Former Fifth Harmony Member Ally Brooke Opens Up Like Never Before

You may know Ally Brooke from the award-winning, multi-platinum group Fifth Harmony. Or maybe you know her as a contestant on the X Factor when she was only 19. Or, perhaps you know her from her third place win on Dancing With The Stars. Or from her recently released memoir Finding Your Harmony. Maybe you’re getting to know her here for the first time and will continue to learn about her as you watch her top the charts or star alongside Kelsey Grammer in her first feature film. 

No matter when or how you intersected with her work, you might not know her full story, what she’s overcome, and her heart for helping to inspire and motivate others to live out their dreams.

Ally and I sat down for a lively conversation about her rocky start, her quick rise to fame after X Factor with then-newly-minted Fifth Harmony, what she’s learned, her advice for other dreamers, and lots in-between!

On writing her book Finding Harmony and how she’s finding harmony today:

I always knew that I wanted to share my story one day. I had my journey of chasing my dreams at such a young age. With my family and my inspirations and everything that led to that point, my faith, X Factor, and obviously, being in Fifth Harmony… I learned more than I ever could have imagined.

I would say that I went into X Factor being very sheltered. I was naive. I didn’t know how the world really worked, and especially the entertainment business. I’ve been through a lot in that respect, and had a lot of unbelievable triumphs and success, but also a lot of deep pain and dark valleys that I never thought I would endure. 

I wanted to write about getting through all that, finding myself after Fifth Harmony, and everything that I learned. 

I had gained so much wisdom and knowledge and learned so many lessons, and I wanted to share them with people.

That’s why in every chapter, I bring it back to the reader and say, ‘Have you ever felt lonely? Or have you ever felt as if you’re in a dark valley or felt you’re not good enough? Well, this is how I felt. And this is how I overcame that. This is how I found my way.’

That was the purpose of this book. And gosh, it was beautiful to be able to put it on paper and to share it with the world and also to highlight the people in my life who have gotten me to where I am. 

On being underestimated or not feeling ready:

I hate fear. It’s what blocks us from creativity and inhibits us from being our best versions of ourselves. I would say to others, “Don’t be afraid. Just do it.’ But actually, sometimes it’s okay to be afraid. Allow yourself to be a little nervous or have a little bit of anxiety. I use that to drive me and to fuel me. And to make me work harder. 

Yeah, I’m scared. But guess what? I’m gonna do it anyway. So I’m going to prove myself wrong. Sometimes it’s not even a battle with anyone else. It’s a battle within yourself because you’re constantly fighting negativity.

Allow yourself to feel whatever you’re feeling. And then just take one step. That is what has helped me tremendously. Just take that one step, I promise that will help you and that will change everything. 

On X Factor: going from ‘dream’ to ‘nightmare’ and what she learned from it:

That was a big lesson to learn. I had many, many years of pursuing a dream, being in and out of the studio, going to LA with my parents at 12 years old, back and forth from San Antonio, to here.  I’ve always been reaching for the dream, working hard, pounding the pavement, recording with incredible musicians and producers, and then always hitting roadblocks.

I didn’t quite have that break yet that I worked so hard for to honor my parents’ sacrifices. I was at a crossroads, deciding: am I going to go to college? What the heck am I going to do? 

I prayed and had a lot of faith. And finally, I get this opportunity. My mom encouraged me to audition. I didn’t want to. I was super-hesitant.

I said no many times, and I auditioned and it changed my life.

The day itself was like a dream. It was so surreal. I had all these nerves thinking ‘this is what you dreamed of your whole life’. And it was just beyond beautiful. I ended up singing a Christian song. And I know a lot of people wouldn’t normally have picked that.

It’s funny looking back. I’m surprised that I picked that. I was so confident. It was not a question and I felt as if God led me there. And so when I sang it, I just sang it with soul and spirit. And you felt that in the room. The music stopped at one point and there was a beautiful silence.

Every judge gave me the most unbelievable comments. I was in tears and I knew that my family was moved, too. 

