Interview: Fifth Harmony talk Little Mix fan rivalry and sexing up their act

Let’s be honest, Simon Cowell doesn’t exactly have a bad track record when it comes putting a band together at bootcamp and propelling them to global superstardom.

The X Factor USA might have now bitten the dust, but after hitting the UK Top 20 with sass-filled, Oprah-checking debut single BO$$ and with saxy new track Worth It rocketing towards the top end of the chart this week, former finalists Fifth Harmony are fast proving their credentials as the show’s biggest success story.

It’s been almost three years since Dinah, Camila, Normani, Ally and Lauren were thrust together for a chance at life in the spotlight, but as the girls quickly make clear at the start of our chat, with the release debut album Reflection this week (July 10) they’re are keen to close the door on their reality show past and take their rightful place at the top of the pop pyramid.

Here, the girls talk performing at G-A-Y in London, sexing up their act and why they won’t be drawn into any nasty fan rivalry with Little Mix…

So firstly, what’s the one question you’re sick of being asked?

Ally: Oh I think… Probably anything about how did we get formed – you can strike that one off your list!

Do you feel like that’s a chapter of you lives that’s officially over now then?

Ally: Yeah, it’s weird. It seems like such a long time ago that we were formed but in some ways it seems like just yesterday. We’ve been through so much together and really seen each other grow. We’ve seen each other in our lowest moments and our best moments, but we’re really grateful to have each other. This experience has been incredible. We’ve got to know ourselves, we’ve got to know the industry, and it finally feels like we’ve found our way.

We were lucky enough to be at you G-A-Y performance and the atmosphere was incredible. It’s rare to see that for such a new band. Have you been surprised by the British reaction?

Camila: Aww thank you! Yeah it was really really fun, and we definitely didn’t expect the response that we got. The G-A-Y performance was amazing and the fact that Worth It has been playing on the radio everywhere while we’ve been here has vbeen amazing. We had like 200 fans waiting for us when we went to a radio station the other day which was really crazy. It’s all been really unexpected but we’re really happy about it.

Lauren: We haven’t had much of a chance to go out and about a lot, because we’ve been so busy! There’s a lot of early mornings involved. But I have a friend out here and she’s taken me out a couple of times to different bars and stuff  – but I don’t want to drink too much, so it’s mainly just water!

For people that don’t know what to expect from the album, how would you describe it?

Dinah: Well in terms of sound, Worth It is definitely an urban track, it’s got a solid beat to it and it’s all drums and horns there, but I think as an album it’s quite an eclectic array of sounds. It’s not just one genre, there’s quite a few. We’ve got some pop songs in there, we’ve got some more R&B songs on there. It’s kind of representative of music that we all like individually, and that’s pretty much where we’re coming from. But really the whole vibe of the album is very young, very fun, it’s the music you want to play before you go out or when you’re with your friends. It’s makes you feel confident. There’s a lot of female empowerment and self-love involved, so that’s really what we’re about. We’ll definitely be recording our next album very soon, and in terms of creativity, I think that has a lot to do with growth, so maybe we’ll be in a very different place with the next album than this one too.

You mentioned growing up a lot since you left The X Factor, and obviously you’ve got some rather sexy choreography going on. Was that a natural progression as you’ve gotten older?

Normani: Yeah definitely. We don’t do anything that we don’t feel comfortable with, or feel represents us and the people that we are. We won’t go on stage and do any dance that we don’t feel comfortable with – or even that any one of the group is uncomfortable with. We work very closely with our choregrapher and he feels comfortable in what he’s teaching us and we feel confident in what we’re doing. And it’s really thst collaboration that you see on stage, and the confidence and the hair-whipping all that sort of stuff just emphasises the sexiness I guess.

Well you guys were definitely bringing it. Now, Jade from Little Mix was there at G-A-Y, and you guys were pictured all dressed up with the whole band too – is there anything in the pipeline for you guys?

A: Um, not at the moment, we kind of just ran into each other! There’s no collaboration any time soon or anything, but they came to support us at G-A-Y and that was really cool.

Obviously there’s a huge online rivalry between both of your fanbases. What do you make of the animosity?

N: I think that ultimately both we and Little Mix really stand for girl power, and girl power is about boosting each other up rather than tearing each other down. And I think it’s the public that try to put us against each other and try to tear each other down. But that’s not what we support at all. We try to preach girl power to our fans

Apart from maybe the Pussycat Dolls, there haven’t been that many successful US girl bands since the days of Destiny’s Child. What do you think it is about you guys that’s made you different from the rest?

A: We really don’t know! We just like, so grateful for all the support that we’ve gotten from our pans – oh my god, sorry fans –  and they the most passionate and dedicated, and they’re the reason we’re at where we are today. And I don’t know, I think it’s really cool how they all relate to us. We’re all multi-cultural, we’re all very different and we’re all very honest about who were are. All we wanna be is ourselves, and one of our main messages is self-acceptance. What you see is what you get.

And what are the biggest upsides and downsides of fame you’ve experienced?

D: Oh, well on the downside, I feel like it’s just missing our families –  we’re all really family-oriented, and now we only get to see them like once a month, and even then it’s only for a couple of days. But now it feels like the success is coming and things are all falling into place which makes doing that so much easier. C: Yeah there are definitely moments  when we feel like life has changed, like when we played at the capital radio ball, it was in this huge arena in front of the 80 000 people. It got pretty emotional because we realised how much we had all been through together and how much things have changed. You really feel it come to life in those moments.

Fifth Harmony’s new single Worth It is out now, and the group’s debut album Reflection is released today in the UK (July 10).