Camila (previously titled The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving.; also referred to as "Never Be the Same")[1][2] is Camila Cabello's eponymous debut studio album, released on January 12, 2018.[3] "Havana" featuring Young Thug was released as promotional on August 3, 2017 and announced as the lead single on August 30, and impacted radio on September 8, 2017.
Cabello worked with Benny Blanco, Ryan Tedder and Pharrell Williams on the album. Williams co-produced "Havana" and Blanco co-wrote and produced "Crying in the Club". The album was completed and the track listing was decided on November 21.
It reached #1 in 98 countries the day of its release giving Cabello the record of most #1s in iTunes with a debut album. It has reached #1 in 104 countries so far.
Camila is primarily a pop record, with elements of Latin, reggaeton, R&B, dancehall and hip hop music. The album's lyrical content speaks on themes such as love and heartbreak, while songs such as "Havana" pay homage to her Cuban heritage.
Background[]
Early recording[]
Cabello originally planned out the title of the album to be The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving. She described it as a "story of my journey from darkness into light, from a time when I was lost to a time when I found myself again." She wrote "It was a kind of chapter you never want to read out loud." On June 24, 2017, Camila performed "OMG", "Havana" and "Never Be the Same" at the Pepsi Summerbash. Camila tweeted "making this album has been the best experience of my life. im so proud of it, i can't WAIT for u to hear" on July 7, 2017. In Musical.ly, Camila made a live stream where she revealed that she recorded a new song called "Must Be Love" which was one of the last ones she wrote. On July 20, 2017, Camila embarked on Bruno Mars's 24K Magic World Tour as an opening act and performed songs from the album including "Inside Out", "Crying in the Club", "OMG" among others.
Camila said that she has 12 songs that she loves and couldn't imagine not being on the album, whilst some thought this meant the album only had 12 tracks, she only meant that she loved 12 songs. On August 1, 2017, Camila posted a picture on Instagram announcing that "Havana" and "OMG" will be released.[4] On the same day more later, Camila posted another picture this time announcing the collaborations with Quavo and Young Thug with the announce of "Inside Out".[5]
Renaming[]
On November 21, 2017, Camila announced that the album is done with Louis Bell and Frank Dukes deciding the tracklisting.[6][7]
Around September 2017, Camila supposedly confirmed that the album theme would change, scrapping "Crying in the Club" with "Havana" replacing it as the lead single. In an interview Camila confirmed that the original title, The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving. is out. She said: "I’m not ready to talk about why yet [...] I always want my fans to be the first to know about those kind of things. [...] I’m going to write a letter… and stuff, [...] It’s complicated, but it’s going to be great."
On December 5, 2017, Camila revealed on Instagram the artwork and the title of the album, Camila.[8] She also said that the pre-order of the album will be available on December 7, 2017, with two new songs, "Never Be the Same" and "Real Friends". In an interview on the backstage at KDWB Jingle Ball 2017, Cabello confirmed that there will be a song called "She Loves Control".
Camila revealed the official tracklist on December 21, 2017.[9] The album was officially released on January 12, 2018 and it has reached #1 in 104 countries so far.
Other important dates[]
- On July 6, Camila uploaded a picture in the studio.[10]
- On July 20, Camila posted on Twitter a picture of a rose with the description "in the dark".[11]
- On October 31, 2017, she shared a picture on Instagram in the studio with "for Halloween im dressing up as a girl trying to finish her first album".
Singles[]
Originally, "Crying in the Club" was released as the album's lead single on May 19, 2017.
On August 30, Cabello announced "Havana", featuring Young Thug, as lead single, due to the global success of the song as a promotional single. The song has peaked at number one in several countries, and number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it became her second top five hit. The song was serviced to radio on September 8, 2017, with the music video debuted on October 24.
The second single, "Never Be the Same" was released along with the album's pre-order on December 7, 2017. The song was released to radio on January 9, 2018.[12]
The third single, "Consequences", will impact US radio on October 9, 2018.
"Consequences (Orchestra)" as the fourth and final single for digital download and streaming services on October 9, 2018, though is not featured on the track listing.
