Lauren Jauregui tells us about her new music from her EP ‘In Between’, exploring her sexuality through her music, Fifth Harmony’s 10th anniversary, and more!
Lauren Jauregui 0:00
You should listen to my music. That’s what I would say. Go check it out. Look at me like it’s cool-, This is good, Can I say sh-? you can. What’s up? I’m Lauren Jauregui and this is Billboard News
Tetris Kelly 0:22
It’s Tetris with Billboard News and I’m so happy to be spending time with my friend, Lauren. Hey dear How are you?
Lauren Jauregui 0:27
Hi, I’m fine. How are you?
Tetris Kelly 0:29
i’m amazing Thanks for hanging out with us. We want to talk about this music. You are not new to solo games. I mean, with ‘Umeed’ and all the success it had and so many releases. Let me tell you what this EP is about, it’s going to be so different.
Lauren Jauregui 0:39
I think there’s more movement for this EP. This is a continuation of ‘Prologue’ which is my first EP that I dropped
Lauren Jauregui 0:53
I’ve been cultivating from that point on the kind of sound and vibe I wanted. I am writing since 2018. And these songs are from that era, I’m not really ready to write new stuff yet. So this is a continuation of a story that may have been told in the past,
Tetris Kelly 1:07
Let’s talk about your lead single. Now ‘Wolves’, you’ve got two amazingly talented guys on it: Ty Dolla $ign and Russ. Why were those two people perfect people?
Lauren Jauregui 1:15
This song was written in like 2019. So Russ and I have always been friends, you know, he’s also a freelance artist. And I’ve learned so much from him and all the knowledge he puts out into the world as an artist and I feel very connected to him and we kind of grew a friendship, kind of getting to know each other, and then Ty Heard the track and loved it and wanted to jump on it. So he did.
Tetris Kelly 1:37
But as we break down this EP, let me tell you a little bit more about some of the other tracks and what they mean to you.
Lauren Jauregui 1:41
I love all these songs, there are six of them, two of them are already out in the world, which are ‘Always Love’ and ‘Trust Issues’, which I think is a very weak take on my songwriting. effects, they’re just my vocals for the most part and some strings and a guitar. But I opened the project with a spoken word piece, overseeing music composed by my friend Powers, which is really beautiful and goes even deeper into the meaning of ‘in between’. For me, it’s a poem specifically about her. It’s called ‘Meet Me in the In-Between’.
Tetris Kelly 2:24
And something that I have also felt that I have seen you do is like growing and blossoming into your sexuality. I am very proud of you. Because like you were wrongly outed in 2016. But now you are the master of your things. Yes. And you are out and proud and living your life. I loved your Valentine’s Day post. so how was that?
Lauren Jauregui 2:43
I mean, it’s life. I am old now. I was 16 when I started in this industry, and I’m 26 now. , and you learn yourself. And I think I’m still very fluid when it comes to expression and identity and sexuality. So I feel like I’m going to continue to discover and connect with different parts of myself as I grow.
Tetris Kelly 3:13
Talking about growth, obviously growing as a solo artist, you know, you were obviously part of a huge group. And one of your members, Dina, recently said that she stopped doing solo music in 2020 due to depression and pressure. So is that something you’ve ever been involved with? Or do you feel like there’s pressure being a solo artist?
Lauren Jauregui 3:31
Yes, I think we can all relate to this. I feel like we’ve all talked about our stories and in terms of liking that experience as a whole. And I think each of us needed our individual time to develop our individual stories and find within their story, you know, so I’m proud of them that they accomplished that and used that time. did what they needed. And I hope she’s feeling beautiful because I love you.
Tetris Kelly 3:55
It seems like only yesterday it’s July, you guys are celebrating 10 years
Tetris Kelly 4:05
And now, July is about to be, again, year 11.
Lauren Jauregui 4:09
I’ve been a part of anything for 11 years, it’s a lot.
Tetris Kelly 4:12
And I think every other week you guys are going viral for some moment or performance. What is something that you are connected to that you haven’t talked about? I need to know that when you see this on the Internet, you say, Oh, man, I can’t.
Lauren Jauregui 4:26
Oh man. Well, with Fifth Harmony, there’s an endless supply of it. There is so much, much more, of course our carpet photos. I laughed so hard at all of your comments about the carpet pictures because I am you, I feel you.
Tetris Kelly 4:41
For those just checking in and tuning in. They don’t know Lauren, they don’t know Fifth Harmony. What do you think you want to say?
Lauren Jauregui 4:48
Hi, I’m Lauren. I am a singer songwriter. You should listen to my music, that’s what I’ll say. Go check me out, hit me up like that. That’s good sh–.
Tetris Kelly 4:59
Thank you so much for coming and hanging out with us, I really appreciate it.
