Fifth Harmony is one of pop's most successful girl groups in recent years, and they're crowning moment kicked off exactly four years ago on July 27, 2012. This might seem like another average day for you, but it means something else for Harmonizers. It's the day that Ally Brooke Hernandez, Camila Cabello, Normani Kordei, Lauren Jauregui and Dinah Jane were created on season two of the Stateside version of "X Factor."
In honor of the group's birthday, iHeartRadio wanted to celebrate their origin by taking a walk down memory lane to the very first time they were played on radio with their debut single, "Miss Movin' On." iHeartRadio's very own Tracy Herbster was part of their airwaves debut and spoke about the experience as a then Social Media and Content Producer for "Saturday Night Online with Romeo." Since then, they've changed their name to "Most Requested Live with Romeo," but their impact remains just as strong with live broadcasts every Saturday night on radio stations all across the USA and Canada.
"It was love at first listen for the 'Saturday Night Online' crew when it came to 'Miss Movin' On,' which is why Romeo was so excited to have the opportunity to world premiere the song on the show," she said. "It was then that we experienced the real power of the Harmonizers - we could not believe how rabid and devoted and dedicated the fans were - and this was before they even had a single!"
Herbster went on to admit that the crazed blogosphere fandom was something that she learned about during their early days, particularly that night of the premiere when #MissMovinOnWorldPremiere was the no. 1 worldwide trending topic on Twitter for over two hours. You try naming the last pop group to do that shortly after their formation.
"All the sudden we were getting Skypes from all these new countries, people were calling from Brazil, we couldn't keep up with the Ustream chatter. Our show is built around social interaction, so we understood the power of fanbases online, but we had really never seen anything like that before," Romeo recalled of the night.
Harmonizers, who've experienced the career highlight via the group's YouTube account, might be wondering why exactly the song appeared to get cut off mid-way. However, Herbster was quick to clarify. "The song actually wasn’t cut off halfway. We played the entire thing on the radio. The clip you’re referring to shows the girls listening via Ustream, and unfortunately an ad interrupted the stream on that video," she said.
With their upcoming "7/27 Tour" set to kick off tonight in Manchester, New Hampshire, it's quite the special day for Harmonizers to reflect, rejoice and, most importantly, celebrate all things in 5H-land. And yet, it's a milestone that remains acknowledged and championed not just by fans, but industry heavyweights as well.
"The success of Fifth Harmony’s three most recent singles - 'Worth It,' 'Work From Home' and now 'All In My Head (Flex)' - all of which have been played countless times on 'Most Requested Live' - is a true testament to the work they’ve put in," Romeo said. "Their voices are incredible, but beyond that they are five amazing women with true appreciation for where they are and how far they've come. As long as they keep working hard and making great music, the sky's the limit for them."
Tickets for Fifth Harmony's "7/27 Tour" are currently available for purchase via Ticketmaster.