Promotional Singles[]
The first promotional singles "Havana" (featuring Young Thug), and "OMG" (featuring Quavo) were released on August 3, 2017, before Havana became the lead single of the album and OMG was omitted from the track listing.
"Real Friends" was released on December 7, 2017, as a promotional single. An alternative remix featuring Swae Lee was also released.
"In the Dark" was released as the final promotional single.
Critical reception[]
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81 based on 4 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Several British publications that reviewed the album a few days before its official release, responded positively to the album as well as Cabello's vocals and songwriting. Kate Solomon from Metro UK perceived the singer's "shaken off the bombastic R&B favored by the 5H crew in favour of a short, sweet album of fairly understated Latin pop and classic pop ballads." The Times’ Will Hodgkinson also pointed out that instead of filled with "high-octave pop bangers", the singer has gone the other way, using sparse production techniques to frame songs about love and longing. Nick Levine of the NME deemed the album as a "strong and surprisingly confident first impression." For The Guardian´s writer Alexis Petridis, "Camila" is one of those moments where "the committee approach strikes gold: smart enough to avoid smoothing out the quirks and slavishly chasing trends," he also considered it as a "a product of the pop factory that doesn’t sound run-of-the-mill." The writer Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly was as positive as Levine and Petridis, giving the album a B+ she felt it as a "intimate project" where Cabello's voice shines over Latin-influenced songs and powerful ballads. She further commented: "Cabello’s voice isn’t especially distinctive, but it’s instinctually pretty: effortless and warm, with an edge of morning-after rasp."
Patrick Ryan of USA Today complemented the music which the album was built on, labeling it as a "vibrant blend of sounds and styles, bolstered by a reliable stable of hit songwriters and producers." Although he also felt that Cabello's over-reliance on AutoTune is "unnecessary" given the strength of her TV and acoustic performances. Ryan was not the only writer who noted Cabello's usage of AutoTune, other critics also criticized this point, Adrian Thrills of The Daily Mail for example, felt as "annoying" the presence of her auto-tuned vocals in the track "Never Be the Same" commenting it is spoilt only by its usage. Sam Lansky of Time magazine applauded the power of the album as a debut, stating Cabello proves she has the "chops to stand alone in the spotlight." As did Lansky, Newsday writer Glenn Gamboa believed that with Camila, she proves that she is a forced to be "reckoned with and ready to be one of 2018’s breakout stars."
Chart performance[]
Weekly charts[]
| Chart (2018) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| Argentine Albums (CAPIF) | 2 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 3 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) | 6 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | 3 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) | 8 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) | 1 |
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI) | 2 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) | 4 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 1 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) | 2 |
| French Albums (SNEP) | 7 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 8 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) | 15 |
| Greece Albums (IFPI Greece) | 18 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) | 3 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) | 8 |
| Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) | 11 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) | 15 |
| Japanese International Albums (Oricon) | 2 |
| Mexican Albums (AMPROFON) | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 3 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) | 1 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV) | 4 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP) | 1 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 2 |
| South Korean International Albums (Circle) | 5 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) | 1 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) | 1 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 3 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 2 |
| US Billboard 200 | 1 |
Year-End List[]
| Publication | List | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling Stone | 50 Best Albums of 2018 | #3 |
| Billboard | 50 Best Albums of 2018 | #8 |
| Entertainment Weekly | 20 Best Albums of 2018 | #10 |
| Refinery29 | The 10 Best Albums of 2018 | #10 |
| Time: Raisa Bruner | 10 Best Albums of 2018 | #10 |
| Variety: Chris Willman | 20 Best Albums of 2018 | #11 |
| Uproxx | 50 Best Albums of 2018 | #20 |
| Billboard | The 100 Greatest Albums of the 2010's | #80 |
Gallery[]
.jpg "Camila on Studio 24 25 (1).jpg (171 KB)")
.jpg "Camila on Studio 24 25 (2).jpg (101 KB)")
Promotional[]
Photoshoot[]
Trivia[]
- Camila spent her 20th birthday in the studio.[13]
- Camila said on Twitter, if she were to pick a color for an album she said red, blue, purple and pink.[14]
- Camila has said that she spent most of her time in the studio, whilst recording the album.[15]
- Probably, one of the reasons for the album's delay may be because on August 21, 2017, Camila invited fans to eat ice cream on the street. While talking to them, a fan said that the album is crap because all the songs are already known. For which Camila decided to continue recording more songs.
