Atwood Magazine’s writers analyze Camila Cabello’s fourth studio album ‘C,XOXO’ and discuss how the former Fifth Harmony starlet continues to establish herself as a solo artist, with some help from high-profile guests and producers who provide her with an all-new sonic landscape.
Featured here are Atwood writers Emily Algar, Josh Weiner, and Kevin Krein!
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To start, what is your relationship with Camila Cabello’s music?
Kevin Krein: I’ll be open and honest and say that up until the release of this album, I had little if any relationship with Cabello’s music. I had not listened to her previous albums, and I just knew the name, and truly only knew of the name from seeing her debut, and Romance, mentioned online, in passing, or from recognizing the album covers from the new release endcap at Target. My best friend (and podcast co-host) Alyssa really likes Cabello and was both excited but also a little anxious, or hesitant, about the new album, and encouraged me to listen. She also suggested I go back and sit down with Romance, which she, with confidence, told me was a “no skips” record.
Josh Weiner: Ha, I’ll be taking a different road from Kevin on this one. I’ve been familiar with Camilla Cabello ever since her days with Fifth Harmony the better part of 10 years ago, when hits like “Worth It” and “Work” were popular. I continued to follow Camilla as she branched off into her solo career by means of the almighty “Havana” in 2017, and remain a fan and admirer to this day. I’ve yet to really see her perform live – other than a few minutes of her opening act on Taylor Swift’s Reputation Tour in 2018 – but hopefully the chance will come!
Emily Algar: I was introduced to Cabello when “Havana” came out, but me being the hipster that I am, I immediately pulled away and ignored her. Then, I started to hear her other singles and became intrigued, and was fully in when I heard “Consequences.” Wow! That song is still brilliant lyrically and stands the test of time. Listening to it now, takes me right back to my first heartbreak. Then I saw Cabello open for Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour and became even more of a fan. I loved Romance when it came out as it hinted at Cabello’s weirdness. I didn’t connect to Familia, so I was eager for her next release.
What are your initial impressions and reactions to C,XOXO?
Emily: Honestly, after hearing the first single, I immediately thought it was going to be a crap record, but as soon as I heard “Chanel No.5,” I was all in.
I keep going back and listening to the record and discovering more. It also is a record for all moods. It is very hard to have a record that contains a lot of emotions and their respective experiences, without it feeling shallow or chaotic.
The whole record is a sensory experience. I’m 37, so 10 years older than Cabello, and I can say without a doubt this record really does sum up your 20s and all the feelings that come with that decade so well. How she writes about the contradictions of loving someone in your 20s on “Twentysomethings” – “Twenty-somethin’s in love, in lust, in confusion, Twenty-somethin’s, dancin’ while our hearts are bruisin’, Twenty-somethin’s, should’ve left the party sooner, Twenty-somethin’s, gotta have a sense of humor, When it comes to us, don’t know what the fuck I’m doin’”- or the interlude of “305tilidie” is such an accurate time capsule of how precocious you can be as a teenager. “B.O.A.T” has lyrics that feel a little too close to the bone, “You’d never give me peace of mind, so I had to give it to myself.”
And can I just say, “Dade County Dreaming” is a masterpiece in my humble opinion. I would love to hear an extended version of that song. Please?
Kevin: I saw this album referred to on a message board, I think half in jest, half in earnest, as 2024’s “most divisive pop album.” Without any real knowledge of Cabello’s music prior to this, and without having listened to any singles or anything before I hit play, I did not know what to anticipate in the slightest. I know that tangentially, there is a growing discourse or argument against an artist feeling like they must, or they need to, reinvent or “rebrand” themselves every album cycle, or find themselves in a new “era.” Even anecdotally speaking with what little I know about Camila Cabello there is a huge difference between C,XOXO, and Romance. I am not here to say that an artist, in whatever genre, cannot grow, or evolve, or reinvent themselves if they wish to. Initially, like during the first few listens, this album felt kind of unfinished in places. Or a little rushed. It’s short. The album as a whole is short and the songs themselves do not really overstay their welcome. But the longer I have listened I feel like that is the point. There is an urgent nature to all of it, even when it slows itself down, pacing wise. It is very of the moment, which can be a good thing and also a fatal flaw.
