Camila Cabello hasn’t had it straightforward along with her newest album C, XOXO. Since dropping the lead single “I Luv It” in March, she’s been criticized for “attempting too laborious” to go in opposition to the radio pop id that she constructed along with her hits “Havana” and Señorita” — two songs, by the way in which, that stan Twitter already hates. She was accused of copying her contemporaries, straining to be edgy, and embracing an aesthetic that appeared to contradict the picture-perfect pop star manufactured for her when she was in Fifth Harmony. However all alongside, this Cabello — a fried-blonde, anime and rap-referencing wild youngster she’s introduced on C, XOXO — was all the time there. Many people simply hadn’t met her but.
Cabello’s fourth album follows the “rebrand” mannequin set by the pop stan cycle. These expectations round reinvention are positioned nearly solely on girls, and demand that artists change their aesthetics and magnificence for each single album. Take Taylor Swift going from snakes and revenge on Reputation to rainbows and Lisa Frank on Lover. Or Katy Perry, who went from frolicking amongst flowers on Prism to edgy Nicki Minaj collabs and an notorious pixie minimize on Witness. Ladies in pop are requested always to peel a layer of themselves for the patron and current a brand new “model” of their artistry, usually for followers, like in Cabello’s case, to choose aside. It creates an unsustainable, endless loop for pop queens and units artists up for an inevitable flop period.
However the factor is, we needs to be letting the pop girlies attempt what they need with out a lot scrutiny and stress. And on this case, there’s cause to imagine Cabello is definitely tapping into an actual facet of herself, reasonably than simply making this entire aesthetic up for business good points. She’s all the time been the weirdo she exhibits us on C, XOXO: Throughout Fifth Concord’s Reflection and 7/27 eras, she was recognized for placing followers onto experimental pop music equivalent to Jon Bellion’s Human Situation and Stromae’s Racine Carrée — two albums recognized for his or her eccentric, boundary-pushing manufacturing kinds. Cabello was all the time as much as one thing that didn’t align with the sugary pop cuteness she’s recognized for, even when it wasn’t obvious to the informal listener.
This C, XOXO Cabello, who wears ski masks onstage and samples Gucci Mane, isn’t that far of a cry from the one she confirmed us on the often-forgotten, and actually underrated, “Love Incredible,” the Cashmere Cat collaboration co-produced by… checks notes… the incomparable Sophie. On “Love Unbelievable,” Cabello’s voice-filtered high-notes danced over hip-hop drum beats that had C, XOXO’s experimental coronary heart written throughout it. Cabello merely could not have been given the prospect to indicate this facet earlier than, given label pressures and her lady group previous. As she instructed The Line of Best Fit, this album lastly sees her “finishing up what my intentions have really been from the start of my profession: to make pop music that feels left-of-center. To be on the within, whereas nonetheless being slightly bit on the skin.”
Artists are all the time digging deeper to seek out extra to their artistry, and it’s usually met with backlash. See, for instance, Becky G, who allowed herself to go from teenage rap star to reggeaeton reina to música mexicana singer within the span of three albums. Although some followers accused her of pandering to Latin traits, she in the end discovered the house to embrace all sides of her Latinidad on Esquemas and Esquinas. Or take Rosalía, who transitioned from the avant-garde, flamenco-focused Mal Querer to the helmet-wearing, reggaeton-infused Motomami — and confronted fast pushback. Paired with a shocking stay present, the Motomami period proved to turn out to be a fan-favorite and earned her 4 Latin Grammys, together with Album of the Yr. It takes braveness to attempt one thing left-field — ultimately, the popularity follows swimsuit. (C, XOXO and Motomami share manufacturing mastermind El Guincho in frequent.)
Other than the rebrand, Cabello’s rollout has been stricken by a collection of unlucky occasions exterior of her. Charli XCX arrived with the generation-defining album Brat, which many tried evaluating C, XOXO to; seemingly each different pop lady — Dua, Billie, Ariana, Normani, Tyla — dropped seminal albums across the similar time. Metropolis Ladies’ JT and Yung Miami beefed on-line because it was introduced they’d be part of her on a Dade County ode and Drake, who’s featured prominently on an interlude and an album standout “Scorching Uptown,” out of the blue grew to become rap’s most-hated villain; and to high issues off, The-Dream, whom Cabello samples (and initially featured) on standout “Dream-Ladies,” confronted a rape accusation per week earlier than Cabello introduced her LP’s tracklist. All of this pulled consideration from and clouded the kooky experimentation Cabello embraced on the album. Sadly for Cabello, her music merely doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
Whatever the notion of her fourth album at this cut-off date, C, XOXO will probably be an thrilling album to revisit as soon as we’re distant from the pop oversaturation that’s been 2024. The album captured Cabello departing from the single-focused album period that outlined her previously and sees her as an alternative embracing a brand new aesthetic and musical power that pushed her out of her consolation zone. C, XOXO was made to subvert expectations, to stretch her songwriting muscle tissues, and can, maybe, be extra of a cult traditional than a typically embraced file. And that’s OK. As Rolling Stone’s review described, Cabello introduced a “feisty, hungry album that feels fearless even because it grapples with the unknown.” She’s a greater artist for giving it a stab.