- Camila said on July 6 2017, that she was just finishing writing her album.[16]
- The album artwork and title was revealed by Camila on Instagram on December 5, 2017.[17]
- On the cover of the album, a photo taken from the same photoshoot of the cover of "Havana" was used.
- That photoshoot was for Epic Records.
- The album signing event was held on January 13, 2018 in Trumbull, Connecticut.[18]
- In an interview with Billboard at December 2018, Camila revealed she would've rather named the album Never Be the Same than Camila.[2]
Track listing[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Never Be the Same" | Camila Cabello, Adam Feeney, Leo Rami Dawod, Jacob Ludwig Olofsson, Noonie Bao, Sasha Yatchenko | Frank Dukes, Jarami[a] | 3:47 |
| 2. | "All These Years" | Cabello, Feeney, Kaan Gunesberk, Jeff Gitelman, Mustafa Ahmed | Dukes | 2:44 |
| 3. | "She Loves Control" | Cabello, Sonny John Moore, Feeney, Louis Bell, Ilsey Juber, Mustafa Ahmed | Skrillex, Dukes[a] | 2:57 |
| 4. | "Havana" (featuring Young Thug) | Cabello, Jeffrey Williams, Feeney, Brittany Hazzard, Ali Tamposi, Brian Lee, Andrew Watt, Pharrell Williams, Bell, Kaan Gunesberk | Dukes, Matt Beckley[b] | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Inside Out" | Cabello, Hazzard, Feeney, Tyler Williams, Kaan Gunesberko | Dukes, T-Minus | 3:02 |
| 6. | "Consequences" | Cabello, Amy Wadge, Nicolle Galyon, Emily Weisband | Bart Schoudel | 2:58 |
| 7. | "Real Friends" | Cabello, Feeney, William Walsh, Bell, Lee | Dukes | 3:33 |
| 8. | "Something's Gotta Give" | Cabello, Alex Schwartz, Joe Khajadourian, Sarah Hudson, James Abrahart, Jesse St. John | The Futuristics, Dukes[a] | 3:56 |
| 9. | "In The Dark" | Cabello, Feeney, Te Whiti Warbick, Simon Wilcox, Madison Love, James Abrahart | Dukes, SickDrumz[a] | 3:39 |
| 10. | "Into It" | Cabello, Feeney, Bell, Kaan Gunesberk, Ryan Tedder, Justin Tranter | Dukes | 2:55 |
| 11. | "Never Be the Same" (Radio Edit) | Cabello, Feeney, Dawod, Olofsson, Bao, Yatchenko | Dukes, Jarami[a] | 3:47 |
| Total length: | 36:55 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Havana (Remix)" (with Daddy Yankee) | Cabello, J. Williams, P. Williams, Feeney, Hazzard, Tamposi, Lee, Watt, Bell, Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez | Frank Dukes | 3:19 |
| Total length: | 40:14 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Havana (Remix)" (with Daddy Yankee) | Cabello, J. Williams, P. Williams, Feeney, Hazzard, Tamposi, Lee, Watt, Bell, Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez | Frank Dukes | 3:19 |
| 13. | "I Have Questions" | Cabello, Jesse Shatkin, Bibi Bourelly | Shatkin | 3:42 |
| Total length: | 43:56 | |||
Notes
Outtakes[]
| Title | Status | Leaked | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ain't Easy | Snippet | 2018 | Same sessions as Into It. Registered on Songview. The song was given to the TV show The Launch, which the winner would get to record and release the song. A snippet of Camila's demo was previewed on a Behind The Scenes episode. Released by Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine in 2018. |
| Be Right Here (V1, V2, V3) | Leaked | Jul 21, 2020 | Same sessions as Cleopatra, OMG, Scar Tissue and Unforgettable. Camila dedicated this song to her sister Sofia Cabello. Released by Kungs with Joshua Golden in 2018. |
| Cleopatra (V1, V2) | Leaked | Jul 21, 2020 | Same sessions as Be Right Here, OMG, Scar Tissue and Unforgettable. |
| Closer Than This | N/A | N/A | Camila talked about the song in 2017, she said she had just finished a song that she really loves but wasn't sure if she'd put it on the album. She also said the song is about when you want someone so bad but you can't have them, so you're like "I need you closer than this". |
| Come When I Call | Leaked | Sep 2, 2020 | Same sessions as Sangria Wine. Instrumental was reworked in 2019 as Sleep No More by Dua Lipa but was scrapped again. Instrumental was reworked once again as La Primera Vez by Do Not Disturb and finally released in 2024. |
| Crying in the Club | Released | Debut Single
May 19th, 2017 |
|
| Curious | Leaked | Jul 13, 2020 | Same sessions as Somethings Gotta Give and Witness. |
| Died | Leaked | Feb 8, 2021 | First song she recorded after leaving Fifth Harmony, it's the first song written for the album as well. Camila posted some lyrics on Twitter in 2017. |
| God Is A Woman
