Her debut studio album, Camila (2018), peaked atop the US
Billboard 200, received
platinum certification by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and saw generally positive critical reception. Largely influenced by
Latin music, its lead single "
Havana" (featuring
Young Thug) received
diamond certification by the RIAA, peaked atop the
Billboard Hot 100 chart, and did so in 23 other countries, including the
UK and
Canada.[4] Its follow-up, "
Never Be the Same" reached the top ten in multiple countries. Her 2019 duet with Shawn Mendes, "
Señorita" was met with similar success as the former—becoming her second song to peak the Billboard Hot 100—and was included on her second album, Romance (2019). The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and spawned the top 20 single "
My Oh My" (featuring
DaBaby).[5]
Further leaning into
Latin pop, she released her third studio album Familia (2022) to continued success; it was preceded by the single "
Don't Go Yet" and peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200.[6] Its second single, "
Bam Bam" (featuring
Ed Sheeran), reached the top five of the
Billboard Global 200—Cabello's highest entry on the chart—and peaked within the top ten in several countries, and number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5]
Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao was born in the
Habana del Este district of
Cojímar,
Havana,
Cuba[7][8] to Alejandro Cabello and Sinuhe Estrabao. Her father is Mexican and was born in
Mexico City, before moving to Cuba. She has a younger sister named Sofia.[9] Cabello spent much of her early life moving back-and-forth between Cuba and Mexico.[10] Camila has Mexican citizenship.[11][12]
When Cabello was six years old, she relocated to
Miami,
Florida with her mother, crossing the border from Mexico to the
United States and taking a 36-hour
Greyhound bus-ride to Miami, after waiting only one day at the border before being granted permission to enter the US. Cabello was told by her mother that she was going to
Disneyworld as an incentive to go to the US; they moved into Cabello's grandfather's colleague's home, who would later become her godmother. Cabello's mother took night courses to study English. Cabello's father was unable to obtain a visa at the time, and joined the family approximately 18 months later; upon his arrival in the country, he would work washing cars in front of
Dolphin Mall.
Cabello's mother—a trained architect with a degree earned in Cuba—initially worked at
Marshalls, stacking shoes, until one day, two other Cuban women approached her at work and told her that they had a brother who worked in architecture; she was told that the brother needed someone who worked in
AutoCAD, and Cabello's mother learned the program in a week. In time, she had earned enough money to move out of her father’s colleague’s house and into an apartment with her children. Cabello's mother and father eventually formed a construction company named after Camila and Sofia.[7][13][10][14] Cabello acquired American citizenship in 2008.[15]
On December 18, 2016, Fifth Harmony announced Cabello's departure, with both sides giving contradictory explanations of the circumstances for her exit.[30][31][32] She appeared in a previously taped performance with the group on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve at the end of 2016.[33] Writing about Cabello's time in the group, a Billboard journalist noted it is "rather uncommon for someone to stand out in a collective as much as Cabello has over the past years."[34]
2017–2018: Breakthrough with Camila
On January 25, 2017, "
Love Incredible", a collaboration with Norwegian DJ
Cashmere Cat, leaked online.[35] The official version of the song was released on February 16 and later featured on Cashmere's debut studio album, 9 (2017).[36] Cabello also recorded "
Hey Ma" with rappers
Pitbull and
J Balvin for
The Fate of the Furious soundtrack (2017). The Spanish version of the single and its music video were released on March 10, 2017, and the English version was released on April 6.[37][38] The singer was also featured on a collaboration with
Major Lazer,
Travis Scott and
Quavo for the song "
Know No Better".[39]
In May 2017, Cabello announced the future release of her first studio album, at the time titled The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving., which she described 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".[40] Her debut solo single "
Crying in the Club" was released on May 19, 2017,[41] followed by a performance at the
2017 Billboard Music Awards.[42] The single peaked at number 47 in the United States.[43] She joined
Bruno Mars'
24K Magic World Tour as an opening act for several shows in 2017[44] and partnered with clothing brand
Guess as the face of their 2017 Fall campaign.[45]
New writing and recording sessions for her album, influenced by the success of her single "
Havana" featuring
Young Thug, postponed the album's original release date.[46] The single reached number one in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Hungary and the United States.[47] It also spent seven weeks atop the US
Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart.[48] The song became
Spotify's most-streamed song ever by a solo female artist in June 2018, with over 888 million streams at the time.[49] Titled Camila, her debut album is a pop record containing
