Camila is the debut solo studio album by American singer Camila Cabello. It was released on January 12, 2018, through Epic Records and Syco. Work on the album began in January 2017, following Cabello's departure from the girl group Fifth Harmony. The project was originally titled The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving., with Cabello's debut solo single "Crying in the Club" intended as the lead single. The album was later retitled Camila with "Havana" serving as its official lead single due to the rising success of the song, and "Crying in the Club" was cut from the final track listing. "Havana" became an international success, topping the charts of multiple countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, the UK, and the US, and reaching the top 10 of several others. Primarily a pop record, it also incorporates elements of R&B, Latin, reggaeton, dancehall and hip hop. Camila was produced by Frank Dukes, Skrillex and T-Minus, among others.
Camila was met with generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics, many of whom commended the Latin influences and ballads. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 119,000 album-equivalent units, of which 65,000 came from pure album sales. The album sold 5 million copies as of 2019. "Never Be the Same" was released as a single on December 7, 2017, reaching the top 10 in several countries. "Consequences" was released to contemporary hit radio as the album's final single on October 9, 2018, and an orchestra version was serviced to adult contemporary radio in October 22. Cabello promoted the album through televised performances, her Never Be the Same Tour (2018–19), and as an opening act on Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour (2018). Camila was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.
Background Cabello first rose to fame as a member of girl group Fifth Harmony, formed during the second season of The X Factor in 2012. The group came in third place in the competition, and subsequently signed a recording contract with Syco Music and Epic Records. The group rose to prominence with their breakthrough single "Worth It" (2015), and achieved further success with the US top-ten single "Work from Home" (2016). Fifth Harmony released two studio albums with Cabello in the group, both of which earned gold certifications in the United States. Cabello appeared as a lead artist with Canadian singer Shawn Mendes on his single "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (2015), serving as her first release outside of the group. She next collaborated with Machine Gun Kelly on the song "Bad Things" (2016), which went on to become her first top-ten single as a solo artist. Cabello's solo work led to months of media speculation that she would be leaving Fifth Harmony to focus on a solo music career.
In December 2016, it was officially confirmed that Cabello had parted ways with Fifth Harmony. During an interview with Latina magazine, she commented about her choice and future plans, stating "I needed to follow my heart and my artistic vision. I'm grateful for everything we had in Fifth Harmony and for [this new] opportunity, I am less focused on success and more on doing my best and pursuing my artistic vision to the fullest, wherever that takes me." Her departure from the group was likened to Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake, both of whom rose to fame as part of a group before earning highly successful solo careers.
During the recording of Camila, Cabello was featured in several collaborations. She was featured on the Cashmere Cat single "Love Incredible", as well as the Spanglish "Hey Ma"; the latter was featured on the soundtrack to The Fate of the Furious (2017). She further collaborated with Major Lazer, Travis Scott, and Quavo on the song "Know No Better". The song was a hit in several European territories, most notably the United Kingdom and France. She served as the opening act for Bruno Mars on his 24K Magic World Tour on select dates, performing several songs from her then-unfinished debut effort.
Recording and development Work on the album officially began in January 2017. Initial recording sessions saw Camila working with a number of well known producers and writers, including Diplo and Pharrell Williams. While none of her collaborations with the former were featured on Camila, the latter is credited as a writer for "Havana". She further collaborated with Andrew "Pop" Wansel on unreleased songs; Wansel said of Cabello "I never underestimated her talent, but I was not expecting her to have such a powerful vision." Cabello wanted the album to tell "the story of my journey from darkness into light, from a time when I was lost to a time when I found myself again." Songs on the album were meant to lyrically deal with the emotions of hurting, healing, and loving. She recorded the song "Crying in the Club" for the album, written by Sia. Cabello wrote additional lyrics for the song, which lyrically deals with the topic of "healing through the power of music." It was produced by Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat, and Happy Perez. She worked with writer and producer Jesse Shatkin on the song "I Have Questions".
British singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran wrote a demo for a song titled "The Boy" and sent it to Cabello, with Sheeran stating Cabello changed "90%" of the song's lyrics to her liking. He likened the song to "Crazy in Love" by Beyoncé, describing it as "funk-influenced". Cabello also worked on multiple songs with Ryan Tedder. Tedder praised Cabello's songwriting abilities, claiming to be "blown away" by the songs. He told ABC News "The stuff that we've done and that I've heard, they're gonna get stuff that is very, very contemporary and cutting edge but it feels like her. It's got that kind of Cuban spirit to it." The song "Into It", co-written by Tedder, is the only song from the pair to make the album's track list. Cabello additionally confirmed a song titled "Sangria Wine". Production duo Stargate produced "OMG", a hip-hop-influenced song that features rapper Quavo. The song was co-written by Cabello, Quavo, Stargate, Noonie Bao, Alexandra Yatchenko, and pop singer Charli XCX. The latter went on to praise Camila's writing as well, commenting "Such an incredible writer, she just came with everything, I was like 'Why am I here? She is crushing it, she was so next level, like I am so honoured to work with her. I was so stoked." Bao and Yatchenko additionally co-wrote the song "Never Be the Same" for Camila.
