"He Knows" (stylized in all caps) is a song by American singer Camila Cabello featuring fellow American singer and rapper Lil Nas X. It was released through Geffen and Interscope Records on May 10, 2024, as the second single from the former's fourth studio album C,XOXO.
Background On May 8, Cabello announced the collaboration with the rapper, and revealed the artwork on her Instagram which was a close up picture of Lil Nas X with acrylic nails and sparkling jewels embracing Cabello that was seemingly taken at the Met Gala they attended two days prior. The visualizer for the song was released on the release date of the song, and the music video was released on May 22, 2024.
Writing and composition The song contains a sample of "Give It Up 2 Me" by Ojerime.
Forbes described it as another more mature and NSFW lyrical shift from Cabello's Fifth Harmony days. Nylon described it as a "house-leaning bop" that continues the "unfiltered messy pop girl vibe" she established with her previous single "I Luv It".
Music video The video was directed by Onda and it features Lil Nas X in the video. The video is stated to be a "dancefloor battle between friends vying for the attention of a mutual love interest."
Critical reception Zachary Horvath of HotNewHipHop described it as improvement of her last single "I Luv It" and praised Lil Nas X's verse as being more fun and animated than Playboi Carti's verse on "I Luv It".
Credits and personnel Camila Cabello – vocals, writing Lil Nas X – vocals, writing Dale Becker – mastering Jon Castelli – mixing Pablo Díaz-Reixa – production, writing, programming, sampler Jasper Harris – production, writing, bass, synthesizer Daniel Aged - production, writing Brad Lauchert – mix engineering Bart Schoudel – engineering, vocal production
Charts + Chart performance for "He Knows" Chart (2024) Peakposition Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan) 12 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) 19 UK Singles Sales (OCC) 63
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