It’s been a whirlwind few months for Fifth Harmony, and the wait for their next album and the band’s next concert tour cannot come quickly enough. The pop group recently concluded their sold-out residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and had to postpone their South American tour once again due to poor ticket sales. While the girls have been inactive, a few of their members have found new partners and started new families. Let’s take a look at what happened next.
Album Release And Concerts
After wrapping up their residency and premiering a new song, “Spirit”, Fifth Harmony have kept themselves busy working on their upcoming album and concert schedule. Although they’ve been relatively quiet since premiering their debut single “Worth It” in July 2018, the group has been hard at work crafting a full-length album. The album will feature 11 tracks and is set to be released in December.
As part of their 2019 concert tour, the group will kick off their North American leg in Los Angeles on January 18th and will be playing a total of 16 shows in North America spanning from coast to coast. The tour will wrap up in Richmond, Virginia on February 22nd. Since their debut, the pop quintet have performed live multiple times and visited multiple continents. Between their debut and the North American leg of their 2019 tour, the group will play four sold-out shows in London (two nights) and will wrap up their European leg in Amsterdam on December 19th. The girl band will be hitting the big 4-0 next year and will no doubt be celebrating by playing some of their biggest hits, as well as some surprise or new songs from their forthcoming album.
Family Mixture
In addition to their busy concert schedule, Fifth Harmony have also been quietly adding more members to their family. In October, the group revealed via Instagram that they had given birth to a daughter. The birth mother is a surrogate and the baby’s father is fellow band member, Shawn Mendes. The group’s drummer, Julian Raymond, is the child’s uncle. The family is also close to finishing a home video with celebrity photographer Bruce Weber, who has been documenting their lives for the past year. The two-night shoot took place in a Southern California beach town called Carlsbad and was previously reported by TMZ.
The family has been spending lots of time together in recent weeks, and fans will surely enjoy some cuddly moments between the famous musician and his niece or nephew. In late October, Mendes took to Instagram to share a sweet photo of himself and the baby while sporting a “dad” sweatshirt. With millions of followers, the photo almost instantly went viral.
New Partnerships And Songs
Since their debut, Fifth Harmony have been a part of some pretty incredible collaborations. In addition to their work with some of music’s biggest names, including Maluma, Camila Cabello, and Don Iverson, the group has also appeared on some truly iconic album covers. In April 2019, the group collaborated with fashion designer Marc Jacobs to launch a limited-edition fragrance, Marc Jacobs x Fifth Harmony. The scent is a combination of jasmine, orange blossom, and mandarin, and it is described as “a modern interpretation of the Gardenias of Ibiza.” The fragrance was inspired by Jacobs’ “Dress Me” collection, and it was released in stores and online retailers across the world, including in the U.S.
The band has also been spotted on the sets of some major films and television shows. In February 2019, they made a cameo appearance in the first season of Riverdale, where they performed “Boss” alongside the show’s stars, Betty Swann and Jughead Jonex. They have also filmed numerous promos for various TV shows, including for the upcoming fourth season of Riverdale. In June 2019, they made an appearance as themselves in the comedy film, Boys Night Out.
Aside from working with high-profile brands and Hollywood heavyweights, the group also collaborates with independent creators. In March 2019, they teamed up with fashion photographer Markus Benz for a special project that gives a different perspective on beauty. The photoshoot, called #IMWANTMATCH, encourages users to upload a photo of themselves and then compare it to a curated “best match” based on their style, with a side of fashion and beauty influencers. The goal is to promote open communication and self-esteem, as well as give people of all styles and body types confidence. The #IMWANTMATCH campaign was launched in partnership with Ulta Beauty and GAP and will be open for submissions until October 31st.
Las Vegas Residency
While the group has been working hard on their album and concert schedule, they have also been keeping busy performing in Las Vegas. The residency at Caesars Palace is the group’s longest yet, and it is set to continue throughout most of 2020. The residency pays homage to the city’s most famous resident, the Soprano, who began singing in Las Vegas in 1963 and died there in 2018 at the age of 91. The ten-night residency will feature the group performing alongside some of music’s biggest names. On Monday, October 7th, they joined Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye, and Seal for a tribute to the late singer and actress Barbra Streisand. On October 13th, they performed alongside Robert Plant, Ludacris, and Kanye West for a song titled, “Only Two” in honor of the late hip hop legend 2 Pac. On October 21st, Fifth Harmony performed alongside Toni Amelio, Seal, and Nathan LeRoy for a song called, “Girl Tripping (Over You)” in memory of Whitney Houston.
The group’s drummer, Julian Raymond, also took the stage throughout the residency and performed several of Houston’s greatest hits, including “I Wanna Dance With You” and “I Cant Help Myself.” On October 28th, Julian Raymond and Michael B. Jordan sang “Happy Birthday Wishes” and “Happy Birthday To You” to celebrate Barbra Streisand’s 93rd birthday.
Postponements And Rumors
Due to the current status of the coronavirus, many concert gigs, including Fifth Harmony’s, have been postponed or canceled. The pandemic has also affected the group’s album release date. In early March, they tweeted that their album would be out soon, but it was later revealed that the release had been pushed back to at least mid-June.
In a video posted on Twitter on April 14th, the group announced that they were postponing their North American tour and the residency at Caesars Palace. The tour was supposed to kick off in Los Angeles on January 18th and continue through the majority of the continent, until the group wraps up in Richmond, Virginia on February 22nd. Since then, they have been relatively inactive, aside from a few solo outings by the individual members. On June 4th, the group’s representative confirmed to Billboard that the tour had been postponed until further notice.
The residency at Caesars Palace is another item on the postponement list. It was initially scheduled to end on September 4th, but it was extended to October 7th. While the girls have been very quiet on social media, it seems that not all of their activities have been pushed back. On Sunday, May 4th, they confirmed on social media that they would be filming a music video for a new song in Malibu on May 7th. The band has also hinted on social media that more tof their projects have been put on hold, due to the pandemic. Fans will have to patiently wait and see what happens next.