Lauren Jauregui Talks Self-Love, Imposter Syndrome, and Making Music as a ‘New Bitch’

At the start of the pandemic and its self-reflection-causing lockdown, Lauren Jauregui took to Instagram Live for weekly conversations, a series titled Attunement. She’d speak to experts about voting, recite poems, and ultimately share space with other individuals.

“I was talking about my own healing process and sharing tools that have helped me throughout my journey,” Jauregui tells Rolling Stone. Now, Attunement is back. But this time it’s in the form of a Patreon podcast, where she’ll be able to connect more directly with fans while having needed conversations about spirituality, white supremacy, and imposter syndrome.

“With the podcast, I want to hone in a bit more on that intimacy and have a more streamlined version of these conversations,” Jauregui says. The podcast’s first episode, out Tuesday, is a conversation with author Sonya Renee Taylor, as the two discuss the topic of radical self-love.

Ahead of Attunement‘s release, Rolling Stone caught up with Jauregui — who dropped her debut EP Prelude last year — about the podcast and what’s next for her musically.

Intentionality seems to be really important for you. What’s your intention with the podcast version of Attunement? Who is it for?
It’s for all of us. It’s for anyone on their healing journey, or trying to figure out what that even means, or trying to connect to the bigger picture of humanity right now. We’re all in this state of confusion and disconnection. We’re all looking for a path to follow or something to rally behind that actually takes care of all of us. There are just a lot of beautiful people who have brilliant ideas, who are dreamers, and whose imaginations are so wonderful and possible. I think that anything that’s ever existed is first in our imagination, and then we bring it to life. I really want to have those conversations real candidly and openly with people whose art I admire.

One of the things that you talk about in the first episode is redefining success. What does success look like for you today? 
Success is being able to do what I love, being able to take care of myself and the people I love. Honestly, getting to wake up and do what I love every day. Everything that comes with it and moves with it is a blessing. Expressing and connecting is the point.

This first episode was so much about radical self-love, which is a new term for me. What does radical self-love look like for you?
Sonia Renee Taylor, who’s the first guest of the episode, is an author, a brilliant poet, who wrote The Body Is Not an Apology. And in it, she speaks about radical self-love, and just the concept of accepting yourself outside of the context of patriarchal white supremacy, and its dominance over our lives and actions. That is what’s propelling this absurd movement we’re seeing. Our conversations on the podcast connect the bridges between us as a global community and us as a collective consciousness. We’re not as separate from each other as we’re made to believe.

Radical self-love is the concept of loving yourself unapologetically and forgiving yourself no matter if anyone else does. It’s moving in your life living your truth and understanding, that you can grow and that you can actualize who you truly are. And that doesn’t always just have to do with the way you’re perceived, but more so how you perceive yourself and how you accept and love yourself. When I read Sonya’s book, it just blew my mind.

What can listeners expect from the upcoming episodes? Who are some of the guests that will be coming on to the show?
There are quite a few people I’m excited about. I’m not sticking to one lane of humans. I have a lot of friends in different fields, and I’m really willing to explore people’s different realms. I think that that’s also the magic of it: Everybody has a role in this new, higher consciousness reality where we take care of each other and we actually create realities where we sustain one another and create sustainable communities with the earth. There’s just a lot of different people coming on, but Sonya’s the only person I want to talk about. I want the rest to be a surprise!

You talk about imposter syndrome on the episode. This year marks the 10th anniversary of you being in the industry. (Fifth Harmony was formed in July 2012.) How do you confront it today?
You just have to move through it. You may feel like this, but at the end of the day, each one of us is given a light. We have something to offer, even if it’s just for one person. You have to get over the imposter syndrome because you’re doing what you love. And if you love what you do, that’s all that matters.

Would you say that you’ve reached a point where you’ve gotten there? Are you doing what you love?
Absolutely yes. I make music for a living. [Music] makes people vibe and dance, and create movement. That’s a fucking blessing. At this point, I have the creative freedom to do what I want.

Manifestation has been an important part for you it seems. Is there something that you’re manifesting for yourself this year?
Today, I decided to surrender. I’m manifesting on a core level because I’ve always been manifesting a reality where I get to make a living and sustain myself and my family with what I do. I want to continue to grow as an artist, I want to work with other beautiful artists. I want to be present in life so that I can experience it and I can write about it, so I can make it into art. That’s what I want! I’m into planning, don’t get me wrong, you have to have a plan of where you’re going to head, but you can’t be attached to the outcome. No expectations, if you will.

This is Rolling Stone so I have to ask about your music.
I’m finishing up my album. I’m making new music because I’m a new bitch.

Can you tease it?
No. [Laughs] I don’t know what I’m going to make yet. I have so many new ideas. I have a couple of songs from before that are really beautiful that will probably end up on the album, but there’s more in me that I have to get out. I have to keep writing.

Anything to add?
I want people to be really honest and be invested in this as a whole, as a community. I want to connect with fans and have this be a safe space for us. And I want that to be a trial run the situation. I want to see how people feel about it. I want to get feedback from the audience. The basic tier, which is still access to the podcast, it’s $3.33, because I had to get an angel number in there! I’m just so grateful for Patreon for having an awesome space where I can curate a creative flow and connect with my fans.