And then you wait for months and months, with no idea when it’s going to air. And it finally comes out and I’m thinking, “This is your chance! This is the moment you’ve been waiting for your whole life. You’ve dedicated and sacrificed your childhood, your parents sacrificed their dreams and my mom’s health.”

And it comes out and it’s completely edited to manipulate the storyline and made me look arrogant and ditzy. They showed the judges and the audience showing negative facial expressions. The magic was lost.

And the worst part was, I knew it. But when my family saw that, and I saw the color drained from my parents’ faces, I wanted to crawl up and never go back out on that X Factor stage because I was completely heartbroken and humiliated.

It was really devastating. But as hard as that was, I had to see it through. I’m not a quitter. I was reminded of that, and, obviously, continued on in my career, in my life, and on the show. Boy, did things change then!

On ‘making it’:

When I was 12 and in Los Angeles, I had this really young and naive picture thinking, “I’m going to LA, and basically, that’s a success on its own. I’m going to go get signed to an agency and I’m going to be on Nickelodeon or Disney. My life’s gonna change and begin.”

And I quickly learned that wasn’t the case, and especially at the time, there wasn’t really any true representation of the Latin community. 

Reality really hit me. I always knew in my heart that there absolutely could be a place for me, and I wanted to be in this industry. But it did get discouraging when I wouldn’t get callbacks or get booked for the roles.

You can imagine how that could feel for a 12-year-old. I never even had a label meeting.

It was rough and it was frustrating. It was hard sometimes to keep the faith and to be excited. But, of course, my parents and I always did end up keeping our faith and trusting that there was a bigger plan and purpose.

And then later on in Fifth Harmony, seeing that there were lots of people waiting for us outside of our hotel rooms when we were traveling the world. And we’re getting plaques, breaking records, and winning awards.

That was crazy, but I still didn’t feel as if I had like ‘made it’ yet. It was a funny dynamic because when you’re in it, it’s so quick, and you barely have time to breathe or to eat. So that was hard to grasp.

I still feel that I’ve done exciting things in my career, and I’m so proud of them. And now being solo, it’s the most liberating thing in the world. I feel as if I’ve lived several different lives. I know that I’ve done really amazing things, but I’m always goal-oriented and driven. I don’t feel as if I’ve made it yet.

In always having new goals, having new dreams, always learning and evolving, always creating. I could list 20 things that I still want to do. I love being in this space of always wanting to grow. I think it’s important for people to take that advice because you’ll always be hungry.

On the pursuit to overcome being a self-described “people-pleaser” and how one can advocate for oneself:

It’s been a really big mountain to climb for me, overcoming being a people-pleaser. I’ve had a lot of help. I credit my therapist, my life coach, my parents and some of my dearest friends who’ve helped me.

I will always try my best to do the right thing and to be kind and respectful. But at the end of the day, sometimes the kindest thing to do is to be honest, be real. It might be something as small as saying, “Hey, that piece of clothing is not for me.” It might be bigger conversations like, “I know that this opportunity was handed to me and that there’s big potential here, but I just don’t feel right inside about it. it doesn’t align with who I am. I’ve got to turn it down. I’m sorry.”

If you’re doing something that doesn’t align with your authenticity, it’s okay to say that. Most of the time, people will respect it and applaud you. Go to the next opportunity. It’s freeing.

On building confidence and self-worth:

It’s a lifelong journey. In the entertainment business, it’s rough, and especially for us women, we could be compared to each other. Artists compare themselves to other artists: they compare stats and numbers, and it doesn’t become about the art.

I really believe there’s a place for everybody. Sometimes it helps to allow yourself to feel discouraged, or sad, or whatever you’re feeling.

But then choosing to get up and say, “Okay, you know what, I’m not going to believe those lies anymore. I’m not going to believe those negative, negative thoughts, and move forward. I’m going to choose to believe in myself. I’m going to choose to love who I am, what I’m about, what I’m doing, and continue to follow my heart, my passions, and dreams.”

People are not always going to see your vision. But continue to have a vision, follow your dreams, and do what makes you happy.

Surround yourself with like-minded, positive, hard-working, loving people whom you can trust. That gives you the foundation within yourself to be self-confident and choose to follow the light within yourself. That’ll translate to everything that you do.