Josh: For the most part, I felt that C,XOXO was an effortlessly enjoyable and consumable album, especially at a brisk 32 minutes in length. What exactly makes this album “divisive,” as Kevin observed, I’m not too sure– the production choices? Guest artists? Certain chunks of lyricism?– but personally I found plenty to appreciate in this record and am happy to see an artist I’ve been following for about a decade now score another success in the studio.
How does this album compare to previous records like Camila’s Familia and Romance – what are the most striking similarities or differences?
Emily: This record feels like a return to her debut record, Camila, but as a more mature, less naive human. I don’t mean that as an insult, but as you experience more of life, your naivety slowly gets chipped away. C,XOXO feels very explorative and discerning; “Twentysomethings” is a good example of that awareness and experience.. The rawness of Camila has gone but what’s left is a record that is confident and embodies a freedom that her other records didn’t have; “Chanel No.5,” “HOT UPTOWN,” and “I LUV IT” embody this freedom and confidence in her own exploration.
Kevin: I mean the similarities are that Cabello makes music that is, at the end of the day, extremely fun. Or wishes to have fun. Romance, even when it slows down a little, is a very fun pop record, full of extremely well constructed songs. There is, and I am sure this is intentional, a kind of melancholy that hangs over C,XOXO – just a little tinge of seriousness that ripples throughout the album. I think one of the big differences though is just the way C,XOXO is structured. There is a lot of thought and intention in how this album unfolds—the little interludes in between certain songs, opening with something bombastic and ending with something so insular, and yes, sure there are tunes off of it that can be enjoyed out of the context of the record as a whole but I get the impression that it is honestly intended to be consumed from beginning to end, uninterrupted.
Josh: I agree with Kevin in that Romance “slows down a little” at times, and feel like that this might be one of the qualities that sets this one apart from C,XOXO, which features fewer purposefully slow burners like “Used to This” and “First Man” were (one possible exception being “B.O.A.T.”). Romance also features the track of hers that pays the fullest homage to her Latin music heritage (“Liar”), and no song on C,XOXO knocks “Liar” off its pedestal in that regard, I feel.
That said, I agree with Kevin in that this new album is similar to her previous ones most fundamentally in that it’s a fun record to listen to. Plus, it features a solid sample of radio-friendly content and sparky hip-hop collaborations, another quality which connects it to Cabello’s previous albums – most readily to 2018’s self-titled debut, as Emily noted.
Cabello teased C,XOXO with “I LUV IT,” “HE KNOWS,” and “Chanel No.5.” Are these singles faithful representations of the album?
Emily: In hindsight, how Cabello released each one makes sense now. “I LUV IT” gets you acclimated to the change in her sonic direction. “HE KNOWS” introduces you to her change in songwriting and gets you used to the idea of features on her songs, and “Chanel No.5” is thee representation of C,XOXO.
Kevin: Of the three, and I mean, again, I had not heard any of them before I listened to this album as a whole, “I Luv It” and “He Knows” are like very exciting and exuberant, so they make sense as singles. “He Knows” is another song that is very fun and it does work its way into your head and stays there well after you have finished listening; “I Luv It,” in turn, is like just a lot. Like I get that it is supposed to serve as a mission statement for the album and the direction that the album is going to take you, but it is just so much. It honestly sounds like it is on the verge of collapsing on itself a few times, just with how many layers are piled on top of one another, and the breakneck pacing it clips along at. “Chanel No.5” is a much more somber sounding song—also I guess indicative of some of the more emotionally charged or less inherently jubilant songs on here. Musically it is like one of the most compelling—I could actually listen to the warbled piano loop the song is built around, just on its own, all day.
