Big things are happening for Lauren Jauregui right now. After Fifth Harmony disbanded for a hiatus, Lauren has been focused on her solo career — and recently hit a new milestone in that pursuit, releasing the music video for her first single, "Expectations."
But for the 22-year-old singer, getting to this place couldn't have happened with inspiration and connection to different songs and artists throughout her life. How are you going to know what you're into and who you are as a singer without listening to anything and everything? Turns out, this is exactly the case with Lauren, who hung out with Teen Vogue recently to reveal which songs made the Playlist of Her Life. Lauren's picks ran the gamut of genres, from moody pop (that would be Lana Del Rey) to vibrant soul (when she picked out Lauryn Hill's "Superstar") to — surprise, surprise — her own single, "Expectations."
Lauren's was readily able to pick out specific parts in the songs that really stick with her and make her love them all the more. While discussing Lana's song "Born to Die," Lauren remarked, "'Born to Die' was the first song that I ever heard of Lana's and I died. I was like, 'Who is this b*tch? I need to know more about her.' So I looked up all her music and to this day I have her entire discography," before going on to instantly recite her favorite lyric from the song: "My favorite lyric...is, 'Don't make me sad, don't make me cry, sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough, I don't know why.'"
Lauren also shared a particularly inspiring anecdote about Christina Aguilera's song "Fighter": "Christina is a huge part of my developmental years, just getting into owning who I am and figuring out who that was. 'Fighter' was major because obviously when you're growing up there's a lot of bullies."
And, because this is the playlist of her life (as she rightfully notes), of course Lauren had to include "Expectations." "Shameless self-plug! My song, 'Expectations' by Lauren Jauregui, me. I'm super excited about this song. I had to include it in the Playlist of My Life because it's my first song [as a solo artist]," she shared.
Check out what lyrics on "Expectations" Lauren told us she loves, as well as the other songs she chose for her playlist below:
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Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Lauren Jauregui Debuts Video for "Expectations," Her First Solo Single