Camila Cabello's Debut Album 'Camila': What We Already Know
Nearly one year after Camila Cabello's departure from Fifth Harmony, the singer is now gearing up to release her debut album, Camila. While much remains unknown about the project, which will be released on Jan. 12, Billboard has compiled a list of everything already clear.
Camila is scheduled to be released on Jan. 12. Pre-sale begins on Thursday, Dec. 7.
1. “Havana” is the lead single
Cabello confirmed the lead single switch, from “Crying in the Club” to “Havana” back in September. It makes sense, given that “Havana” has seen massive commercial success, peaking at No. 2 in its still-ongoing sixteen week run on the Billboard Hot 100.
2. Cabello worked with a lot of huge producers.
The final track list may not be public info yet, but some of the hot producers to soon be found in its liner notes are already known. Pharrell Williams, of course, co-produced the smash “Havana,” and Benny Blanco co-wrote and produced earlier single “Crying in the Club” (which of course, was ultimately confirmed to not be on the LP's track listing). Aside from an Instagram post of her working alongside producers Frank Dukes and Louis Bell (who both also worked on "Havana"), Cabello is said to have worked with hitmakers Ryan Tedder and Sia.
3. She wrote much more for the project than she did for her Fifth Harmony albums.
"[The songs were] mostly written by other people," Cabello explained of her 5H days in an interview with Rolling Stone. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, it's just not for me. It has to be me in order for me to be happy with the result. I get to make mistakes, correct them and learn and keep growing." Consequently, she was much more involved with the writing process for Camila. "Through trial and error, I've written enough finished songs to be able to say 'Okay, this is me,'" she explained in the same interview. "'This sounds like me and only me, and this separates me from what other people are doing.'"
4. Two songs will be released Thursday (Dec. 7) as instant downloads with album pre-sale purchases.
When the singer revealed the album artwork and release date to Instagram on Tuesday (Dec. 5), she noted that pre-sale purchases on Thrusday will come with two instant downloads, including "Never Be The Same" and "Real Friends." Cabello previously said she was “really excited” about “Never Be The Same” in a Facebook Live interview, explaining, “"I feel like [it] describes the loving, and that was actually about a boy that was not good for me. But I actually got a good song out of it.”
5. Two huge collaborations are still to come.
In an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, Cabello shared that she had two collaborations yet to be revealed to fans. The singer teamed up with Charli XCX for a track titled “Scar Tissue,” as well as with Ed Sheeran for “The Boy.”
6. The album is reflective of Cabello “in every way.”
"[Frank Dueks] was a big part of taking a classic part of Latin culture and combining it with something new and modern," Cabello explained in the same Rolling Stone feature. "Together we made an album that's just reflective of me in every way. It's what's inside my head and my heart." In another feature with Billboard, Dukes noted, “It’s a real collaboration.”
7. She’s given fans a few hints here and there about other tracks.
Cabello was recording a bit of a track titled “It’s Only Natural” during her Billboard interview, and also brought up a second track, “In The Dark,” during her RS feature, in which the writer explains that the song was "written the day after the Grammys, about an encounter with an unnamed famous boy she had met at an after-party.” In an Instagram livestream, Cabello teased titles “Into It” and “All These Years,” as well as “Inside Out” in a separate tweet. Backstage at the KDWB Jingle Ball, Cabello expressed excitement to perform a new song off the album titled “She Loves Control,” saying she thought it would have “cool dance stuff.”
Cover Image Credit: Rolling Stone
