I'm preeeetty obsessed with Fifth Harmony...okay, even that is an understatement. I literally know them better than I know myself and, after years of following their lives online, saving their photos to my camera roll and watching their performances on repeat, I finally got the chance to see them in the flesh.
I attended one of the shows from their '7/27 World Tour' in Manchester and I think I have fallen in love with all five of them all over again. Does anybody else feel like that after a concert? I always feel as though I just love the artist/band EVEN MORE than I did beforehand, even though I loved them a heck of a lot anyway. I am also physically unable to listen to their latest album, '7/27' in the same way after hearing the girls sing it's songs live.



Before we get onto the greatness that is Fifth Harmony's performance itself, let us discuss the support acts. The girls were supported by Aleem, who everyone seemed to love as he put on a great show, and Camryn, whose name you may recognise as she supported One Direction on tour in 2013 when she was something ridiculous like thirteen years old. I saw Camryn live at the 'Take Me Home Tour' (ah the good old days) all those years ago and so it was a pleasure to see her again in Manchester. Her set was beyond support act standard and I'm not kidding when I say her songs are VERY CATCHY. She's also seventeen and is touring the world with the biggest stars and I'm seventeen too and cry in the face of any form of responsibility because I do not have my life together whatsoever, but anyway, moving on.

I should also probably point out that I spent enough money to feed a family of four for three weeks on merchandise, but hey, it isn't every day that you go to a concert, right? Well, at least that's what I tell myself every time I go to a concert and buy MORE t-shirts, programmes, posters, hoodies and glowsticks. The 5H merch is pretty awesome though, as you would expect with such a fierce and flawless group of girls. I couldn't help but pick up a hoodie, t-shirt and poster, all of which I now live in. Well, not the poster, as that would mean I was living with Fifth Harmony and that excites me too much to imagine.


The girls came on stage around 9pm but, before they made their big entrance, a video was played to get the audience hyped, not that we needed anymore hyping. The show had a flight theme and so the whole idea of the video was to make us kind of feel as though we were getting on an aeroplane and starting a journey. Throughout the concert, various aeroplane videos were played as well as one at the end to tell us that we were 'landing' when the show ended. The introductory video also included some of the girls' X Factor USA performances from WAAAAY back when, such as their first performance together of 'Impossible.' It has the potential to be one of the most emotional things I have ever witnessed, I won't lie. It was just incredible to be there watching fetus 5H singing for Simon Cowell at Judges Houses on a big screen, knowing that they were about to walk out and perform to an arena. Just thinking back to that moment gives me chills.




Speaking of chills, when the girls stormed onto the stage like the Queens that they are, I lost every ounce of chill that I have ever had. My hands were extremely shaky and I am certain that I had lost my voice within the first five seconds of seeing them. They opened with their latest smash hit 'That's My Girl' which, in my opinion, was the best song to open with. It's strong, empowering and it let's every know that it's going to be a bloody good night.
The girls then proceeded to perform song after song but didn't just treat us with tracks from their latest record, they also threw in some olden but golden tunes in there, such as 'Miss Movin' On' and tracks from their debut album 'Reflection,' like 'BO$$,' 'Reflection,' Sledgehammer,' We Know,' This Is How We Roll' and a faultless acoustic version of 'Brave, Honest Beautiful,' which somehow gave the song an even more personal, inspiring meaning. The ladies also surprised the crowd by performing 'Voicemail,' an unreleased track which just, somehow, got leaked online one day.
Of course, the songs from their latest record were the biggest part of the night. They performed every track from '7/27,' excluding 'The Life,' as well as 'Big Bad Wolf,' a song exclusive to the Japanese version of the album. In my opinion. Fifth Harmony's set list was the BEST set list for a concert I have ever experienced. Not only did they sing almost all of the songs from the album they are touring, but they also song a good number of old tracks and exclusives. We've all been to concerts and walked away wishing the band/artist had performed a certain track which is our favourite, however, I didn't feel like that after this concert. The girls went out of their way to ensure they gave /fans the full experience and to literally make it the '7/27 Tour.' They also did a fantastic job of performing each song.





