Review: Camila Cabello's Debut Album "Camila"
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Since her time with the group Fifth Harmony, Camila Cabello has definitely grown into her own style, making her a force in the pop scene. With Fifth Harmony’s past three albums finding moderate success and critical acclaim, Cabello is looking to make a strong start to her solo career with her debut album, "Camila". As a pop singer who chooses to embrace her heritage with her style and production instead of chasing formulaic trends that are popular among too many artists, Cabello’s debut album is sure to please longtime fans as well as new ears.
The traits of Cabello’s style and sound that allowed her to stand out among her former bandmates are still evident in her debut album. The album manages to have a strong pop charm, using Cabello’s natural talents and combining them with pop and sensibilities of the musical heritage of her Cuban background. “She Loves Control” is an excellent example of this. While this style diverts from the heavily RnB influenced style of Fifth Harmony, this is a welcome change that allows fans to appreciate Camila Cabello’s talent and versatility.
While fans of her singles “OMG” and “Havanna” may expect more upbeat and club friendly hits, they may be surprised at the album’s use of a subtle and slow approach to production that showcases the young songstress’s lyrics and singing ability. “Something’s Gotta Give” and “Real Friends” are prime examples of Cabello’s ability to showcase her talents on a song without letting the instrumental do most of the work. These songs are featured more towards the bottom half of the tracklist, showcasing Cabello’s ability to create romantic, love-filled songs before going back to business as usual with up-tempo track “Into It”.
Fans of "Cabello" will appreciate the artist’s style and her being herself on the album, setting her own style with the combination of Latin Pop, Traditional Pop and using sparse production to showcase her vocal and writing talents, but some may find themselves wishing the album contained more songs of a particular style or genre. Also, fans may crave a little more flare from the singer’s debut album, expecting more exciting pop bangers to appear. The album still proves that Camila Cabello is indeed ready to take her spot among the top pop stars soon, as the 20-year old songstress can only get better with time as her ability to create ear catching singles that compliment her voice and style continues to grow!