Camila Cabello

Camila Cabello rose to prominence as a chart-topping, Grammy-nominated singer whose resonant vocals, lively stage presence, and Cuban-Mexican heritage shaped her path. She first gained attention in 2012 as one of five contestants assembled into Fifth Harmony during the second season of Fox’s The X Factor. Once the program concluded, the ensemble notched consecutive Top Five Billboard 200 entries with Reflection in 2015 and 7/27 in 2016, propelled by the singles “BO$$,” “Worth It,” and “Work from Home.” While still a member, Cabello paired with Shawn Mendes on “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and with Machine Gun Kelly on “Bad Things,” the latter climbing to number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Following her widely covered exit from the group in 2017, she launched her solo career with the Billboard 200-topping album Camila, driven by the chart-topping single “Havana.” That project earned multiple Grammy nominations and set the stage for Romance, which reached number three on the Billboard 200 in 2019. After starring in the 2021 musical film Cinderella, she returned to the Top Ten with Familia in 2022 and took a role in the 2023 animated feature Trolls Band Together. In 2024 she previewed her fourth album, C,XOXO, via the single “I LUV It” featuring Playboi Carti.

Born Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao in Cojimar, Cuba, she relocated to Miami at six. Raised in a Spanish-speaking household by her Cuban mother and Mexican father, she absorbed Celia Cruz and Alejandro Fernández from an early age. At fifteen she auditioned for The X Factor in Greensboro, North Carolina; although initially eliminated alongside her future bandmates, the panel recalled them and Simon Cowell formed the quintet Fifth Harmony. Despite placing third, the act became the season’s most commercially durable contestant. Their first EP, Better Together, arrived in October 2013, followed within weeks by acoustic and Spanish-language editions titled Juntos and Juntos Acoustic plus a remix collection. The lead track “Miss Movin’ On” set a record as the highest-charting U.S. X Factor single until later Fifth Harmony releases surpassed it.

Reflection appeared in early 2015 and included Meghan Trainor-penned “Sledgehammer” alongside “Worth It” featuring Kid Ink. While on Taylor Swift’s 1989 world tour, Cabello co-wrote “I Know What You Did Last Summer” with Shawn Mendes; the duet entered the Billboard Top 20 upon its November 2015 release. Fifth Harmony’s second album, 7/27, surfaced in 2016 alongside a global trek and the hit “Work from Home.” Outside the group, she joined Machine Gun Kelly for the October 2016 single “Bad Things,” which slowly ascended to her first solo Top Ten placement. She announced her departure from Fifth Harmony that December. Subsequent collaborations included “Love Incredible” with Cashmere Cat and “Hey Ma” with Pitbull and J Balvin for the Fate of the Furious soundtrack.

In May 2017 Cabello issued her debut solo single “Crying in the Club,” co-written by Sia Furler, which reached the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and she opened Bruno Mars’s 24K Magic World Tour. Early 2018 brought her first full-length solo album, Camila, produced in part by Frank Dukes and Jarami. Anchored by “Havana” featuring Young Thug and “Never Be the Same,” the set debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. A Kane Brown-assisted version of “Never Be the Same” followed later that year. By year’s end she had collected Grammy nominations for Best Pop Solo Performance for a live rendition of “Havana” and Best Pop Vocal Album. After touring, she reunited with Shawn Mendes for “Señorita,” released in June 2019, which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Their American Music Awards performance earned Favorite Collaboration honors, and the track received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Romance, issued in December 2019 with contributions from Andrew Watt, Finneas O’Connell, and Justin Tranter, featured “Liar,” “Shameless,” and “Living Proof” and reached number three on the Billboard 200.

Cabello made her screen debut as the title character in the 2021 musical Cinderella. Later that year she previewed Familia with “Don’t Go”; the 2022 album, reflecting her Latin American background, alternated between Spanish and English tracks and featured Maria Becerra, Ed Sheeran, and Willow Smith. It reached number ten on the Billboard 200 as well as charts in Canada, the U.K., and Spain. In 2023 she appeared in Trolls Band Together and performed “It Takes Two” with Anna Kendrick on the soundtrack. March 2024 saw the Hot 100 arrival of “I LUV IT” featuring Playboi Carti, the lead single for C,XOXO. Produced by Pablo Díaz-Reixa (El Guincho), Jasper Harris, and Daniel Aged, the album presented Cabello as a self-assured, chaotic Miami party figure, its restless, maximalist pop sound underscoring that shift.