Camila Cabello Takes Control: How the Pop Star Overcomes Anxiety and Calls the Shots in Her Career
04.05.2022 - 18:45
/ variety.com
Camila Cabello knows a thing or two about idol worship. As a singer who got her launch on a television show — the short-lived U.S. version of “The X Factor” — she’s been in the spotlight for the better part of a decade.
And even if fame had been a goal (spoiler alert: it wasn’t), career trumps notoriety, and family, or “Familia,” as her third studio album is aptly named, comes first.“All the people that you put on a pedestal are having nervous breakdowns,” says Cabello matter-of-factly. “It’s just the human condition.”Where her life is concerned, at this point in time, confidence is key. So it’s no surprise that she’s placed importance on being decisive.
Leaving behind the musical restrictions of her past, she has the track record to allow herself such liberties — Cabello’s hits include 2017’s “Havana,” which has been streamed in the U.S. nearly 41 million times, and 2019’s “Señorita” (featuring her ex, superstar pop singer Shawn Mendes), with 39 million streams, according to entertainment analytics company Luminate. “Before, with the first couple of albums, I’d be like, ‘What do you think? What do you think?’ and now I don’t send my music to that many people anymore,” she says.
“Like, it doesn’t matter if you love it. If I hate it, why am I out there promoting it?”The difference between her first and her latest release? Cabello now knows there is no right way to say no. The real trick, divulges the Cuban-born singer, “is to just say it.”“If I can’t stand behind [a song] and want to perform it, let’s not put it out, because it’s just going to turn into some weird thing where I never wanna fucking sing it again, and it’s all because I didn’t listen to myself,” she says.Although it’s not obvious from such swagger,
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