After shocking the world by going from five to four members in December, following the exit of Camila Cabello, Fifth Harmony are back with a new hit on their hands as a foursome.
Debuting “Down” on June 2, the new track has Fifth Harmony duplicating the formula from their huge 2016 hit “Work From Home.” Teaming up with the same writing team and scoring a big name male rapper, in this case Gucci Mane in place of Ty Dolla $ign, the slow burning pop beat of “Down” has a similar catchy hook and dance-ability as its predecessor.
While the four remaining members, including Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane, and Lauren Jauregui have maintained they will continue to be committed to the group, projects outside of Fifth Harmony seem to be piling up. Jauregui recorded “Strangers” with Halsey for the pop star’s sophomore album, while Kordei appeared on this season’s Dancing With The Stars, making it all the way to the finals and placing third. Set to be released tomorrow, Brooke has announced a new single with the Lost Kings and A$AP Ferg.
Now with the release of the anti-climactic video for “Down,” there is a feeling that the group is simply going through the motions before breaking off to pursue their own solo projects.
The video is shot in the parking lot of a motel, with the women dancing as a group before retiring to their respective rooms to lounge on beds that we wouldn’t recommend standing next to, let alone gyrating on. Gucci Mane makes a quick appearance for his short bridge before the women eventually end up—where else—in the pool together. Coming at a time when all eyes are on Fifth Harmony to see their next move, “Down” should have been treated as the most important video of the band’s career thus far, but instead looks more like something that needed to be shot in a single night with no budget.
“Down” isn’t anything different from what we’ve previously seen from the girl group. Staring seductively into the camera and the male gaze while trying to look older on a construction site, a beach, or during the apocalypse, the new video for “Down” is simply another location checked off.
As the first post-Cabello single, “Down” acted as fresh start for the women to try something new and show some growth in their visuals. For Harmonizers still reeling from the exit of a Fifth Harmony member, “Down” may act as a reassurance that the pop movement will continue with business as usual. It’s not bad, it’s just nothing we haven’t seen.
Fifth Harmony have yet to announce a title or release date for their third studio album, a follow up to 2016’s 7/27.
