Standing among hordes of screaming girls and their equally enthused moms Wednesday night at Verizon Theatre, it all became clear. Even though the U.S. version of The X-Factor fizzled out in the ratings, Simon Cowell still got the last laugh.
During the second season of that singing-competition show, the man behind One Direction set his sights on five solo female auditioners with the idea of forming a girl group. Fifth Harmony materialized from that whole process, but the ladies who formed the new act only ended up winning third place, and for a while didn't appear to have a chance for the same success as Cowell's past group creations.
Turns out they simply needed a little more time than their male, British counterparts in 1D. But they're getting there. The ballooning power of this Beyonce-inspired group was written all over the faces and the glitter-covered posters of their insane young fans in Grand Prairie.
Much of the success of the five young women (all college age at this point) has to do with the winning pop formula of their debut full-length album, Reflection, released earlier this year under Cowell's Sony-partnered record label. The thing is teeming with sass-soaked bangers. And the ladies performed 'em all with help from their ever-singing crowd on Wednesday.
They opened with the female-centric empowerment tune, "Boss" (sample lyric: "Michelle Obama/Purse so heavy, gettin' Oprah dollas"). They also offered up the title track "Reflection," which cleverly flips the script of your average seduction song. We heard the infectious radio jam "Sledgehammer" and, of course, the current megahit "Worth It."
All those songs came with well delivered, vibrant group choreography. The ladies in the group didn't slow down to chat much at the beginning of the show — they had singing, dancing and strutting to do. Their musical and visual aesthetic owes much to the female pop stars who've walked through the doors before them, from the aforementioned 'Yonce to other girl groups like Danity Kane and even power-belter Mariah Carey, who is the sole inspiration for Fifth Harmony's "Like Mariah."
The five ladies in Fifth Harmony pull off the pop-starlet aesthetic seamlessly. Two of Wednesday's standouts are from Texas — Ally Brooke Hernandez hails from San Antonio and won the crowd over early on with Lone Star-themed greetings. Houston's Normani Kordei displayed the best all around moves and showmanship on stage. Cali gal Dinah Hansen also had a certain je ne sais quoi when it came to moving to the beats.
But nobody dragged the group down -- they all tackled lead vocals and solo moments with attitude to spare. And the fans were so into Fifth Harmony that there's no way they'll go away as fast as the reality show that spawned them.
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