 'Fifth Harmony', in 2017. It featured a collaboration with the American rapper Gucci Mane, and this romantic dancehall groover was highly reminiscent of their previous smash hit 'Work from Home'. However, this song was also notable since it was Fifth Harmony's first official single as a quartet, following former member Camila Cabello's departure in December 2016.
Speaking about the track, the girls admitted that the song was also about the way they had rallied around each other and pulled through adversity together. "We kinda connect it to each other because we’ve been through so much and we’ve always held each other down. Hopefully, that’s not cheesy. It’s a little cheesy, but it’s the truth though. We’ve been through so much, through thick and thin and we’ve always had each other’s back," Normani admitted. The song went on to peak at No 42 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, was certified gold in the United States, and the music video also has over 87 million views on YouTube.
Destination Jam is a daily list of songs that will keep you entertained and grooving up top in lieu of feeling drained and losing the plot. Look out for a fresh selection of great tunes from MEAWW to refresh your mood every day!