Fifth Harmony Singer Lauren Jauregui Poses for Playboy, Talks Going Solo

Days after Fifth Harmony announced they will be following the end of their world tour, group member Lauren Jauregui posed for some steamy Playboy photos and gave some insight into the group’s split.

Showcasing her legs in a mesh bodysuit, the 21-year-old told Playboy, “Right now, I’m just exploring myself and getting in touch with myself creatively.”

“To be real, I don’t want to give myself boundaries. It’s definitely different than my work with Fifth Harmony. It’s me,” she added.

She told the magazine that she gets frustrated when artists are pushed to appeal to the masses within a constructed persona.

“When you’re really disconnected from who you are and you’re ashamed of it, you can write and tell a story, but you can never really tell your story,” she said. “That’s what separates a lot of artists from others – the connection … That’s why you see so many people dying inside. Imagine the shame and insecurity.”

In another outfit, Jauregui donned a black lace bralette with a denim jacket draped over her shoulders.

Fifth Harmony united as a girl group in 2012 after the original five members failed on The X Factor individually. Group member Camila Cabello’s departure in 2016 may have forced the young women to ponder their own solo careers and identities, which Jauregui said were hard to unbury inside the group.

“We tried our best to be ourselves, [but] we were also adolescents, so you have to think about who you were at that age and being thrown in front of cameras,” she told Playboy.

But Jauregui set herself up for solo success before the girl group disbanded; while still a member of the band, she collaborated with Steve Aoki, Halsey, Marian Hill and Ty Dolla $ign.

With fellow Fifth Harmony members also appearing on their own solo projects (like Normani Kordrei’s “Love Lies” with Khalid; Dinah Jane‘s “Boom Boom” with RedOne, Daddy Yankee and French Montana; and Ally Brooke’s “Perfect” with Topic), the group appears to be set up for success once the tour is over.

“Reflecting on the past six years since we started on X-Factor, we’ve realized just how far we’ve come and we appreciate everything so much, more now than ever. We’ve really had one hell of a memorable journey together and can’t begin to express our gratitude to y’all for coming along with us on this wild ride!” the band began in a statement on social media last week.

“After six years going hard, non stop, we also realized that in order to stay authentic to ourselves and to you, we do need to take some time for now to go on a hiatus from Fifth Harmony in order to pursue solo endeavors,” they continued. “We are all very excited and grateful to be able to take this time to learn and grow creatively and really find out footing as individuals. In doing this we are allowing ourselves to gain new experiences, strengths and perspectives that we can bring back to our Fifth Harmony family.”

The group thanked their “Harmonizers” for their support and promised to honor tour performances which were previously scheduled.

Photo credit: Instagram / @laurenjauregui