The quartet’s musical way of ‘Harmonizing’ with fans
The Fifth Harmony is set for its PSA Tour concert at the Kia Theater on Monday, March 5, produced by Wilbros Live. Says Dinah, ‘We are energized by the reaction of our fans to our performance. It gives us an amazing high.’
And then there are four. But whether there are only four members or the original five, the Fifth Harmony sounds the same, just as good if not better.
Their fans will see for themselves when Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Lauren Jauregui and Dinah Jane perform live at the Kia Theater on Monday, March 5, their second time to have a concert in Manila as part of their PSA Tour that is bringing them all over Asia, then on to Australia.
I presume that Harmonizers (that’s what the quartet’s fans are called) know that multi-platinum selling group’s third album, Fifth Harmony (via Syco/Epic Records), blasted to the top of the charts around the world upon its release in August last year. The self-titled album was the No. 1 pop and second-best overall selling album in the US, debuted at No. 4 on the US Billboard Top 200 chart and peaked at No. 1 on iTunes in more than 50 countries including Greece, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia.
According to Wilbros Live (which is producing the group’s Kia Theater concert), in addition to instant fan acclaim — and frenzy, as Fifth Harmony’s loyal Harmonizers immediately launched the album to the top spots on both Facebook and Twitter’s worldwide trending topics — critics have also praised the record, with USA Today hailing it as “the strongest work yet of the group’s career” and Rolling Stone calling it the group’s “most cohesive album yet.”
Looking back to 2012, the girls auditioned as solo contestants on the second season of the US talent search The X Factor. They failed to progress to the “Teens” category and were formed as a group with the help of X Factor judges Demi Lovato, L.A. Reid, Britney Spears and Simon Cowell. As Fifth Harmony, the group’s first song was an acoustic version of Impossible. After a few name changes, they were called Fifth Harmony. The rest, as they would say, is musical history.
Last Friday, Funfare did an exclusive phone interview with Dinah Jane who, along with the three other girls, was in Japan for three shows before they fly to Manila for their Kia Theater concert. (For tickets, call Ticketnet 911-5555 or visit Facebook/Twitter/Instagram:@WilbrosLive.) Excerpts: How are you, Dinah? “I’m doing awesome. I’m just ordering lunch right now.”
It’s freezing cold in Tokyo.
“Oh yes, it is.” In contrast to Manila which is getting very hot, although it’s not officially summer yet.
“I heard it’s really warm there so I am really excited.” How has your PSA Tour been so far?
“We’re doing awesome so far. We have two shows down and the third one is tonight. It’s been a lot of fun and we’ve been able to get personal with our fans. Thanks to you guys in the media for connecting us with our fans. We are so grateful to finally be here in this side of the world.” How do you girls sustain your energy for such a punishing tour, through changes of seasons? “Honestly, we get our energy from our fans. When we are on stage, whatever they are feeling we also get the same feeling. We get a high from their enthusiastic reaction and response to our performance. It inspires us to give our best, to give our all. It’s energizing, just like what you get from working out.”
You will be in Manila on Monday, March 5, for your second concert. What do you remember from your first visit in Manila?
“Oh, we have great memories from that first visit. We had dinner at that amazing steakhouse and we had a wonderful time at a beach. It was well worth it. After the concert, we spent an enjoyable three-day holiday.”
In this age of social media, what advice do you have for your millennial fans in the Philippines?
“Oh first, let me tell you how amazed I am by the wealth of talents in the Philippines. I remember watching a lot of home videos about Filipino artists and they are really very talented. That really motivated me to always do my best and to stay inspired.
“What I want to advice our fans, not only in the Philippines but anywhere in the world, is to always give your all in anything that you do. And if they have any doubt about what they can do, always bear in mind that you can make possible the impossible.”
You call your fans Harmonizers. How do you connect with them?
“With the advances in technology, it’s so easy connecting to our fans. There’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I try to reach out to them. I try to update them on what’s happening in my life, what books I’m reading or whatever I do. That’s the best way of getting to know them, and vice-versa. It’s so heart-warming to get letters from them and I try to answer them as soon as I can. You always have to acknowledge the letter-writers because you never know whose life you’re saving or what you do to make people happy.”
You and the other members auditioned for X Factor individually, until you became a group. How do you harmonize your diverse voices to produce a distinct Fifth Harmony sound?
“Oh, it wasn’t that easy. In the beginning, we didn’t really know how to work with each other or how to be harmonious because we were so used to working as solo artists. It was really hard. And then it just became super-easy for us to fit into each other, to blend with each other. It happened automatically, spontaneously. We know what each girl is capable of and we just do what we can do the best way we can.” (E-mail reactions at rickylophilstar@gmail.com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit
www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)