Josh: Sure, I’d say so, for largely the same reasons that Emily and Kevin have already identified. Plus, I will note that, in addition to these being the first singles off the album, they also are the first three entries on the track listing here, so they really do help to set the tone for the rest of the record that follows, especially if you consume if all in one sitting (which is exactly what I did as I sat down to type out my answers here in the Portland Public Library just now).
C,XOXO has been billed as an evolution for Camila Cabello, pushing boundaries and tapping into genres that extend beyond just pop and drawing inspiration from her Miami roots. Do you agree, and where do you hear or feel this evolution in action?
Emily: When I heard “I LUV IT” and saw Cabello’s aesthetic reinvention on social media, I honestly thought it was bullshit, but then when “Chanel No.5” dropped I was like “Oh… I get it.” Cabello has mentioned this readjustment in a few of her interviews and has also talked about her writing and recording process, which also helps you, as a fan, find your feet in her new sound/direction. It was reassuring to hear that this isn’t some shallow, performative piece of PR; it’s a genuine evolution.
Kevin: I am not sure I am well-versed enough in her canon to really speak to if I agree or disagree with the accuracy that this is an evolution. I think if anything you can hear Cabello really pushing herself to embrace different sonic textures – the jittery nature of a lot of it, or like the chopped up production does feel like very contemporary/of this moment in popular music so it is a direction that I an just not certain is something that she will wish to sustain on subsequent records.
Josh: If “her Miami roots” is a reference to the Latin music that dominates that largely Cuban town, then I’ve already noted that I feel that some of her past work better encapsulates that side of her background – 2019’s “Liar,” not to mention the largely Spanglish 2022 album Familia. But if “her Miami roots” means tapping into the pop and party music that that city seems to churn out like a bottomless tub of butter, then sure, C,XOXO features plenty of that and more besides.
C,XOXO is also host to a slew of featured artists, including Playboi Carti, Lil Nas X, and Drake! What are your impressions of these featured artists, and how do they help elevate Cabello’s songs?
Emily: I’m not a fan of any of these artists on their own, but the ones that stand out are Lil Nas X on “HE KNOWS,” and JT and Yung Miami on “Dade County Dreaming.” I know I’m going to get shit for this, but I’ve never really listened to Drake, and listening to him on these two songs, I honestly don’t think I’ve been missing much. He honestly sounds like a poor man’s Craig David! I think she could have chosen a more interesting rapper to rap on “HOT UPTOWN,” and by interesting, I mean vocally. How about Kendrick Lamar, I hear he’s good? ducks under table
Kevin: Peace and love to Drake – his feature on here could not come at a worse time for him. But. “HOT UPTOWN” is, like, a very fun song, and there is something very alluring and sensual about the chorus – “Two hands on my waist, one hand on your face,” is like very evocative in terms of the frenetic intimacy it is describing. The City Girls feature on “Dade County Dreaming” is fun but also bittersweet considering the duo split up last year. The Lil Nas X appearance on “He Knows” is also fun, but he feels a bit under used in his verse, or, if anything, it doesn’t last as long as I was maybe anticipating it would.
Josh: Ugh, we’ve got some more hatin’ on Drake at this roundtable, I see. But hey, I’ve been a fan of his ever since I was in high school about 15 years ago when “Best I Ever Had” marked his first (and far, oh so far, from his last!) hit single as a lead artist, and I’ve had plenty of contact with the naysayers throughout all the years that have followed. That won’t stop me from defending his cameo on “HOT UPTOWN” as possibly the best one on the album, maybe because his vocal style seems to complement Camilla’s particularly well.
The other guest appearances were good as well, though, and “Dade County Dreaming” was some serious fiyah as a hip-hop collaboration joint. I’d lend an ear to some critics, though (Alexis Patridis of The Guardian, for instance, whom I often agree with), who argue that there may be too many guest artists on this album and at times they risk crowding out Camila herself.
Which song(s) stand out for you on the album, and why?
