Fifth Harmony To Focus on Finishing Debut Album in April

"It's laid-back. It's less pop," says 5H's Ally Brooke Hernandez about the girl group's upcoming album.

Fifth Harmony's opening stint on Demi Lovato's Neon Lights tour ends on Mar. 30, and the "X Factor" finalists' attention will quickly switch to finishing recording its debut album once the trek concludes.

"We've started recording and getting into that process," the group's Lauren Jauregui told Billboard backstage at the Neon Lights tour in Camden, N.J. on Saturday night (Mar. 1). "We have shifted the lane a bit and made it a more mature sound, because obviously, we're growing up too. In April, we're going to record and immerse ourselves in that."



"It's definitely more rhythmic," adds the group's Ally Brooke Hernandez of the upcoming album. "Sonically, it's a little cooler. It's laid-back. It's less pop."

After finishing in third place on the U.S. "X Factor" in 2012, Fifth Harmony released its debut EP, "Better Together," which included the Hot 100 entry "Miss Movin' On" and debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart last October. The five female vocalists have performed solo shows, supported Cher Lloyd on tour and been among the artists on the Jingle Ball tour, but joining Lovato -- their old "X Factor" mentor -- on the Neon Lights run has been an especially gratifying experience. 

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"I love shows where you feel like you got to know the person after you've watched it," says Fifth Harmony's Dinah Jane Hansen. "Demi's definitely more experienced than us in terms of performing and being in this industry. We've been able to watch her perform a couple times, and it's awesome, the amount of energy that she brings to the stage every single time she performs. We admire that about her a lot."

As for a timetable for the album, Jauregui says, "Hopefully you can hear stuff by the summer. That's the goal, but not a promise." Along with a possible album release, Fifth Harmony lists a few of the artists they're excited to see on tour this summer, including Bruno Mars, Fall Out Boy, Paramore and John Legend.