We all know that the "X-Factor" franchise is most famous for producing hot, chart-topping groups. Simon Cowell has made a tradition of clumping together talent who have different vocal strengths to make one strong entity.
In 2012, Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane, Camila Cabello, and Lauren Jauregui were chosen to be Simon’s newest work in progress. At that time, each girl was between the ages of 15 and 19 years old. After going through a few name changes, they were ultimately known as Fifth Harmony. The group made it all the way to the end of the competition, and like the most famous "X-Factor" group we know (and love), "One Direction," the girls came in third place. It was no surprise when Cowell signed them to Syco Music, his label, to continue on their journey.
However, in the pop-music industry, boy bands often fare much better than female groups. In some cases, these groups, their producers, and managers feel compelled to change their image in order to appeal to a wider audience. Now, between the ages of 18 and 22, the group has made quite the shift from relatable teen girls to risqué women.
When Fifth Harmony stepped onto the scene, they were showcased as charismatic, young women, who fangirled over all the same celebrities as their audience of teenage girls. Their first few songs were highly infused with girl power. “Miss Movin’ On,” released summer 2013, featured the girls singing about staying strong after a bad break up. Soon after, they dropped their second single, “Me & My Girls," whose title speaks for itself. The setting of both videos being colorful and bubbly, promoting best friends having a good time with one another.
Their third single built the bridge from simplistic, teen pop to music with a mature message. “BO$$,” released in 2014, still continued to the theme of female empowerment, while the music video featured them in a less colorful setting. Their clothes changed drastically, each wearing short shorts and long white shirts, appealing to different senses than before. Though the video is not inappropriate, the audience can notice a change in the girls’ image taking place.
You may remember their chart topping songs “Sledgehammer," and of course, “Worth It”, both skating into Billboard’s Top 40. Coincidentally, the videos for both of these songs have fully crossed the bridge to a world full of sex appeal. “Worth It” takes a giant leap into a whole new world, establishing the premise with each girl dressed as a hot secretary doing her best to tease the man she is with.
This brings us to their latest single, “Work From Home,” perhaps their most suggestive song to date, which is extremely catchy and currently rests in the top 10 most played tracks in the U.S. The problem is not with the lyrics, or even the music video, which is set on a construction site with men, clearly much older than they are, while they are booty popping. The problem is more so the heavy correlation with the change in theme and the success rate of their music. Just to be clear, I am not criticizing them for showing a little skin, evolving their message and growing up with their fans. The concern comes with the fact that they think every song must have this message in order to top the charts.
For a group that started off making an effort to level with girls in their own age group, the drastic change is hard to take in. The group seems to be trying too hard, using unnecessary and radical sexual innuendos to sell their music and make them recognizable.They seem to have taken the idea “sex sells” far too seriously.