Emily: “Chanel No.5” for the lyrics, mood and music. It sums up the whole record perfectly. After hearing the first two singles and not feeling convinced, this was the song that convinced me that C,XOXO wasn’t just a “reinvention.” I also really like “June Gloom” for the lyrics; it sounds like the older sister of “Consequences.” Also, “Dade County Dreaming” has such a vibe. I’ve neve been to Florida or Miami, but this song is how I imagine it feels to be out in Miami in the summer at midnight.
Kevin: I would agree that “Chanel No.5” is an early standout — the “wrist, wrist, spritz spritz” thing is really cool in how it slinks into the rhythm of the song. I also like the longing and melancholy of “June Gloom.” She does that really well, I think. Longing and melancholy. There is like always a convergence of being sad and also feeling lusty, and you can hear that in a lot of this album. “B.O.A.T” gets to that as well, but with more restraint and theatricality.
Josh: Ah, whatevs, “HOT UPTOWN” wasn’t just my favorite collaboration on the album, it was my favorite song on it, period. I just felt like Camilla and Drake achieved something special together in the studio with this one.
Do you have any favorite lyrics so far? Which lines stand out?
Emily: “Does she get this wet for you, baby?, Talk to you in poems and songs, huh, baby?” from “June Gloom” is perfect. I like her flex about writing poems and songs. It’s funny but also really sad.
“Cute girl with a sick mind, I know just how to play my cards right, Wrist, wrist, spritz, spritz, make him come alive (Ah), Chanel N°5” from “Chanel No.5.”
I also love this opener from “Dade County Dreaming,” “Skyline lightin’ up my makeup, South Beach, see the city wake up.” It evokes not just beautiful imagery but also the feeling of being out late in the summer.
Kevin: I would agree with Emily that the line in “June Gloom”—”Does she get this wet for you, baby?” is one of the standouts on the record as a whole. Not to run the risk of sounding like someone who will clutch pearls and say “Oh my!” but I did gasp the first time I heard that. As surprising as it was to hear initially (I did do a double take) it is honestly refreshing for me to hear artists within the pop music zeitgeist taking ownership of their sexuality, and write from a very specific place of longing with such frankness. I also thought the reference to Haruki Murakami on “Chanel No.5” was very clever, and a kind of reference that takes you by surprise in a pop song. But very sharp.
Josh: Yessir, I’ll be the third straight writer to promote “Does she get this wet for you, baby?” as one of the most memorable and starling lyrics on this whole album. “I go soprano, baby go down low” from “I Luv It” is another line that could be characterized as such.
Where do you feel C,XOXO sits in the pantheon of Camila Cabello’s discography?
Emily: I think this feels very much like a natural progression but also a departure. Cabello could have easily gone in the direction of her previous albums, but C,XOXO feels like a record she needed to make.
In interviews, Cabello talks about how rap influenced her songwriting; she deliberately wanted to challenge herself so moved away from focussing on, say, a scene, but instead switched to writing about visuals or very zoomed-in moments. She also said she did a lot reading and observing in-between writing, which you can definitely hear on the record. Each song feels laser focussed in and hyper-specific.
Kevin: Because I am not like the foremost expert at Camila Cabello, I do not have the confidence to say where this one is going to land within her canonical work. I think if anything, it may suffer from being a little misunderstood because of the push in a different direction sonically, and because of that, the lore or critical appraisal of C,XOXO might overshadow the songs themselves—many of which are fun as hell and like are very very worthy of someone spending time with them.
Josh: 2019’s Romance remains her best album, in my opinion. In 2nd place is the upbeat Familia. That leaves this one in either 3rd or 4th place–I’d have to go back and give Camila a fresh listen to really say.
So, it’s too bad Ms. Cabello didn’t achieve true artistic improvement in that sense, but C,XOXO deserves to at least be recognized as another decent effort on her part. Probably worthy of roughly a 7 out of 10, in my estimation.
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:: stream/purchase C,XOXO here ::
:: connect with Camila Cabello here ::
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© Abby Waisler
© Abby Waisler
C,XOXO
an album by Camila Cabello
