Lauren Solo

Fifth Harmony happened, and it was massive—Worth It, Work From Home, the usual manufactured-pop machine but executed well enough that people didn’t mind. Lauren Jauregui left the group, which is what happens in groups eventually. In October 2018, she put out Expectations, a solo single that sounded nothing like Fifth Harmony: quieter, weird, actually produced instead of just arranged.

It wasn’t a hit in the obvious way, but it got attention. Magazine covers, support slots, the usual carousel when a famous person tries to be a solo famous person. Then came More Than That with Murda Beatz producing—and that’s when I knew she wasn’t hedging her bets. You don’t work with Murda Beatz if you’re making safe pop. He works with Drake, with Gucci, with people who are doing something more than filling time. That’s the choice Lauren made: I’m not going to be Fifth Harmony with one voice. I’m going to sound like something else.

The music is good. Not in an obvious way, not in a way that’s going to be the soundtrack to your summer, but genuinely good. There’s something real underneath it.