“Camila,” a New Album by Camila Cabello

You’ve definitely heard of “Havana” whether it was on the radio, in the car, or from friends. Camila Cabello’s song hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Personally, I do not listen to pop music like this, but I have definitely heard “Havana” everywhere. It has a good beat to it, and the song easily gets stuck in your head. “Havana” was a single released earlier last year for her new album that dropped last Friday. With the hype and following that “Havana” received, her album was sure to be a success. (Which it ended up being.) With my different taste of music, listening to Cabello’s new album was not something I’d imagine myself doing. However, for the sake of this article, I will put my taste aside and judge this album with clean and unbiased ears.

Never Be The Same: The backup vocals for this track really stood out to me. The song and chorus had a good beat, (even though she spent a little too much time in falsetto for my taste) and the backup vocals really complimented the track and her voice. This sound might not stay stuck in my head like Havana, but it definitely has it’s own audience.

All These Years: This song almost felt like it had some Ed Sheeran vibes infused into it; it had a little less acoustic style and more electronic. Her lyrics felt like any other pop song on the radio about love and it’s struggle. There are some aspects to this song that definitely stand out. The song is at a slow pace, but still has a beat to it. Overall, this song was not a flop.

She Loves Control: From the first few seconds of this song, I could already tell that this would be something I’d like a lot more. In the beginning there is a clear beat to follow. Her voice isn’t too showy but it’s just enough. The tone that this song conveys intrigued me; almost like a Fitz and the Tantrum and Foster The People infused into her Cuban-American pop style. (I added this song to my playlist, so that should definitely say something.)

Inside Out: The piano that this song begins with is great, but it lost me seconds later when the lyrics started. Based on the other songs, I hoped it would a different tone from the tracks in this album but I was disappointed. This song felt like a best friend to other pop songs and was also felt pretty repetitive. (Hit skip! Sorry.)

Consequences: This song is a slow song unlike the rest. It was a good compliment to the rest of the album, almost acting like a little interlude from all the other dance pop songs. I really like this! It’s really hard to show a lot of differentiation from other slow songs and for the artist to add their own DNA to a style of song that is quite overdone. Camila Cabello did a great job of this.

Real Friends: This song also had me hooked with it’s good beat. The acoustic guitar backing added something a tone to this song that felt more stripped down. This was one of my more favorite tracks of this album. The topic of friends for the song is less mainstream as compared to love or partying.

Something’s Gotta Give: Her voice in this song almost felt different than the other tracks. However, this song really had me going. Camila’s voice is very smooth in this, and while it’s completely outside of my comfort zone in music, this was great. There’s not much more I can say about this song other than how good the melody was. (Another song I added to my playlist!)

In The Dark: Just as Camila had me hooked, she lost me with this song. It felt like a steps backward. The chorus in this was definitely a pickup from the into verse and the bridge, but the track overall wasn’t for me. Sorry, Camila.

Into It: This is the final song in the track (other than the radio edit of Never Be The Same) and it felt almost lackluster. When I think of the final original track that an album ends on, I expect something that blows everybody away. I wasn’t blown away. This song is good, but that’s all it was for me.

An album is supposed to give a taste as to who an artist is. I feel as though I learned a little bit more about Camila Cabello and the type of person she is. In that view, her album is a success. Especially as a person who doesn’t like pop music like this, Camila did a wonderful job of keeping me hooked. Her album almost went through a small journey. Her tracks started from a strong shield and then she stripped it down. Props to you, Camila. This album, at least for me, (and a couple other hundred thousand people based upon her position on the iTunes Charts) was a success.