(feat. Rita Ora) |
Leaked | May 8, 2023 | Rough production and no bridge. Not really a collab, Camila used Rita's verses from her original solo demo as a reference to write her own verses. |
| God Is A Woman (V2) | Leaked | Oct 7, 2023 | Scrapped ad-libs. |
| God Is A Woman (V3) | Leaked | Feb 6, 2023 | Camila talked about the song in 2019, she said she got the chorus and wrote some verses and a bridge but the song ended up not sounding right for her so she passed on it. Released by Ariana Grande in 2018. |
| High Lows (Blackout) | Snippet | Dec 23, 2023 (Snippet)
Oct 7th, 2025 (Extended Snippet) |
Lyrics are specifically about Shawn Mendes. |
| I Know You | N/A | N/A | Camila posted the title on Instagram in 2017. |
| In a Haze | Leaked | Feb 17th, 2026 | Diss track about Fifth Harmony, scrapped due to unknown reasons. Recorded a month after she left 5H. Released without Camila in 2017 with Iggy Azalea. |
| Is There Anyone? | N/A | N/A | Mentioned on Youtube Live on the day of her release date about feeling lonely. timestamped (44:27) Theme is similar to Real Friends. She never finished the song. |
| It's Only Natural | Snippet | 2020 | Same sessions as She Loves Control and Woke Up. Billboard teased the song in 2017 by saying: "the vocal is balmy and bright over steel drums and Jack Ü style edited vocal samples". |
| Knows Me | Leaked | Feb 8, 2021 | N/A |
| Must Be Love | Leaked | Apr 11, 2018 | Scrapped off the album last minute due to unknown reasons. Registered on Songview. Camila talked about the song in 2017, she said she had just written a song she was really excited about called Must Be Love and also sang part of the chorus. First verse interpolates Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley. The song's title can be seen in the Consequences vertical music video in a draft tracklist as track #3. |
| OMG (Demo's) | Leaked | July, 2020 | Three new demos of the song were leaked, and they are all solo. |
| Party Animal | Released just with Luis Fonsi | N/A | Unreleased remix, scrapped because Camila was promoting Havana and the schedules weren't matching. Released without Camila in 2017. |
| Scar Tissue (v1) | Leaked | Jul 21, 2020 | Rough instrumental and a few extra lyrics after the bridge. |
| Scar Tissue (v2) | Leaked | Aug 31, 2017 | Scrapped from the album last minute after being leaked months before its release, it was initially intended to be the closing track. It was registered on Songview and was recorded during the same sessions as Be Right Here, Cleopatra, OMG, and Unforgettable. Camila frequently discussed the song throughout 2017 and 2018. The song’s title appears in a draft tracklist for the Consequences vertical music video as track #6. Despite Scar Tissue not being released, Camila performed it multiple times during the Never Be The Same tour. When asked about its omission from the album, she humorously replied, “because I’m an idiot.” After being discarded by Camila, the song was considered for release on Romance but was ultimately scrapped again. In 2022, she expressed her possibility of releasing it in the future. Camila performed the song once more in 2025 during the Yours, C Tour. |
| The Middle (Demo) | Leaked/Released | July 28, 2020 | Set to be released during fall 2017, scrapped 2 weeks prior because Camila was promoting Havana and the schedules weren't matching. Released with Maren Morris in 2018. Camila's backing vocals can be heard at 2:42 in the released version. |
| The Boy (V1) | Leaked | Feb 8, 2021 | Different instrumental, same vocal takes and lyrics as V4. |
| The Boy (V2) | Leaked | Mar 20, 2024 | Different production, different vocal takes and some different lyrics. |
| The Boy (Final) | Leaked | Mar 20, 2024 | Scrapped off the album last minute, it was supposed to be a single. Written by Ed Sheeran, both have talked about the song many times during 2017. Camila said it was scrapped because it didn't fit in sonically with the other songs on the album, she felt like the song was from a different project. Recorded by Little Mix in 2018 but was scrapped again. |
| Thinkin Bout One | Leaked | Jan 21, 2021 | Untitled song, fans started calling it Thinkin' Bout One because that's the placeholder title Camila named the original file. Also known as Vacation Time and Where You At. |
| Unforgettable(V1 & V2) | Leaked | Jul 21, 2020 | V1- Different instrumental and less autotune.
