Fifth Harmony was brought together as a group in the second season of The X Factor, where they were signed on Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid's record labels in a joint deal.
The quintet is made up of Dina Jane Hansen, Allyson Brooke Hernanadez, Lauren Jauregui, Normani Kordei Hamilton and Camila Cabello.
The first single, "Miss Movin' On," has almost 7 million watchers on YouTube.
There was a line down the block waiting for the group outside of the Orland Square Mall; Windy City Times jumped on their tour bus to talk to them before their appearance.
Windy City Times: Hello, ladies. Can we go over your individual hometowns?
Allyson Brooke Hernandez: I am from San Antonio, Texas.
Normani Kordei Hamilton: Houston, Texas.
Camila Cabello: From Miami, Fla.
Lauen Jauregui: From Miami, Fla., also.
Dina Jane Hansen: I am from Orange County, Calif.
WCT: There are some Latinas in the group?
Dina Jane Hansen: I am Mexican-American, through my grandparents.
Camila Cabello: I am Cuban and half Mexican.
Lauen Jauregui: Cuban-American here.
WCT: I know lots of gay fans that you have, even some who auditioned for X Factor.
All: Cool!
WCT: You have had fans waiting outside here since eight in the morning.
Allyson Brooke Hernandez: And it is raining outside. Our fans are just generally supportive. Sometimes they show up at 6 a.m. and we don't even go on until 4 p.m. They are always so happy and grateful to see us.
WCT: So no crazy fan moments yet?
Normani Kordei Hamilton: Not in a bad way. Sometimes we don't understand why they are acting crazy because we are just people.
Dina Jane Hansen: Their energy makes us crazy.
WCT: This has been a fast ride...
Lauen Jauregui: Absolutely. It all happened too fast.
WCT: When did you audition for The X Factor?
Lauen Jauregui: Last year.
Dina Jane Hansen: This is our year anniversary. Yay!
WCT: Originally everyone was a solo act; then Simon Cowell brought you together. Did he come up with the name?
Normani Kordei Hamilton: Actually, we went through a whole transformation of names. It was first Girl Group because we didn't have a name, then it was LYLAS then 4312 then the audience on X Factor had a contest for submitting names for our group. After dwindling them down, we chose Fifth Harmony.
WCT: Is there a chance of solo albums at some point?
Lauen Jauregui: I think we are all very dedicated to this group.
Allyson Brooke Hernandez: We know how great this can be and we know we will not get there if there is an ego that wants to be a solo artist. We are all in line that this is a group and it will work.
WCT: Let's talk about the new music. Today, you are performing four songs. Are they all new?
Camila Cabello: One is a cover and the rest are our original songs.
WCT: What cover song?
Camila Cabello: It is "I Want U Back" and "With UR Love" by Cher Lloyd. It is a mash-up. We are going on tour with her.
WCT: Cher Lloyd has visited Chicago often.
Dina Jane Hansen: We will also be going to Canada with her. She's fun. We haven't met her formally, just [in] passing.
Normani Kordei Hamilton: Now we get to hang out with her.
Allyson Brooke Hernandez: We are so excited to do that. The only people that we know that are our age are each other.
WCT: She is a former X Factor performer also, so you have that in common. That brings me to your opinion on Emblem3.
Camila Cabello: They are great.
Allyson Brooke Hernandez: Their album just came out.
Dina Jane Hansen: I heard some of it!
Normani Kordei Hamilton: I love how passionate they are about their music. When we were on X Factor even on breaks Drew would be with his guitar writing songs.
Dina Jane Hansen: We used to have jam sessions.
Allyson Brooke Hernandez: They literally live, breathe and eat music.
Lauen Jauregui: It is nice to see them become successful. Not many artists with that type of talent get to be heard.
WCT: I saw them at House of Blues with their skateboards.
Dina Jane Hansen: How fun!
Normani Kordei Hamilton: They have been getting big crowds.
WCT: Well, there is a big crowd outside for all of you. Is there one girl group you would model yourselves after?
Allyson Brooke Hernandez: We are really inspired by Destiny's Child and the Spice Girls. They are both very empowered and talented. They made history in their own right.
Camila Cabello: It is kind of like a combo of both.
Lauen Jauregui: Vocally I think we are more like Destiny's Child but personality and genre wise more like Spice Girls.
WCT: When does new music come out for Fifth Harmony?
Lauen Jauregui: Our album comes out in the fall.
WCT: Did you write the songs?
Lauen Jauregui: We co-wrote most of the songs. We are happy that our fans get a piece of us.
Normani Kordei Hamilton: It is nice to have the opportunity to write because on the first album in this stage you don't usually get to have this much creative say. Also, in our projects in general not just the music.
WCT: Yes, well, we all wonder how the machine works in the music business these days.
Camila Cabello: Exactly!
Dina Jane Hansen: People may not think that we do much but we really do!
Allyson Brooke Hernandez: We were involved a lot in this album. That is what we wanted and our hope. We are glad that we are able to be a big part of it.
Normani Kordei Hamilton: The songs are like our babies.
WCT: So mainly fast or slow songs?
Camila Cabello: It is a mixture of both.
Dina Jane Hansen: There are more upbeat songs but there are a few ballads.
WCT: Everyone went from being solo singers to a very cohesive group now.
Normani Kordei Hamilton: There is no "I" in team!
WCT: When do you have down time?
Camila Cabello: Never!
Allyson Brooke Hernandez: We hope to go home for Christmas.
Dina Jane Hansen: Christmas Day if we are lucky!
WCT: This is the life you wanted, though.
Normani Kordei Hamilton: I was just thinking about it the other day. We dreamed of this and now we are traveling. We are on a tour bus and meeting fans. This is amazing!
Fifth Harmony opens for Cher Lloyd in Chicago at the Vic Theatre Sept. 15. Purchase tickets at www.ticketmaster.com and keep up with the group at www.fifthharmonyofficial.com .
