Lauren Jauregui Talks Her ‘Super Challenging’ 2018 And Creating Her Own Sound
After parting ways with Fifth Harmony last year, Lauren Jauregui took time out to find her own sound and create music that came from her- and rang true to what she genuinely believed in.
We’ve heard her solo debut singles ‘Expectations’ and ‘More Than That’, but how did Lauren go about finding her voice in her music? What was it that held her back to begin with? What role did the music industry play in keeping her from making music she believed in?
Speaking to the BBC, Lauren revealed that the music industry ‘clouds your soul’, stopping artists from being able to be their genuine selves all the time:
"They make you feel like you have to be a certain way to be accepted, and I got lost in that. I had been pushed a psyche of what successful music sounded like - so I had this backwards concept of what I thought was good for me, commercially."
Lauren was unable to bring her true self to her music, and was stuck in a mindset that the industry can force on many artists: that it’s about being successful and not about making music that necessarily you even believe or agree with.
Lauren continued: “The situation became so bad that the musician stopped writing, and even listening to, music.”
Although Lauren had been lead to a dark place, she managed to bounce back from it- the first move in moving on being her departure from Fifth Harmony:
“As soon as the group dissolved and we started to go our separate ways, it cleared a lot of blockages from my heart. I started getting back into music that I actually liked."
Lauren had finally been given the exit to go forward and discover her own style of music, and with a huge following behind her, she was in safe hands for a fresh start.
She had the creative freedom she needed to grow as an artist in the direction she wanted, but the sudden change was hard to adapt to: "Last year was super-challenging in the sense of ripping away all the things that weren't me any more and allowing myself to come through that.
"I was like, 'Do you know what? I have to pull back. I like more organic sounding things, I like live instruments, I like writing lyrics that come straight from the heart.'"
Jauregui then headed out on tour with her friend Halsey, and it was finally time for her to sing her first single ‘Expectations’ to the world:
"When I sang it for the first time in Sao Paolo, it was completely unreleased. By the end of the song they were singing the words back to me. English isn't their first language in Brazil, so I was floored by the response. That's why I chose it."
Watch Lauren bare her soul to the world alone for the first time in her ‘Expectations’ music video here:
After releasing ‘Expectations” to the world and receiving a buzz of great feedback, Lauren released her second single ‘More Than That’, and with it a female-powered message about knowing your worth and not taking any less than what you deserve.
The cover art being Lauren recreating Botticelli’s 15th Century painting ‘The Birth of Venus’, Jauregui made it clear from the go that this was going to be a girl power inspired single.
Watch the video for Lauren’s single ‘More Than That’ below:
Playing ‘Aphrodite’ in the video and celebrating women in all their glory by heading to a strip club, Lauren discussed the meaning behind the creative direction in the video: "It's about taking that kind of rap video imagery and empowering the women who do this work.”
They're stripping, but each woman's spirit is captured in a way that's revering her strength and her sensuality."
Lauren also opened up about her style of music, and where it comes from: “I'm a deeply emotional thinker, so a lot of my music is reflective of coming of age and finding yourself and clearing out the clutter in your heart,
I want to be someone who is about love and acceptance, no matter where you come from, no matter how you look, no matter what your story is.”
Her fans and listeners are lucky people because Lauren only wants them ‘to feel loved and heard and seen’ through her music, and with the astonishing feedback she’s received back on it so far- it’s doing exactly that.
We can’t wait to hear more from the solo singer and can see an amazing career ahead of her, one that she’s in charge of.