Lauren Jauregui
Lauren Jauregui played her first-ever show as a solo artist in Sao Paulo Brazil on June 6, 2018. She commemorated the monumental occasion by getting this “6 • 6 • 18” tattoo on her forearm. The concert was the first of five dates where she performed as the opening act for the Latin American leg of Halsey’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom World Tour. She debuted three new songs at the first show and was amazed that fans were already beginning to sing along. That night she tweeted:
GUYS IM SCREAMING OH MY GOD SEEING ALL OF YOUR REACTIONS TO THESE SONGS AND LITERALLY PEOPLE WERE ALREADY SINGING THEM BY THE END OF THEM I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! Obrigada São Paulo you have my heart forever!! First show ever DONE!!
Before the tour was over, she’d already gotten this tattoo to remember it forever. She visited artist Gabriel Puas in Santiago Chile on June 11, 2018 during an off-date between the third and fourth shows. She performed in Santiago the following night.
The transition from being part of Fifth Harmony to becoming a solo artist has been a major shift for her since she had spent her entire adult life as a member of the girl group. She was only 15 years old when she auditioned for The X Factor. All of the members auditioned as solo artists and the group was created by the producers and judges of the show, who thought they were better as a group than as individuals. That may have been true when they were young teens who hadn’t fully formed their own identities, but now they all have unique perspectives and unique stories to tell in their songs. Following Camila Cabello‘s departure from the group Fifth Harmony released a final self-titled album and then went on indefinite hiatus on March 19, 2018 so that the remaining four members could pursue their own solo careers.
Going solo has forced Lauren to confront and conquer her self-doubts. She didn’t begin writing until recently because she was afraid that she wasn’t good enough. Now she is so glad that she took the plunge. She tweeted:
Fun fact: I actually only started writing actual songs this year. I had only written two songs in my life completely that I thought were ok and I was too scared of failure to try until my world shifted earlier this year….Literally in the studio every day just opening the floodgates of all the shit I never let myself say….Never give up on yourself and do it anyway because you can only get better.
Lauren is still discovering what she wants her solo music to sound like, but she’s loving the process and the songs that she’s written. “The album is not finished yet. I feel inspired and could write any song at any given moment,” she told Billboard. “It’s really interesting, and it’s a road to self-discovery.”
