Normani just announced her debut solo album, Dopamine, after more than 10 years in the music industry, so what better time than to talk about the Fifth Harmony renaissance that’s taking over TikTok? Normani was one-fifth of the girl group Fifth Harmony, who got their start on X-factor and went on to become one of the culturally defining moments of the early 2010s. With their catchy pop songs and a unique composition of members that you wouldn’t think go together, Fifth Harmony ruled the radio stations, social media, and the fandom world along with groups like One Direction, Little Mix, and 5 Seconds of Summer. After Camilla Cabello left the group in 2016 to pursue a solo career, the remaining girls disbanded in 2018 and moved on to personal projects.
Despite the group’s 6-year-long hiatus, their brand and music have been making a comeback on TikTok, thanks to Noah Mills (@nmillz1), who reminded everyone of Fifth Harmony when he posted a video to his account on February 12th with the song “All In My Head (Flex)” from the group’s 2016 album 7/27. Since that video took off, there have been thousands of people reconnecting with Fifth Harmony’s music, putting them back on the charts and even gaining the attention of two of the five members, with Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane making their own TikToks to the song. Beyond “All In My Head,” fans are revisiting the group’s girl-power anthem “BO$$” and the group’s first single “Miss Movin’ On,” reveling in the nostalgia from the era and also realizing that their songs were actually good, despite criticisms they may have received in the past. This renaissance also includes people posting their own videos of Fifth Harmony’s concerts and realizing just how fun and unserious the group could be at times, with each girl doing their own thing on stage and even performing cartwheels while others sing (I’m looking at you, Ally).
Part of the resurgence of Fifth Harmony’s music comes from the public nostalgia from the 2013-2016 era. Ever since Covid, it seems as though people, especially Gen Z and Millennials, long for the years when things were simpler, and it didn’t seem as though there were so many stakes at play constantly. This is seen in the playful and carefree performances of girl and boy bands, especially One Direction and Fifth Harmony, as they were the biggest definers of this era, coming straight off shows like X-Factor and quickly rising to their peaks of both talent and fame. While this era of new social media, pop music, and group fandom was short-lived, it’s nice to revisit and appreciate what some people couldn’t do when they were younger. I personally was a Fifth Harmony stan; I had a bunch of their CDs and posters from Justice and Tiger Beat, and I knew every song on their first album by heart, and even now, I’m reminded of just how fun their music is and how you don’t have to grow out of music just because everyone else is, and I think that’s another reason why this frequent renaissance of early 2010s media gets so popular. Now that we’ve grown and know what we like as adults, we’re able to come back and enjoy things that actually made us happy as kids, without the pressure from others to like what’s popular.
As one of the last Fifth Harmony members to put out a project, I can only hope that all the talk around her former group propels Normani’s career forward and gets people talking about her album. Despite not putting out much music since the girls disbanded, Normani has been consistently admired in the public eye for her singing and dancing, especially after placing third on Dancing With The Stars in 2017. There is no release date yet for Dopamine, so until then, I’ll have “All In My Head” on full blast.