Fifth Harmony say 'Down' featuring Gucci Mane sets the tone for their new album.
Fifth Harmony
The girl group's self-titled third album - their first since Camila Cabello quit last year - opens with their latest single and they revealed it was a deliberate choice to let people know what their new sound is.
Ally Brooke Hernandez told Billboard: "We definitely wanted to start off the tone with 'Down.' It's very rhythmic, but it has the fun pop elements to the song, plus that urban vibe and feel, especially with Gucci on the track. He was so amazing. We love his verse. We think it's such a sweet song, and he really made the verse so personal to him and his life and his situation. We wanted to set the tone with what's to come for the album, and we thought 'Down' was perfect because it has a mixture of everything in one."
They also called the album track 'Angel' with Poo Bear and Skrillex a "game changer".
Dinah Jane explained: "We were in the studio with Poo Bear and Skrillex, and Poo Bear was just like, "Just so you know, this song is a little hard." He played the record and at first I thought it was a ballad, and I was like, 'Oh, he's joking around,' and I come to find out when that drop came in, I was like, 'Yo, this is a game-changer right here.'
"This is honestly the direction of where we wanted to go, because it kind of reflects on who we are and what our style is. Fifth Harmony is known for their edgy, poppy tones, but this is the type of edge we've been looking for, and have been wanting for a while now, and so the fact that he wrote this song specifically for us, it was perfect. Conceptually, I just love the way he wrote this: 'Who said I was an angel?' Sometimes I also feel the same way, where I feel like my kindness is taken for granted or taken advantage of. Sometimes you just become 'no angel no more, and you just break through and you just become this badass girl and you're just standing up for yourself, singing your heart out and not giving an F about anything."