When Camila Cabello left Fifth Harmony last year, fans of the girl group wondered whether Fifth Harmony might change its name to reflect the number of members. In the end, the vocalists decided to keep the status quo. Now the remaining members of the group---Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane Hansen, and Lauren Jauregui---have explained why they decided not to make any changes to the group's name. In a recent interview with all four singers, Jauregui said,
[Changing the name] was obviously a thought, because it was a prevalent thing that there's four of us, not five. Regardless, we were all very united in the fact that we didn't want to change the name. Fifth Harmony is the name we grew up with and we worked for, and it's our brand. It's who we are. It's our entire moments. It's what we spent five years on.
What a reasonable answer. After achieving the heights of success as Fifth Harmony, it probably would not have been a wise business decision for them to throw away the name and start fresh with a different title. However, according to Lauren Jauregui, it was not all about business. In the interview with MTV News, Jauregui offered an additional idealistic answer and said,
The fans named us Fifth Harmony, and now they're the fifth member.
That is a very kind (and smart) thing to say. It sounds like the members of Fifth Harmony know how to reach out to their fans, whom the group members lovingly call Harmonizers.
From a business purely standpoint, name recognition is super important. In the past, other girl groups have found continued success by keeping their original name after lineup changes. For example, Diana Ross had success working with The Supremes even though she was the only original member for years. Similarly, Destiny's Child kept its name after Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland gave the boot to several other members over the years. The Spice Girls kept their title when Geri Halliwell bounced, and they have continued to have success. Plus, in some cases, having the name recognition makes it all better when the original members of the group one day reunite after taking a break from one another.
And who knows? Maybe one day Camila Cabello will get a chance to reunite with her former bandmates. After all, it does not sound like there is any beef between the remaining members and Camila Cabello now that she is busy working on her solo career. In fact, Cabello praised the other members on their new single, "Down." In an interview with AMP Radio, Cabello said,
I wish the best for them, and I'm sure they're going to kill it, and I'm super happy making my own music.
So, by keeping the name, Fifth Harmony can continue focusing on its success. That should be pretty great news for all of the fans---the fifth group members---out there.
