Since coming to prominence as a member of girl group Fifth Harmony, Cuban-American singer-songwriter Lauren Jauregui has cemented herself as a political activist and advocate for social change, speaking on topics including immigration, gun control and human rights. Her utilization of her platform to raise awareness for these issues has garnered her an abundance of supporters, yet her solo music career under Columbia Records hasn’t taken off in the way her ex-bandmates Camila Cabello’s and Normani’s have.
Today I will explore Jauregui’s entire discography up to this point to hopefully provide her powerful vocal and lyrical abilities with some well-deserved exposure.
Lauren’s journey as a solo artist took root in December of 2016 when her collaborative single with electronic duo Marian Hill, entitled “Back to Me”, was released; it was later included on the reissue of Marian Hill’s debut album Act One. The sub-three-minute song, written and produced entirely by the three artists, utilises hypnotic and trippy background production consisting of distorted vocal tracks, combined with the innate sensuality of Jauregui and Marian Hill member Samantha Gongol’s vocals bouncing off of each other. Jeremy Lloyd, the other member of the duo and producer of the track, plays around with the recorded verses to produce an sleek and minimalistic ode to knowing that somebody is attracted to you, with lyrics like “boy I know you want it, so you’d better get up on it or you’ll lose it”.
The shocking maturity of Jauregui’s artistry with her debut solo output is a culmination of years of not being able to express herself on her own within Fifth Harmony, which was constantly kept under Epic Records’ thumb. While the song is not the best in Lauren’s back catalogue, it is an oft-overlooked smooth yet sharp track that showcases her experimental side. Perhaps because of this, “Back to Me” attained minor chart positions in France and Spain.
The next song that Jauregui was featured on is easily her best collaborative track thus far – the acclaimed Halsey song “Strangers”, from her 2017 album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (which “Strangers” was issued as a promotional single from, and later received music video treatment in 2018). The synth-pop song is unapologetically bisexual, with the two women crooning about the breakdown of a relationship with another woman and their regrets about not being able to see them anymore. The true magic behind this collaboration is the artistic chemistry between Halsey and Lauren, as well as the vocal differences between the two – Halsey is very controlled in her delivery, while Jauregui slurs and croons her lyrics to label herself the desperate and lovesick individual out of the two, especially in her ad-libs towards the end of the song. Billboard included the song in its list of the 100 Best Songs of 2017 and “Strangers” charted on the Hot 100, as well as in Scotland, Slovakia, Australia, Portugal and more.
The final track that Jauregui was included on in 2017 was Steve Aoki’s “All Night”, later included on his Neon Future III album. The song itself is a typical EDM ditty with some strong vocal delivery from Lauren towards the end, but what’s notable about it is that she reworked the entire song, including lyrics, melodies and harmonies, to fit her own style and also performed vocal production on the track, proving her to be more than just a vocalist and showcasing her ability to produce strong tracks that are well-received by critics. “All Night” landed at spot 66 on the 2018 year-end Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, and due to the success of the single and its music video it also received a remix EP.
The true beginning of Lauren’s solo career came with the October 2018 release of her debut single as the sole lead artist, “Expectations”, a song she had previously performed live as a supporting act for Halsey’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom Tour. It is a guitar-driven, slow-burning kind of R&B song with some superb vocal delivery. The songwriting conveys messages of self-worth in a relationship, with lines such as “respect for my time, respect for my space, respect for my energy”. The single was one of the first that Jauregui wrote after Fifth Harmony broke up in March of that year and was penned solely by her. She also conceptualised the critically lauded black-and-white music video that accompanied the track, that sees a version of Lauren dressed in black leather kill her former self (à la The Weeknd’s “Starboy” video), represented by her dressed in a white gown. The power that “Expectations” exerts over the listener is down to its tense, sultry and brooding atmosphere as Jauregui croons about waiting for her lover to get home from the club.
Not long after the success of “Expectations” came the trap-infused single “More Than That”, in January 2019; lyrically inspired by the Greek goddess Aphrodite, the track sees a confident Jauregui asking a potential lover to “come stronger than this liquor”. The slinky and seductive Murda Beatz-produced single solidified Lauren’s status as a force to be reckoned with among Columbia Records’ roster. The music video in particular, inspired by Greek and Roman mythology and featuring Jauregui and her friends admiring a group of female exotic dancers in a nightclub called Olympus, was acclaimed by critics for its compelling and entrancing visuals. The cover art for “More Than That” is a recreation of the famous Renaissance painting The Birth of Venus.
Thus far in 2020, Lauren has released three high standard solo songs: the first, “Invisible Chains”, was included on the soundtrack to Birds of Prey and is relatable in that it describes wanting to break free from societal limitations, whatever form in which they come. As usual, Jauregui also delivered superb vocals on the song and it has been named her best song by several publications. Next came the Tainy song “Nada” with C. Tangana, which is a rather simplistic Latin-infused summery dance track with an aesthetically pleasing music video, but further proves that Lauren works well alongside other artists. The final song issued this year so far is “Lento”, which is also a Tainy collaboration, but this time features Jauregui at the forefront. The Spanish lyrics see Lauren tapping into her Cuban heritage, and the song is a dark and brooding track with simplistic yet very effective organic instrumentation. A standout lyric for me is “bitch, I was raised in Caribbean waters”. An acoustic live performance of the track was recently uploaded to Vevo.
Overall, I believe that Lauren Jauregui has the best discography out of all five former Fifth Harmony members, even without issuing an album. Each song is intelligent, well-produced with strong lyricism and stronger vocals, and I implore you if you haven’t already to dip your toe into the waters of her music if you enjoy music by the likes of Lana Del Rey, Amy Winehouse and Ariana Grande.
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