The girls of Fifth Harmony are on the cover of Billboard Magazine‘s latest issue and they reveal that fame hasn’t been easy. In Billboard, Camila Cabello, Normani Kordei, Dinah-Jane Hansen, Ally Brooke Hernandez and Lauren Jauregui all opened up about their experiences both in and out of the spotlight.
The five girls were asked about their lowest personal moments in their career. Camila Cabello shared how fame took a toll on her health and that she has battled with anxiety. She said, “I was having terrible anxiety, nonstop. My heart would beat really fast the whole day. Two hours after I woke up, I’d need a nap because my body was so hyperactive. It was so eff — sorry, but it was so f–ked up. I was scared of what would happen to me, of the things my brain might tell me. I realized the stuff I thought was important isn’t worth my health. Now I write in a diary every day, work out and meditate.”
Dinah Jane Hansen also revealed how the stressful schedule was difficult, “I love touring, but the schedule traumatized me.” After rising to fame on The X Factor, the five girls have had to make some hard sacrifices. Hansen said, “I watched my great-grandmother be buried on FaceTime. We’re all so family-oriented, and we’ve all lost people on the road.” Normani Kordei also added that she almost never has time to go home, even when those close to her passed away.
Out of the five girls, Ally Brooke Hernandez has become the rock. But although she tries to stay strong for everyone, she still has moments where she suffers. She told Billboard that has experienced “awful mental health situations” and “pain on a lot of levels.”
All of the members of Fifth Harmony has backgrounds which have made them grow up to be strong, independent women. Cabello’s mother, Sinuhe, brought her to Miami from Cuba when she was six years old with a few hundred bucks and the clothes on their backs. Lauren Jauregui is also from Miami and says she “was taught to be an independent woman” at the all-girls Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart. Hansen grew up in Santa Ana, Calif., with 23 relatives in a four-bedroom house. Hernandez was home-schooled in San Antonio, so she could look after her mother, who has severe scoliosis. Kordei grew up in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina hit. Her family fled to Houston, Texas, where she would compete in pageants, picturing herself as Beyoncé to overcome her shyness.
But none of their experiences could ever prepare them for what fame had in store for them. Jauregui shared that fame has caused all of the girls unhappiness during their career. She said, “They sell you this present of rainbows and butterflies, and as a 16-year-old that’s what I bought. It’s why I did X Factor and why I ended up in a group. But then you’re working so hard, so young,” she revealed. “[Meanwhile] my friends are in college, telling me about their days and what they’re studying. You’re having to put on a smile on a red carpet. It’s like, ‘Who am I? Am I for myself or for this?’”
Although fame has taken a toll on the five ladies, they still have each other to lean on. Jauregui told the other girls, “You guys are the best. You literally saved my life.”
Lauren Jauregui ends the interview by saying, “It has been an incredible journey, and it’ll continue as long as it can. But this will be that chapter that got us wherever we needed to go. We’re learning the business, meeting people we need to know, getting knowledgeable about our craft. This is basically us being in college for our majors.”
Fifth Harmony’s next album 7/27 is set to be released on Friday, May 27.
Their issue of Billboard Magazine is out on stands on Saturday, May 14.
What do you think of their views on fame? Leave a comment below or send us a tweet @CelebMix.