Latin-influenced songs and
ballads.[50]Camila was released on January 12, 2018, and debuted at number one in the United States with 119,000
album-equivalent units, including 65,000 from pure album sales.[51][52] The album was eventually certified platinum in the country.[53] "
Real Friends" and "
Never Be the Same" were released in the same day on December 7, 2017,[54][55] the latter becoming her third top 10 entry on the Hot 100, peaking at Number 6.[56] "Havana" and "Never Be the Same" made Cabello the first artist to top the Mainstream Top 40 and
Adult Top 40 airplay charts with the first two singles from a debut studio album.[57] She later won an
MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year for "Havana".[58]
In April 2018, Cabello embarked on the
Never Be the Same Tour, her first headlining concert tour as a solo artist. She was featured in "
Sangria Wine", a song she recorded with
Pharrell Williams. Cabello released the song live during the tour.[59] In May 2018, Cabello made a cameo appearance in
Maroon 5's music video for "
Girls Like You".[60] In the same month, she began performing as the opening act for American singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift in her
Reputation Stadium Tour in between the European leg of the Never Be the Same Tour.[61][62] She headlined an arena for the first time on July 31, 2018, at the
Mohegan Sun Arena in
Uncasville, Connecticut.[63] Cabello was featured in the remix version of "
Beautiful", a song from American singer
Bazzi. The remix was released on August 2.[64] On October 9, 2018, Cabello released the video single "
Consequences", having first surprised 12 of her biggest fans in advance with a "Most Amazing Mystery Gift & Personal Letter".[65][66]
In December 2018, she was nominated for two
Grammys:
Best Pop Solo Performance for a live version of "Havana" and
Best Pop Vocal Album for Camila.[67][68] Her performance of "Havana" with guests
Ricky Martin, J Balvin and Young Thug at the start of the ceremony made her the first female Latin artist to open the show.[69]
2019–2020: Romance
In October 2018, Cabello announced she would start working on new music in the new year after the holidays.[70][71] In April 2019, it was announced that Cabello would star in an upcoming film adaptation of Cinderella, directed by
Kay Cannon for
Sony Pictures.[72]
On June 21, 2019, Cabello released "
Señorita" with Canadian singer
Shawn Mendes, along with the music video.[73] The song debuted at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and marked Mendes' and Cabello's second collaboration, following "
I Know What You Did Last Summer" (2015).[74][75] In August, "Señorita" climbed to the number one position on the Hot 100, making it Cabello's second single to top the chart.[76] "Señorita" reached Number 1 in over 30 countries. It earned a nomination for the
Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.[77] According to the
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), "Señorita" was the third best-selling song of 2019 globally.[78] She also recorded the song "
South of the Border" with British singer-songwriter
Ed Sheeran and American rapper
Cardi B, which was released in July 2019[79] and reached Number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.[80]
On September 1, 2019, Cabello posted a clip on
Instagram, teasing the release of her second studio album Romance.[81] Two days later, she announced the first two singles from the album, "
Liar" and "
Shameless", which were released on September 5,[82] followed by "
Cry for Me" and "
Easy" in October 2019.[83][84]Romance was released on December 6, 2019, and was supposed to be supported by the Romance Tour in 2020, until its cancelation due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.[85] "
Living Proof" was released with the pre-orders of the album on November 15, 2019.[86]Romance debuted and peaked at Number 3 on the
US Billboard 200[87] and reached Number 1 in Canada.[88] It also reached the top 10 in 12 countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Spain. "
My Oh My" featuring
DaBaby entered the top 20 on the
Billboard Hot 100, peaking at Number 12; it also peaked at Number 1 on US Mainstream Top 40.[89]
On July 23, 2021, Cabello released "
Don't Go Yet" as the lead single from her third studio album Familia, announced alongside the release of the single.[91] On October 15, 2021, Cabello premiered "La Buena Vida", from Familia, during her
NPR Tiny Desk Concert.[92] On October 29, 2021, Cabello released "
Oh Na Na" with
Myke Towers and
Tainy,[93] though it is not included on the album. Familia was named by Forbes one of the most anticipated pop albums of 2022.[94] In early September, Cabello performed "Don't Go Yet" at the
BCC Live Lounge.[95] She also performed a cover of
Olivia Rodrigo's "
Good 4 U", which later won the iHeartRadio Music Award for Best Cover Performance.[96]
In the latter half of 2021, Cabello appeared in an adaptation of Cinderella, which was released in select theatres and digitally on
Amazon Prime Video on September 3, 2021.[97]Cinderella was the most-watched streaming movie over the
Labour Day weekend, as well as the most-watched movie musical yet in 2021.[98] The film received mixed reviews from critics, though Cabello's performance received favourable reviews.
Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and praised Cabello for her performance, saying "she has a real knack for comedy",[99] and
IndieWire remarked, "In her cinematic debut, the pop star stitches up a charming performance in an oft-told fairy tale."[100] In an interview with The One Show in July, Cabello said she would like to continue acting.[101]
On December 6, 2021, it was announced that Cabello would open for
Coldplay during the Latin American leg of their
Music of the Spheres World Tour in September 2022. She opened for them in Colombia, Peru and Chile, with additional dates added.[108] She also performed at
Rock in Rio that same month.[109]
On February 21, 2022, Cabello announced that her collaboration with
Ed Sheeran titled "
Bam Bam" would arrive on March 4, 2022.[110] The song was released that day, with a music video accompanying.[111] Cabello debuted the song with a performance on The Late Late Show with James Corden on the day of release.[112] Cabello and Sheeran performed "Bam Bam" together for the first time live at the Concert For Ukraine benefit at
Resorts World Arena in
Birmingham.[113] "Bam Bam" peaked at number 5 on the
Billboard Global 200 chart, marking Cabello's highest peak since the charts creation in 2020. It also peaked at 21 on the Billboard Hot 100,[114] and inside the top 10 in Canada and the UK. "Bam Bam" earned a nomination for the
Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.[115]
On April 8, 2022, Familia was released and accompanied by a virtual
TikTok concert 'immersive performance' titled "Familia: Welcome to the Family".[116] Familia was met with positive reviews from critics, with NME,[117]The Guardian[118] and Rolling Stone[119] all giving it 4/5 stars. Reviewing positively for NME, Nick Levine called the album "[Cabello's] richest and most compelling album yet," having delved into her heritage and psyche.[citation needed] In a similar review, Rolling Stone critic Tomás Mier wrote that the album is "an imperfect yet revealing mosaic of Cabello's Cuban [and] Mexican heritage." While noting the multiple changes in style as quite disorienting, Mier complimented the album's raw and honest lyrics, comparing it to reading Cabello's diary. In a review for The Guardian, Alim Kheraj praised the album's vibrant Latin motifs—"honest and humming with artistic intent"—and noted the recurring theme of "self-sabotage and
paranoia."[citation needed]
Familia debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200, marking Cabello's 3rd Top ten album.[5] It also debuted at number six in Canada,[citation needed] number nine in the UK,[citation needed] and number four in Spain, the latter marking Cabello's 2nd highest debut there.[citation needed]
On May 9, 2022, it was announced Cabello would headline the
UEFA Champions League Final on May 28.[120] On May 28, 2022, Cabello performed "Señorita", "Havana", "Bam Bam" and "Don't Go Yet" during the UEFA Champions League Final opening ceremony.[121] The performance is the most viewed video on UEFA's channel.[122] Cabello released 'Road to the UEFA Champion's League Final', a Behind the Scenes look at preparing for the performance on her YouTube channel.[123]
On May 15, 2022, Cabello announced via her TikTok account that she would be a coach on the
US version of The Voice for its
twenty-second season replacing
Kelly Clarkson.[124] In October 2022, it was confirmed that Cabello would not return for the twenty-third season.[125]
On July 27, 2022
Stromae released a remix of his song "
Mon amour" starring Cabello, with an accompanying music video that is a play on shows like
Love Island. Cabello provided a verse she recorded in LA and sang in French for the song.[126] In September 2022, Cabello departed Epic Records and signed to
Interscope Records, a label of
Universal Music Group.[127] She also released a collaboration with
Camilo titled "Ambulancia", which is on Camilo's album De adentro pa afuera.[128] In December 2022, Cabello released her third non-album collaboration of 2022, a remix of "
Ku Lo Sa" by
