After Fifth Harmony, Dinah Jane Almost Left Music. She’s Back With Naughty Girl Island Vibes on ‘Ya Ya’
Dinah Jane had a “bad bitch” wake-up call earlier this summer. The former Fifth Harmony member was preparing to perform at a local queer bar in her hometown Orange County. It was her first time on stage in over three years and she wasn’t sure how many people were going to show up.
Dressed in an Anaheim Angels jersey and silver high heels, Dinah took the stage and marveled at the number of people who were there to witness her return. “People were packed like sardines in there!” Dinah tells Rolling Stone. “Here I am, forgetting how valuable I am. I should believe there were so many people in the room! It was time to wake everybody up and let everyone know: Dinah Jane is back.”
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On Tuesday, the Tongan-American star released her single “Ya Ya,” the first taste of the tropical-tinged music Dinah has up her sleeve for a new era of music she waited three years for. (She premieres the tune’s visualizer with Rolling Stone.)
“It’s a fun summer song about confidence that speaks volumes to me,” she says. “Listen, my image and figure are not the same as they used to be, but I’ve learned to love her. Whatever body I’m giving, it is beautiful no matter what.”
For the video, Dinah chose to keep her hair untamed, embraced her curves, and dressed in a traditional outfit to exude exactly “what you think a Polynesian girl looks like.” It’s that part of her identity that she hopes to project on all of her releases. “Visually, it’s so authentic to me and so beautiful,” she says. “I love that people can see my identity now more than ever before. Whether it wins or not, I love it.”
“Ya Ya” marks Dinah’s first release since 2020. The song is set to be part of a bigger project, and she’s dropping a “couple of special gems” from it along the way. The new music, she explains, is “very tropical, naughty, island girl vibes.”
“I am 100 percent confident with what I’m creating, what I’m writing, how I’m singing. She’s giving range, and she’s telling a story. I know that’s where my power is this time around,” she says.
Earlier this summer, Ally Brooke teased what seemed to be the possibility of a Fifth Harmony reunion. Dinah says she’s all for the idea. “We dedicated so many years to the group that learning about ourselves is so important,” she says. “In a perfect world, I would love to.”
Before her interview with Rolling Stone, Dinah says she was woken up by her little sisters playing the music video for “Me and My Girls,” a song the group dropped 10 years ago.
“Of all songs and all videos, you want to watch this? And I wake up to it?” she says with a laugh. “It was so funny but so beautiful, just reflecting on that time. We were so young, and we’re women now. Whenever they’re ready, that door is open for us.”
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