Camila Cabello

Camila Cabello is a singer and songwriter who first becomes known as a founding member of the girl group Fifth Harmony. She is born in 1997 and is from Cojímar, United States. Her music is associated with pop, dance-pop, electropop, hyperpop, latin pop and R&B.

Early life and background

She grows up in a Spanish-speaking household and moves to Miami, Florida at the age of six. Her parents are Cuban and Mexican, and she develops an early interest in music by listening to Celia Cruz and Alejandro Fernández. At 15, she auditions for The X Factor in Greensboro, North Carolina. After being eliminated, she is placed with four other singers to form Fifth Harmony.

Fifth Harmony

Cabello performs in Fifth Harmony, which goes on to become one of the most successful acts from its season of The X Factor. The group releases the EP Better Together in 2013, including acoustic versions, Spanish-language versions titled Juntos and Juntos Acoustic, and a remix album. Their first single, “Miss Movin’ On”, sets a then-record for the highest-charting U.S. X Factor single. The debut album Reflection follows in 2015 and includes “Sledgehammer” and “Worth It” featuring Kid Ink. The second album, 7/27, arrives in 2016 and features “Work from Home”.

Solo career

Cabello begins recording solo material while still in Fifth Harmony. “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, a duet with Shawn Mendes, is released in 2015 and reaches the Billboard Top 20. In 2016 she appears on “Bad Things” with Machine Gun Kelly, which becomes her first solo Top Ten hit. After leaving Fifth Harmony, she works with Cashmere Cat on “Love Incredible” and appears with Pitbull and J Balvin on “Hey Ma” from The Fate of the Furious soundtrack.

Her first solo single, “Crying in the Club”, is co-written with Sia and reaches the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Top 40. She also releases the promotional track “I Have Questions” and tours as an opening act for Bruno Mars on the 24K Magic World Tour. “Havana”, featuring Young Thug, becomes a major breakthrough and leads to changes in her planned album title, which becomes Camila. The album debuts at number one on the Billboard 200 and also includes “Never Be the Same”. She tours the album on the Never Be the Same Tour in 2018.

Collaborations, singles and albums

Cabello continues to release collaborations and singles across 2018 and 2019. She records “Sangria Wine” with Pharrell Williams, appears in Maroon 5’s “Girls Like You” video featuring Cardi B, and joins Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour as an opening act. She also appears on Bazzi’s remix of “Beautiful”. “Consequences” follows as a video single in 2018. In 2019, she releases “Señorita” with Shawn Mendes, which reaches number two in the United States before later reaching number one and becomes one of the best-selling songs of the year worldwide. She also features on Ed Sheeran’s “South of the Border” with Cardi B.

In 2019 she releases her second album, Romance, which reaches number three on the Billboard 200 and includes collaborations with Shawn Mendes and DaBaby. “My Oh My” from the album reaches the upper reaches of charts in several countries and peaks at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2021 she releases “Don’t Go Yet” and confirms that her album Familia is named after the word for family. That year she also stars in Sony Pictures’ musical adaptation of Cinderella, directed by Kay Cannon.

Awards and recognition

Cabello receives two Grammy nominations in 2018: Best Pop Solo Performance for a live version of “Havana” and Best Pop Vocal Album for Camila. Her performance at the ceremony makes her the first female Latin artist to open the show.