Oxlade.[129]
2024: C, XOXO
Cabello started teasing her new song "
I Luv It" on March 5, 2024.[130] It was released on March 27, and it was a surprise collaboration featuring
Playboi Carti. Rolling Stone branded the song as the beginning of her "
hyperpop" era.[131] It is the lead single for her fourth studio album C, XOXO, which is scheduled to be released in mid-2024.[132]
In February 2016, Cabello announced she had partnered with
Save the Children to design a limited-edition "Love Only" T-shirt to help raise awareness of issues involving girls' equal access to education, health care and opportunities to succeed.[148] In June 2016, Cabello, producer
Benny Blanco, and members of the nonprofit arts organization OMG Everywhere helped to create the charity single "Power in Me".[149] Cabello has also partnered with the
Children's Health Fund, a non-profit dedicated to providing health care to low-income families with children.[150]
On April 3, 2017, Cabello performed at
Zedd's WELCOME! Fundraising Concert, which raised money for ACLU.[151] Cabello sang to patients at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital on May 8, 2017.[152] In late 2017, she joined
Lin-Manuel Miranda and multiple other Latin artists on the song "
Almost Like Praying" for Puerto Rico hurricane relief.[153] Cabello also announced she was donating all proceeds of "Havana" to the
ACLU for
DREAMers.[154]
Cabello donated portions of proceeds from VIP sale packages to the Children's Health Fund while on the 2018 Never Be the Same tour.[155] On July 13, 2018, she performed a concert in
San Juan and donated a portion of the concert's proceeds to Hurricane Maria Relief Fund.[156] In November 2018, Cabello became an ambassador for Save the Children.[157]
In March 2019, Cabello announced she donated $10,000 to a
GoFundMe campaign for a homeless immigrant.[158] In September 2019, Cabello pledged to raise $250,000 for Save the Children organization.[159] In October 2019, Cabello performed at the We Can Survive concert which donates to breast cancer.[160] On October 22, 2019, Cabello appeared with the
Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge at
Kensington Palace in support of the finalists for the
BBC Radio 1 Teen Heroes Awards.[161]
In January 2021, Cabello partnered with the nonprofit Movement Voter Fund to launch The Healing Justice project, a project to identify ten organizations to receive grants to pay for mental health resources for their frontline workers.[166] Cabello pledged the seed money for the venture, $250,000, and has pledged to continue to support the project going forward.[167] So far the project has given grants to several organisations, including Muslim Woman For, Freedom Inc and QLatinx.[168]
Cabello is an outspoken advocate for climate change and regularly speaks about this on her social media and in interviews. In September 2021, Cabello recruited over 60 artists to sign an open letter to several entertainment companies including
Amazon,
Facebook and
Apple Inc., calling on them to ask Congress to pass the climate action that President
Joe Biden called for in his
Build Back Better agenda.[169]
In March 2022, Cabello performed at the Concert for Ukraine benefit concert. The two-hour benefit show was put on to raise money for the Disasters Emergency Committee's (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal following the
Russian invasion of Ukraine. Cabello performed a cover of "
Fix You" by
Coldplay and her single "Bam Bam", with
Ed Sheeran joining her on stage for their first live performance of the song together.[113]
In May 2022, Cabello launched and hosted a benefit concert to support the emergency "Protect Our Kids" fund. The singer has teamed with
Lambda Legal and
Equality Florida to help protect LGBTQ+ students and their families from Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay or Trans" bill.[170]
As part of her collaboration with
Pepsi for UEFA Champions League, Cabello is among music and football talent that will be supporting #Football4Refugees, an appeal launched by
