That Camila Cabello we understood it had changed from the photos, from this new blonde hair, from this more rock look, from a whole more pushy and alluring aesthetic. And today the confirmation arrives with the new album, C, XOXOwhich brings a new, bolder and more chaotic sound, and with a single inside Hot Uptown written with Drake. In short, it’s official: Camila Cabello has become one «baddie»as they say today to signal the advance in pop of young girls who are confident, strong, a little “bad”, who don’t care about making a good impression. A bit like the anti-Taylor Swift, so to speak. “The voice I found with this new album has this big baddie vibe. I took risks, I screwed myself and I did what I want. And being blonde allowed me to stay true to this feeling,” she said.
The era of simplicity is over, her new image screams from all social media and her songs. The former Fifth Harmony singer who easily entered the charts with her Miss e Havanaa hit with references to her Latin origins (Cuban mother and Mexican father) and all the trappings of mainstream pop that never goes wrong, even her famous boyfriend has disappeared Shawn Mendes and who knows if the breakup has anything to do with his mutation. She doesn’t want to talk about her famous ex when he answers the phone with his voice thick with sleep from New York.
The digital cover of Vanity Fair.
C, XOXO It’s a turning point in his career.
«This is my most authentic album, the one where I am most “me”. The title is in fact a dedication with my initial: what is more personal than my signature? It captures the spirit of the album well and is also a metaphor that indicates how you can live your life and “sign” it at the same time. For the first time I wrote the album by myself, every text and every melody. My true voice really comes out».
Where do these songs come from?
“It’s the result of introspection, a work of observation, it’s a bit like I’m a researcher of the human experience. I explore my feelings, my doubts, the problems in relationships.”
Did she expose herself more?
«Yes, I think it’s the bravest album I’ve made also because I took a lot of risks on a sonic level. I let myself be guided by instinct».
What’s the bravest thing you’ve done so far?
“Maybe it’s just letting the world see me for who I really am, which is difficult. Writing songs in which I talk about myself and open up is a courageous act because it’s as if I were saying: this is me, this is what I feel and now I’ll tell you. You expose yourself, therefore you are vulnerable.”
Why did it change the sound so much? Aren’t you afraid that fans will be taken aback?
«To me it actually seems like a pretty natural evolution from how I was before. I’m not worried because the album is authentic and I think there are good songs, great songs. For me it wasn’t a question of changing, but of following my instinct and instinct brought me here.”
Some have attacked her for her change: they think it’s just a marketing move.
«They said it when they heard the first ten seconds of I Luv Itnow I don’t know why I don’t read the comments. When I go to the studio I forget that someone else will hear my music. I make it only for myself. It’s the complete opposite of these judgments. It would have actually been much easier to continue making songs like Miss o Havana to keep success stable: everything is predictable. However, it is much more difficult to try something completely different. Of course I want to be successful, but that never dictates what I’ll do in the studio. For me art is sacred.”