The girls had an outfit change about halfway through the show, switching from flight attendant inspired costumes into plain black ones. I'm sure we've all crushed on the girls at multiple times in our lives. You've probably seen photos of them from an even or a shoot and though "OH. MY. GOSH." But I can confirm that they do, in fact, look even more stunning in real life.
Another thing that simply must be spoken about is the energy the girls have on stage and how much they literally put their ALL into every inch of their show. They have become famous for their choreography and they certainly do not do it half-heartedly. Every arm movement, hip wiggle, booty shake and hair flip was filled with so much sass and power. Those girls were beyond fierce up on that stage and it was so incredible to see - it definitely empowered the crowd. Their vocals were amazing too, even with all their hardcore dance routines. I understand that some artists can get bored on tour, I get that. Singing that same songs over and over again, multiple times a day, doing the same routines and giving the same speeches can become repetitive and, towards the end of the tour, artists can appear to look fed up on stage because they've just had enough and want to switch things up. Fifth Harmony, however, certainly did not look fed up. It was clear to see that they were genuinely so happy to be on stage and were just completely in love with what they were doing. Don't you think it's great to see musicians still get excited about their performances? It made the whole concert so much more enjoyable for the audience and, personally, I always love seeing other people feeling passionate about what they do. All they cared about was giving the audience a good time, they didn't want people to go home from the show thinking they hadn't put any effort in, however, they also had a good time themselves whilst doing this.
Additionally, speaking of how happy the girls felt on stage, they expressed their gratitude to their fans at multiple times in between songs. A lot of artists give speeches on stage about how thankful they are to be where they are and how much they love their fans, and 5H's speeches were so moving and so sincere. Normani and Ally in particular spoke beautifully about how much they appreciated the opportunities they have been given and how much they adore their fans for accepting, loving and supporting them through thick and thin. Normani, specifically, has previously been victim of horrendous racial abuse and has had to read comments that nobody should be on the receiving end of, however, on that stage, she stood tall and spoke in such a captivating way about how blessed she felt to be in such a fortunate position and how she is so thankful to her Harmonizers for having her back. It gave me goosebumps to see her rise above such a disgusting amount of negativity and to see her totally OWN IT on stage, not letting anyone bring her down.



To bring this blog post to a close, I had a beyond insane time at the '7/27 Tour.' We had a brilliant view from our seats, however, I would've enjoyed it just as much, regardless of where I was sitting. I felt extremely grateful to be there, as I always do at concerts, as I know many Harmonizers were not as fortunate as me to watch their idols on stage. The girls put on the best show and I felt incredibly happy the entire time - I just did not want it to end. Plus, the atmosphere in the arena was truly electric as fans honestly sang at the top of their lungs, screamed and even did the choreography along with the girls. I was in such a bubble and it, once again, made me realise how much I just adore concerts. Don't you just wish your whole life was a concert?

As for stand-out moments of  the night, it would be impossible to choose one favourite song, although here are a few: I loved 'Sledgehammer,' simply because it will always be one of my favourite 5H songs. It just has such a good beat and Ally has an impeccable high note at the end! 'Miss Movin' On' was great too as it was a reminder of just how far the girls have come, yet they still sang it with beaming smiles on their faces and with such enthusiasm, showing how they are still very much grounded and the same people they were on The X Factor. Additionally, I loved 'This Is How We Roll' as it SERIOUSLY got the crowd jumping when that beat drops and the girls went crazy on stage as well. 'Big Bad Wolf' was another fave and, if you've seen the choreography for it, you will know why. Literally, it was the hottest thing I have ever seen. 'No Way' was the big ballad of the night and it brought calmed everyone down a bit as the girls sang it so beautifully, it really was emotional. Of course, 'Work From Home' has GOT to be mentioned. They left it until the end, for obvious reasons as it is their biggest hit, but the crowd sang along so loudly and it just gave me such a stab of pride, you know?
Oh and I just want to mention that, at the end of the show, Lauren grabbed a rainbow flag from the audience, danced with it, and took it off stage with her - it was adorably beautiful.

Here is a video containing some footage I filmed on the night. I just cropped a few of my favourite clips together for your viewing pleasure, so enjoy!