Prior to the release of "Crying in the Club", rumors began to circulate of a song titled "A Good Reason to Go", which was set to be released as her lead single. There was speculation that the song would be about her departure from Fifth Harmony, though the rumors were halted when Cabello announced her official first single. The song appears on the album under the title "Something's Gotta Give". That May, Cabello confirmed another song titled "It's Only Natural" for the album. While on the 24K Magic World Tour, she premiered the then-unreleased songs "Havana", "OMG", "Inside Out", and "Never Be the Same". Cabello confirmed the songs would be featured on her debut album. She later announced the songs "Scar Tissue" and "In the Dark" would be featured on the album.
Following the surprise commercial success of "Havana", Cabello confirmed that she had chosen to push back the album's release date in order to record further material. She later confirmed that a lot of the material previously recorded had been scrapped from the final product. She recorded more songs with the album's executive producer Frank Dukes that were influenced by Latin music and contemporary reggaeton, inspired by acts such as Calle 13 and J Balvin. As a result, the album's original concept of hurting, healing, and love was scrapped in favor of the newly recorded material. She later told MTV, "You know, you only have one chance to make a debut album and at this point, I have so many songs I'm passionate about. You know those albums where they are songs that aren't as good as the singles. I want every song to be single-worthy." Cabello worked with Dukes' management company Electric Feel, with Dukes executively producing the album. Work on the album was completed in November 2017.
Music and lyrics
Primarily a pop record, Camila also incorporates elements of R&B, Latin, reggaeton, dancehall and hip hop music, AllMusic said that Camila is a "warmly produced set of romantic pop" with "several rhythmically infectious Latin-influenced tracks informed by her Cuban heritage."
"Never Be the Same" was described by Billboard as a dark pop ballad. A NME writer described it as "bombastic" electro. Lyrically, it incorporates themes of a pain-is-pleasure type of love. In one part of the song Cabello reaches to a high G5 falsetto in the pre-chorus. "All These Years" is a "R&B-tinged" song, Lyrically, it is about an encounter with her ex. "She Loves Control" is an "electronica-tinged, dancehall-ready" track.
"Havana" is a mid-tempo track, containing a mix of "Latin fusion" and pop. It is the only song on the album that features another artist, with a guest appearance by Young Thug. Rolling Stones Brittany Spanos said it is "clubby, smooth" track, where Cabello sings about falling in love with "a mysterious suitor from East Atlanta", though she has left her heart in her hometown. "Inside Out" is a reggaeton tune that features buoyantly percussive, steel drums. "Consequences" is a piano-led ballad. Lyrically, it's about the impact of a partner that was in her life. It was the album's third and final single on October 9, 2018.
"Real Friends" is a pop ballad that features an acoustic guitar and handclap as percussion. Lyrically, she talks about being surrounded by negative things and people, while asking for an honest friendship. Sam Lansky of Time cited the song and the "heartfelt" track "Consequences" as "pretty" ballads which showcased Cabello's voice. "Somethings Gotta Give" is a ballad. "In the Dark" is a trap-pop song. Lyrically, it is about an unnamed famous boy Camila met at an after-party. "Into It" is a R&B song with a fast tempo. AllMusic called the track "contagious".
Release and artwork Having signed with Epic Records and Syco Music as a member of Fifth Harmony, it was announced merely days after her departure from the group that Cabello had re-signed with both parties to release her solo work. She announced the album's title as The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving. in May 2017, slated for release that September. She described the project as "the story of my journey from darkness into light, from a time when I was lost to a time when I found myself again." She wrote, "It was a kind of chapter you never want to read out loud", and explained the "whole album-making process" helped her deal with her emotions. When Cabello announced she had pushed back the album's release date to record new material, it was rumored that the album's title would be changed as well. She confirmed in November that the original name and concept of the album had been scrapped and that the project would be released "early next year." Cabello announced on December 5 that the project would be titled Camila, and was set to be released on January 12, 2018. Camila became available for pre-order through digital music providers on December 7.