Camila Cabello has gone solo.
The former Fifth Harmony singer has just released her self-titled debut, Camila, where she combines Latino-fueled rhythms with catchy pop melodies. She obviously brings everything she’s learned from that stint to the plate here.
In a recent article, Camila shared about the need to break away from her former sterotypes and come into her own artistic skin: “I needed to follow my heart and my artistic vision … I am less focused on success and more on doing my best and pursuing my artistic vision to the fullest, wherever that takes me.”
And the artistic vision she’s cast here is one in which she’s open, honest and vulnerable—if at times one that drifts in a sensual direction as well.
In “All These Years,” Camila runs into an ex-boyfriend and shares her regrets for never expressing how she truly felt: “And it was just a quick hello/And you had to go/And you probably will never know/You’re still the one I’m after all these years.”
Camila struggles to find “Real Friends,” and would rather distance herself from the fake “conversations and the ‘Oh, I’m fines.’” Instead, she said she’d rather relate “with somebody that means something.”
“Inside Out” expresses the singer’s desire to love and accept a man for who he is on the inside: “I wanna love you inside out/… Show me what your inside ’bout.” She also affirms that he is “the best of the best.” Similarly, “In the Dark” expresses the Camila’s intent to understand the “scary parts” of an emotionally closed-off beau.
“Consequences” vulnerably recognizes (albeit after the fact) that a former love seemed to be “sunshine, safe and sound,” but that loving him was actually “dumb, dark and cheap.” And in “Something’s Gotta Give,” Camila admits that a dysfunctional relationship must end: “I should know by now … /No reason to stay is a good reason to go.” She also says of that romance’s unequal dynamic, “All I do is give, and all you do is take.” That said …
… Camila apparently hasn’t left this guy yet, because she’s pondering his deceptive ways even as they continue to share a bed: “Know you’re lying when you’re lying next to me.” “Consequences” likewise implies some kind of a cohabiting relationship when Camila references “glasses on the sink.” She also mentions sleeping on “lonely pillows in a stranger’s bed.”
“In The Dark” finds Camila telling a man, “I can see you’re scared of your emotions,” and she wonders a bit suggestively, “Why can’t you show me?/Who are you in the dark?” A line on “Inside Out” could be heard as a request to connect with a guy physically as well as emotionally: “Baby, give it to me, no doubt/Cause once you’re with my love/There will never be enough.”
“Never Be The Same” compares physical intimacy to “nicotine, heroine, morphine,” where “one hit” of a guy’s touch is like an “overdose” that runs “in my blood” and “in my veins.” And in “Into It,” Camila says she’s “not a psychic” but nevertheless sees “a king-sized bed in the corner” and thinks “we should get into it” because “the things I wanna do to you, it’s infinite.” Camila runs into an ex in “All These Years” and wonders about his current lover: “Does she kiss you like I kissed you?”
In “Havana” Camila recalls a memorable physical encounter that was “forever in a minute/That summer night in June.” Her partner, she admits, is a man who is “malo,” Spanish for bad. A few lines by guest rapper Young Thug in the track suggest themes such as prostitution and casual sexual encounters.
Finally, in “She Loves Control,” a woman “doesn’t cry anymore” because she has been emotionally scarred and would prefer to have things “her way.” She brags of her sexual prowess, “All it takes is just one taste, you wanna give it up/… The way she kills you, makes you feel alive.”
Additionally, he album cover features her in a suggestive and revealing pose (which is why we’ve cropped our review image to focus mainly on her face).
It can be scary to create a piece of work that displays your personal struggles and heartaches. It takes bravery, courage and a lot of confidence in who you are. In many ways, that’s what Camila Cabello has done on her debut album.
In an interview with Los Angeles radio station Power 106 FM she talked about the power of her vulnerability and the difficulty involved in being real. As it related to her self-titled work, she said, “I feel that there’s really nothing left unsaid.”
Camila hasn’t left anything out when it comes to her emotional vulnerability on this album. Many of the tracks here admit mistakes, regrets and insecurities as she dives into the nitty-gritty of some dysfunctional romances.
That kind of honesty is really refreshing. But it also makes the moments where Camila hints at (though never explicitly) sexual intimacy with former live-in lovers all the more disappointing.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
