cxoxo is the fourth studio album of Camila Cabello, released on June 28, 2024. After three albums portraying the “good girl” image, she does a 360-degree change to her persona and frees her inner self to release a new LP and incorporate an unexplored genre. But is it successful?
Camila Cabello – a Cuban American born in ‘97 was fond of music from an early age. In the present day, it is accessible to pursue a musical career with musical software tools. Just like pop singer Girl in Red did in 2021.
Add the internet into the mix, and chances are that aspiring singers can reach the masses to build a brand for themselves without the help of any intermediaries. But back in the early 2010s, it was still scarce or unheard of artists making it independently.
Social Media was in its infancy, and using the promotional aspects to brand oneself was limited. Hence, how did upcoming singers make themselves stand out from the rest of the crowd? Auditions.
Camila Cabello began her musical journey by auditioning for the well-known program, The X Factor. As faith would have it, she paired with other girls to form the group “The Fifth Harmony” (2012).
Despite the success of the group, Camila departed after four years (2016). The truth is that the hard part of leaving a group is finding your own identity.
However, afterward, she did not waste any time continuing with her solo aspirations. During 2017, she remained active with features with other artists such as Young Thug on “Havana.”
Once the single hit online, it proved she could hold it down as a solo artist. Not only that but also the single perfectly hyped her self-titled album, Camila (2018).
As mentioned on many occasions, the success of the debut album is crucial. Namely, it dictates the first impressions of fans towards the music and thus opens the possibility of embarking on a tour.
Indeed, Camila resonated with fans all over the world. As mentioned before, the cycle of an album can only be extended for approximately two years. Afterward, the musician needs to head back to the studio to record new material.
And that is exactly what she did. Almost two years later, her sophomore, “Romance,” which included the smash single, featuring Shawn Mendes, was released to critical acclaim.
Due to the pandemic, she wasn’t able to give her follow-up the right promotional as she would have hoped, understandably. Regardless, like many other artists at that time (2020) such as Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber, she also kept recording.
When searching for that next big hit single, sometimes it happens organically and more often inorganically. The label can go to the extent of pairing artists with collaborators while in search of that spark. Way back in the early 2000s, this was happening to Alicia Keys.
“Havana came about in such an organic way. After, I would go in (the studio) with American producers and writers…It felt like they were putting me in this box.“
-Camila Cabello, The Kelly Clarkson Show (2022).
During that time, Camila had had enough and began dealing with anxiety and mental health problems hitting a low point in her life. Eventually, she hit the studio again, only this time with a new team.
“Ricky (producer) introduced me to Cheche and Edgar Barrera. They are Latin. Being in those sessions, I would pull up a playlist of Alejandro Fernandez, Alejandro Sanz, Celia Cruz. Now, it organically went to a place where I’m getting to speak my first language.“
-Camila Cabello, The Kelly Clarkson Show (2022).
24 months later, on April 8, 2022, she released her third album, titled “Familia.” If Camila and Romance scratch the Latin surface, on “Familia” she takes it a step further and proudly showcases her Cuban roots.
Throughout 12 songs, she balances the perfect amount of English and Spanish, making it a versatile record, featuring Machine Gun Kelly, Ed Sheeran, WILLOW, Maria Becerra, and Yotuel.
cxoxo
After such a successful record and a two-year period in between, Camila made a drastic change not only to her image but also sonically by exploring and incorporating hip-hop elements.
“Cxoxo” starts with a catchy and hyped chorus displayed on “I LUV IT.” This vibe only intensifies with the cameos by JT, Young Miami, and Drake, whose appearances resume the party vibes.
Despite those vibes, the last three tracks, “B.O.A.T,” “Pretty When I Cry,” and “June Gloom” bring back the melodic vibes she is known for.
As she described it to Kelly Clarkson, “Familia” felt very organic. If “cxoxo” is also an organic output, only Camila knows. However, despite the image change, musically it portrays a good-dance vibe.
Hopefully, “Cxoxo” by Camila Cabello is an everlasting LP instead of a product of the music industry because organic music will always prevail over inorganic.
Watch “Chanel No.5” and fully stream Camila Cabello’s “Cxoxo”.
- “Chanel No. 5” music video by Camila Cabello. Directed by Paul Geusebroek (Geffen, Interscope, 2024). ↩︎
- “Don’t Go Yet” music video by Camila Cabello. Directed by Directed by Philippa Price and Pilar Zeta (Epic Records, 2021). ↩︎
- “Cxoxo” by Camila Cabello. Cover artwork by Jason Nocito (Geffen, Interscope, 2024). ↩︎