On opportunity showing up in the least expected ways:

I went with a friend to a talent search audition in San Antonio at a mall. I was not going to sing or participate. But my friend said, “Ally, you should sing”. I said no because we didn’t know much about the show. But somehow I ended up singing, and the judges there offered to put me into the next rounds.  My parents declined respectfully, because again, they didn’t have much information.

We were on our way out and a woman named Dana Baron stopped us in our tracks. She said, “Excuse me, I know this sounds crazy. But Ally, you made me cry with your singing. I see something in you. I’d love to bring you out to Los Angeles to meet casting directors and agents. I want to help you in any way that I can.”

My parents and I were blown away. I was so young and wide-eyed. And then my mom looked at her and she said, “I’m so sorry. But do you mind if I ask you this? You look so familiar. Have you ever been on any shows or anything?”

To which she said, “Well, you know, I was in this movie called National Lampoon’s Vacation.” We were all like, “Oh, my gosh, it’s you, Audrey! We recognize you!” It was a staple in our home. We call my dad Clark Griswold because he’s just like him. We were freaking out and that helped to validate the situation for my parents and make them feel at ease. 

They thought about it and were really afraid. They weren’t sure how they were going to handle it financially. Plus, there were the challenges of being away from my brother, going back and forth, and taking me out of school. But they ended up doing it.

And because of Dana Baron, I got my entryway into Hollywood. I was able to be signed to an agency called Coast to Coast and I went on so many auditions because of her. It wasn’t the breakout moment that we had hoped for, but she gave me the keys, and I would have not had any experience if it were not for her.  I’ll forever thank her for changing my life and believing in me at such a young age. 

I firmly believe in giving credit to people who have helped you and have changed your life.

On inspiration from others:

I am totally a product of my inspiration. For so many reasons, Selena helped me to become my own person. I was so shy at a young age, so terribly shy people wouldn’t believe it now. She helped me to have the confidence to believe in myself and my dreams. She helped me to blossom just by seeing her. 

I hope I’m creating a path that is unlike anyone else and I hope my work can inspire people to create their own paths. My inspirations have fueled me and inspired me to create my own path.

On lessons learning during Dancing With The Stars:

Dancing With The Stars was not the plan because I was insecure about my dancing. And the last thing I wanted to do was have my dancing skills judged on a TV show. I actually turned it down once and then they came back to me again. I’m glad they did, because, hands-down, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me: how I grew and what I learned. Simply put, I learned to dance better. I learned to be better than I ever was. And I gained confidence that I never had in myself.

You work hard, go through all these ups-and-downs, you can’t do a certain move for a while, and then you finally can, and by the end of it, I was literally doing leaps and tricks and acrobatics.

It was unbelievable to see that I can rise to the occasion. I can do more than I can imagine. You just have to have the drive and the perseverance. You will get punched in your gut, you will get hit, you’ll get trampled on not only in this business, but you in life. But you can conquer them and crush them. And I learned to always lead with my heart, hard work, and dedication.

And, allow myself to cry when things get hard and to be discouraged for some parts of it, but always to continue to take that next step. 

On the lyric in her first solo single “low key you should really get to know me” and what we should know about her now:

The biggest thing I want people to know about me is my heart for my family. They’re everything to me. It doesn’t matter if I have an Emmy or not. What’s important is seeing the pride in my parents’ faces, or my little cousins lighting up from watching my video. So, I want people to know that about me. 

I’m someone who loves to create, to have fun, and hopefully, to make everyone feel loved, special, and included. I hope that through my music and in all of my projects people can feel that I’m passionate. I want to help my community, my culture, to uplift other people. 

Hopefully, I will create opportunities for other people, other singers, dreamers, and so on. That’s my biggest thing. Of course, I hope people think I’m like a good singer and a great artist, but most importantly, it’s about who I am inside, as a person.

Want more content to help you on your path to success and fulfillment? Then check out this free masterclass with Deepak Chopra and me. In it, we share the 5 key things you need to know to create a more meaningful life!