V2- Same sessions as Be Right Here, Cleopatra, OMG and Scar Tissue. |
| Witness | Leaked | Feb 8, 2021 | Same sessions as Curious and Something's Gotta Give. Camila posted the title on Twitter in 2017. |
| Woke Up (Demo & Final) | Leaked | Jan 3, 2026 | Same sessions as It's Only Natural and She Loves Control. Both Demo and Final leaked the same day. |
| On January 22, 2018, during an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, Balvin revealed details about a special collaboration with Camila for his upcoming album, titled “Vibras.” The song was produced by Pharrell Williams. |
|---|
| Title | Status | Leaked | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Havana (Solo) | Leaked | Sep 6, 2017 | Released on iTunes in 2017 but was deleted a few days after due to unknown reasons. Camila performed this version many times and officially released a live version of this solo mix in 2018. |
| Havana (Demo 1) | Leaked | Jan 12, 2022 | First demo with different lyrics and produced by Pharrell Williams. Camila performed this version at Pepsi Summerbash '17. |
| Havana (Demo 2) | Leaked | N/A | Original version with a spanish rap by Camila as second verse. Finished and set for release but was scrapped last minute due to Epic Records not approving the spanish rap and wanting a male feature. |
| She Loves Control | Leaked | Jan 12, 2023 | Same sessions as It's Only Natural and Woke Up. Rough production, different lyrics and some scrapped ad-libs. |
The Hurting,The Healing,The Loving (Tracklist) [in alphabetical order][]
- All These Years
- Consequences
- Crying in the Club
- Havana
- I Have Questions
- In The Dark
- Inside Out
- Into It
- It's Only Natural
- Must Be Love
- Never Be the Same
- OMG
- Scar Tissue
- She Loves Control
- Something's Gotta Give
- The Boy
- Witness
References[]
- ↑ https://genius.com/videos/Camila-cabello-explains-why-she-changed-the-title-of-her-album-to-camila
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skCOmL0m3N0
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BcU9oOJgADL/
- ↑ Instagram - Camila's picture
- ↑ Instagram - Camila's picture 2
- ↑ Twitter - Camila's tweet about the finishing of the album
- ↑ Instagram - Camila's post about the album is done
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/camila-cabello-debut-album-release-date-title-cover-art-instagram-post-8061610/
- ↑ Twitter - Camila revealing the album track list
- ↑ Twitter - Camila's post in studio
- ↑ Twitter - Possible recorded song
- ↑ Twitter - Mike Adam announcing the third single
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7710168/camila-cabello-birthday-pharrell
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Camila_Cabello/status/882855144748048384
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Camila_Cabello/status/882855275337732096
- ↑ https://twitter.com/Camila_Cabello/status/882855438659633152
- ↑ Instagram - Camila revealing the artwork and title
- ↑ Twitter - Camila announcing the signing event
- ↑ https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/SICP-5611?s_ssid=e44c875a40c21e73d8
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