Camila Cabello leaves Fifth Harmony

[Main Pop Girl]

On 12/20/2016 at 4:09 AM, Tweener said:

I think that out of these 4 only Lauren has chances for a proper solo career

Why?  She's a bad singer, a bad dancer and she's super average to look at. The only one I can see having any success is Normandi who could totally be an alternative R&B star like Tinashe.

[Tweener]

7 hours ago, Countess said:

Why?  She's a bad singer, a bad dancer and she's super average to look at. The only one I can see having any success is Normandi who could totally be an alternative R&B star like Tinashe.

Tinashe and success? Honey, you need to wake up!

Lauren has a nice deep voice and she's very pretty

Tho, I still think that Camilla will be alright without 5H considering the success of Bad Things and that some websites started calling her "a fashion icon" already  

[Kevinn Edu]

On 12/21/2016 at 10:00 PM, Countess said:

Why?  She's a bad singer, a bad dancer and she's super average to look at. The only one I can see having any success is Normandi who could totally be an alternative R&B star like Tinashe.

honestly, after hearing her cover of Fake Love x Sneakin', I think she'd be something close to Beyonce imo don't @ me tho 

[Main Pop Girl]

On 12/23/2016 at 0:33 AM, Tweener said:

Tinashe and success? Honey, you need to wake up!

Lauren has a nice deep voice and she's very pretty

Tho, I still think that Camilla will be alright without 5H considering the success of Bad Things and that some websites started calling her "a fashion icon" already  

That might be what she looks like with Photoshop, but the rest of the time she just looks like your average chola you'd find in Queens.  

 

On 12/23/2016 at 7:12 PM, Kevinn Edu said:

honestly, after hearing her cover of Fake Love x Sneakin', I think she'd be something close to Beyonce imo don't @ me tho 

She definitely has that enigmatic, powerful vibe going on. I wouldn't expect her to hit #1 on the charts anytime soon but I can imagine Tumblr eating her up!

Here's some more info on why Camila allegedly left the group. It's kind of a long read but it's interesting to hear how long this was planned and how obsessed the label was with keeping them together.

Spoiler

In what's been a volley of she said/they said statements over the last 72 hours, following the girl group's routine performance at their final Jingle Ball stop in Miami on Dec. 18, Fifth Harmony members Ally Brooke, 23, Normani Kordei, 20, Dinah Jane, 19, and Lauren Jauregui, 20, announced via social media that Camila Cabellohad, in their words, "decided to leave” the group. The unexpected statement was followed by Cabello's own response that, "Saying that I was 'leaving the group' is simply not true,” Harmonizers, as their fans are known, have taken to social media to express their confusion over what really led to the act's downsizing from five to four. At the same time, many in the industry are wondering what happens to the hashtag-christened "Fourth Harmony” from here -- especially considering the label is staring down a deadline at the end of December by which the company has to decide whether to pick up the group's option for a third full-length album (Epic Records has not commented on the status of the deal; reps for Fifth Harmony and Cabello declined further comment).

Although Fifth Harmony's recording contracts are structured as individual solo deals, allowing them to make music both as a unit and on their own, according to multiple sources, tensions had been festering among the group members for some time as Cabello increasingly voiced her desire to pursue a career outside the group. Cabello's aspirations were no surprise to her bandmates: Over 18 months, she'd been open about solo prospects in the press. She had also enlisted her own manager, Roger Gold, independent of Fifth Harmony's representative -- Jared Paul (New Kids on the Block) in the post-X Factor years, until Dec. 2015 when Larry Rudolph of Maverick (Britney Spears) took over for the group. But once Cabello's hit duet with Shawn Mendes, "I Know What You Did Last Summer,” was released in November 2015, talks began in earnest concerning the future of the group as a five-piece and rumors began to spread that Fifth Harmony was unraveling.

But while a source close to the situation insists "Camila could not have been clearer about her desire to leave the group,” refusing repeated outreach and suggestions of meetings and group discussions, here is where the details get fuzzy -- who wasn't speaking to whom, for one. Was it Cabello versus the four, with an occasional ally in Dinah Jane? Or was it a full-on silent treatment, paused only when a group appearance on stage or in the media demanded it? And was Cabello replaceable (an idea to launch a search for a new singer via a reality show was discussed and shot down) or is it wiser for Fifth Harmony as a brand to move forward with four? After all, members Lauren Jauregui and Normani Kordei had also announced projects outside the group, and had been asserting more independence of late -- Jauregui's recent collaboration with Marian Hill and coming out as bisexual, for instance.

The idea of a "hiatus” was offered by the Cabello camp, but the other members of Fifth Harmony would not agree to waiting out her solo career. The iron was hot now.

There were multiple attempts at interventions -- from bringing a therapist out on the road "to help the girls sort out their issues,” says an insider, who claims that all but Cabello participated in sessions with the licensed psychologist, to scheduling a "come to Jesus” sit-down with Reid, management and the girls for which Cabello was purportedly a no-show. But a source close to Cabello contends that a group meeting with Reid was "never confirmed” and that previous sit-downs with a therapist would "historically devolve into a four-against-one scenario, much like the dynamic in the current public battle of statements we are seeing, and were largely unproductive.” Instead, "Camila felt that the best way to communicate effectively with her bandmates was one-on-one, which she did during the European tour.”

Even Simon Cowell, whose Syco label is a Sony Music imprint (as is Epic), got involved, advising the group members to look to the bigger picture: that there's value in keeping this massive machine -- 7 million U.S. digital downloads sold and 1.6 billion U.S. on-demand streams, as of Dec. 15, according to Nielsen Music -- going as long as possible. "The girls wanted the group to stay together for the business,” adds a source familiar with the circumstances. But even Cowell eventually relented to the idea of Cabello's exit, having been down the road before with One Direction, among many other acts. "[Cowell] was the voice of reason. He would say, 'You can't make people work together.'”