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, to unite the global football community to raise funds for displaced people around the world.[171]
On August 22, 2022, Cabello announced that she had provided vocals and written a song with
Hans Zimmer for the documentary series Frozen Planet 2.[172] Cabello called this an 'honour' and the song debuted on August 28, 2022, incorporated in the first trailer for the show.[173] It won the award for Best Song/Score in a Trailer at the 2022 Hollywood Music in Media Awards.[174]
Awards and nominations
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adding to it. (October 2023)
Cabello was in a relationship with dating coach and writer
Matthew Hussey, whom she met on the set of The Today Show. They dated from February 2018 to June 2019.[182]
She began dating Canadian singer
Shawn Mendes in July 2019. The relationship caused controversy, as both were accused of attempting to
form a relationship for publicity,[183][184] but Mendes insisted it was "definitely not a publicity stunt". The relationship was confirmed after the release of their song "
Señorita".[183] In November 2021, Cabello and Mendes announced their breakup.[185]
In August 2022, Cabello began dating Lox CEO Austin Kevitch,[186] whom she met through their mutual friend
Nicholas Galitzine, Cabello's co-lead in Cinderella. In February 2023, it was announced the two had broken up.[187]
Cabello purchased a 3,500-square-foot (330 m2) home in the
Hollywood Hills neighborhood of
Los Angeles in 2019.[194] In December 2021, it was reported that she sold the home for $4.3 million.[195]
In December 2019,
Tumblr posts that Cabello had
reblogged between 2012 and 2013, when she was 15 years old, surfaced on
Twitter, containing racial slurs and derogatory language, including uses of the slur "
nigger" and mocking
Chris Brown's 2009 assault on
Rihanna. Her Tumblr account was deleted soon afterward and Cabello issued an apology, stating that she was "uneducated and ignorant" when younger and that she was deeply embarrassed to have ever used "horrible and hurtful" language. She added that "those mistakes don't represent" her and that she "only [stands] and [has] ever stood for love and inclusivity."[197][198]
In March 2021, Cabello said she had taken part in weekly racial healing sessions administered by the racial equity group National Compadres Network, in which "you get corrected, you have homework, and you learn ... Now I know better so I can do better."[199]
^
abCabello, Camila (October 5, 2016).
"Camila Cabello: 'Our Dreams Were Bigger Than Our Fears'". PopSugar.com.
Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. ...my mom and I immigrated to America. I was almost 7 at the time, born in Havana, Cuba. My papá is puro Mexicano...
^"Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. January 29, 2015.
Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
Australia:
"Camila Cabello's Havana hits #1". Australian Recording Industry Association. November 18, 2017.
Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
^
abYeung, Neil Z.
"Camila Cabello".
AllMusic.
Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2019. Cuban-American R&B/pop singer and founding member of U.S. X Factor girl group Fifth Harmony [...] resonant voice, buoyant charisma, and Latin roots
^"'Detrás de la Fama': Juanes, Paquita la del Barrio y Camila Cabello abrieron su corazón" ['Behind Fame': Juanes, Paquita la del Barrio and Camila Cabello opened their hearts] (in Spanish).
Telemundo. September 19, 2021.
Archived from the original on September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021. [Regarding her musical influence, she commented that from a young age she listened to Shakira, David Bisbal, Alejandro Sanz, Alejandro Fernández and Maná, artists whom fortunately now can be called friends, which makes her very happy.]
^Nordyke, Kimberly (August 20, 2018).
"VMAs: Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter.
Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2018.