Others on the periphery point out that a solo album by Cabello and another release by Fifth Harmony were not mutually exclusive. But again, a Cabello source paints a different picture. "The group's management made it clear that if she wanted to make any more solo music, it wouldn't work for them,” says the insider.

In fact, Fifth Harmony's label, Epic Records, has been planning a Cabello solo album for the better part of a year, putting the 19-year-old in the studio with such hitmakers as Benny Blanco and Diplo in addition to songwriters Madison Love ("Bad Things”), Johnny Mitchell and Amarr, and producers Futuristics ("Bad Things”) and Serm (Sean Paul's "No Lie”). According to a source, the album is well on its way, with sessions booked through January. Cabello's first solo single could be out as soon as March or April with an album to follow in the summer.

But right now, five girls and their various representatives (three of the five have their own attorneys and lawyer Dina LaPolt represents the group) are dealing with a very cold December. Between the 18th of the month (a day the four girls understood to be Cabello's last with the group, while a source in the Cabello camp claims it only marked the end of their commitments on this album cycle and "did not mean that she wanted to withdraw from the band”) and the end of the year, when Epic's option for a third album by Fifth Harmony comes up, Harmonizers' entire universe could be upended.

If there's a backlash beyond the fan army turf war, it may be due to the way the announcements were handled. Unlike One Direction, another X Factor-spawned group, where exiting member Zayn Malik released a statement at the same time as his former bandmates and Cowell ("I have to do what feels right in my heart,” Malik's read, followed by praise for the group that put him on the global map), a source close to Cabello tells Billboard she was "completely blindsided” by the post on the official Fifth Harmony social channels (the group boasts 3.65 million Twitter followers and 7.5 million Facebook likes), which squarely put the onus of the departure on her. "This all [stems from] the girls' jealousy,” says the insider. "You've read this story a million times.”

What happened to precipitate a pre-emptive post by the four girls is a subject of some debate, although it seems there were a few attempts to structure a joint announcement -- ultimately unsuccessful. And it's not helping that Harmonizers are up in arms over leaked audio of group members complaining of being treated "like slaves." But by whom is also unclear.

"The whole thing was handled horribly,” says Los Angeles radio personality Chris Booker of AMP Radio, adding the caveat, "which, in 2016, is a very good thing because it's a headline -- that's the game now. If the remaining ladies of 'Fourth Harmony' say nice things, it's a nonstory.” Still, the veteran jock notes that a modicum of decency is called for in situations where a key member is exiting. Says Booker: "The right response from Fifth Harmony should have been, 'We love you, girl, we will miss you, go slay the world, blah, blah f---ing blah.'”

"It's very perilous to break up the winning team. I've seen it wreak havoc,” says Fair. At the same time, he adds, "Who's to stop the kid from taking a shot or forever regretting it? When it's not a marketing or a business decision but it's someone's hopes and dreams? The key is to manage the team and keep the train on the track. But who's to say Fifth Harmony as Fourth Harmony isn't a more robust, punchy proposition than it was with the extra spoke on the wheel? Today, the song is so dominant in the success recipe that as long as the girls and their team can continue to identify those great songs, they will be on top.”

[Tweener]

12 minutes ago, Countess said:

That might be what she looks like with Photoshop, but the rest of the time she just looks like your average chola you'd find in Queens.  

 

1

So what? Halsey and Melanie can't even look average, so you shouldn't complain about Lauren

[Main Pop Girl]

2 minutes ago, Tweener said:

So what? Halsey and Melanie can't even look average, so you shouldn't complain about Lauren

I don't like Halsey or Melanie...

[Tweener]

1 minute ago, Countess said:

I don't like Halsey or Melanie...

 

THISSS!

Yeah, but somehow they are quite relevant. Lauren looks and sings better than both of them, so why not? I would give her a shot! 

[Main Pop Girl]

Just now, Tweener said:

THISSS!

Yeah, but somehow they are quite relevant. Lauren looks and sings better than both of them, so why not? I would give her a shot! 

Oooh okay, I see where you're coming from. But Tumblr likes Melanie cos she's creepy and Halsey cos she's a dyke, whereas I don't think Lauren is either of those.  Although she recently came out as bi so maybe she's coming for those SJW weaves.  

[Tweener]

I am rooting for them all tho. I want more 5H bops. Camila will be cute as a solo act as well. She's annoying, but Bad Things is an undeniable bop 

[Main Pop Girl]

12 hours ago, Tweener said:

I am rooting for them all tho. I want more 5H bops. Camila will be cute as a solo act as well. She's annoying, but Bad Things is an undeniable bop 

I haven't listened to it because her and MGK are both disgusting.  

[Tweener]

it's so fucking catchy. I can't get it out of my head for 2 weeks now

[Main Pop Girl]

2 minutes ago, Tweener said:

it's so fucking catchy. I can't get it out of my head for 2 weeks now

Download Lady Gaga's hit new single 'Million Reasons' on iTunes and repent for your sins! 

[Tweener]

lol

[Kevinn Edu]

On 12/25/2016 at 7:42 AM, Countess said:

She definitely has that enigmatic, powerful vibe going on. I wouldn't expect her to hit #1 on the charts anytime soon but I can imagine Tumblr eating her up!

Tumblr already is eating her up LOL. But honestly, once the group breaks up, I could see her going in the direction that Beyoncé's career went.

[Main Pop Girl]

10 hours ago, Kevinn Edu said:

Tumblr already is eating her up LOL. But honestly, once the group breaks up, I could see her going in the direction that Beyoncé's career went.

She's never gonna have the success of something like 'Crazy In Love' tho, but I can imagine her self-releasing something like Lemonade.