Camila Cabello - Eyes On You (2020)

In June 2019 Camila Cabello released the single 'Señorita' with Canadian singer Shawn Mendes, and it debuted at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, earning a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Following the release of four singles from her forthcoming album in September and October, her second record, 'Romance', appeared in December 2019, peaking at Number 3 on the US Billboard 200. On 23 July 2021 she released 'Don't Go Yet' as the lead single from her third studio album 'Familia', which was announced alongside the release of the single, and in October she released 'Oh Na Na' with Myke Towers and Tainy, which was not to be included on the album. 'Familia' was named by Forbes as one of the most anticipated pop albums of 2022, but before that appeared, her film adaptation of Cinderella was released in September to select theatres, and also digitally on Amazon Prime Video, and it became the most-watched streaming movie over the Labour Day weekend, as well as the most-watched movie musical in 2021. Although it received mixed reviews from critics, Cabello's performance was praised, with Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times saying "she has a real knack for comedy". 

In November 2021 she released a cover of Bing Crosby's 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' exclusively on Amazon Music, reaching number two on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, and in December it was announced that she would open for Coldplay during the Latin American leg of their Music of the Spheres World Tour, later appearing with them in Colombia, Peru and Chile. With still no sign of 'Familia', a collaboration with Ed Sheeran titled 'Bam Bam' was released in March 2022, and then in April the long-awaited 'Familia' was released, accompanied by a virtual TikTok concert 'immersive performance' titled "Familia: Welcome to the Family". The record was met with positive reviews from critics, being praised for being "an imperfect yet revealing mosaic of Cabello's Cuban and Mexican heritage". 'Familia' debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200, marking Cabello's third Top ten album, and after performing at the UEFA Champions League Final on 28 May, she announced that she would be a coach on the US version of The Voice for its twenty-second season, replacing Kelly Clarkson. Once 'Romance' and 'Familia' had been released, there were more demos and out-takes left over which didn't make the final cuts, and so for a second collection from the singer, I've gather up the best of them from around 2019/2020, plus a few demos from her Fifth Harmony days, for another album which fans could well have done with being released during the long wait for 'Familia' to appear in 2022.

Track listing

01 Anyone 

02 Terrified

03 U Shaped Space

04 Taxi

05 The Exchange

06 Eyes On You 

07 Cozy Dolla Bill$

08 Cinderella

09 Leave For Good

10 Only Told The Moon

11 Despacitpo (Llama Llama Red Pyjama) 

12 Not Killin' It Today 

13 Knows Me

14 Thief Looks Like An Angel

Camila Cabello - Unforgettable (2017)

Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao was born on 3 March 1997, and is best known for being a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. She auditioned for the TV talent competition show The X Factor in Greensboro, North Carolina, with Aretha Franklin's 'Respect', but her audition was not aired because the series did not get the rights for the song. After elimination during the "bootcamp" portion of the process in Miami, Florida, Cabello was called back to the stage along with other contestants Ally Brooke, Normani, Lauren Jauregui, and Dinah Jane to form the girl group that would later become known as Fifth Harmony. After finishing in third place on the show, they signed a joint deal with Simon Cowell's Syco Music and Epic Records, and released the EP 'Better Together' to some acclaim (see previous 5th Harmony post here). Two albums followed, with 'Reflection' coming out in 2015, followed by '7/27' the following year. In November 2015, Cabello collaborated with Canadian singer Shawn Mendes on a duet titled 'I Know What You Did Last Summer', a song they wrote together, charting at number 20 in the US and number 18 in Canada, and in 2016 American rapper Machine Gun Kelly released a joint single with Cabello called 'Bad Things', which reached a peak of number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. On 18 December 2016, Fifth Harmony announced Cabello's departure, with both sides giving contradictory explanations of the circumstances for her exit. After her departure she appeared on songs from Norwegian DJ Cashmere Cat and rappers Pitbull and J Balvin, and later she announced the future release of her first studio album, at the time titled 'The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving.'. 

Her debut solo single 'Crying In The Club' was released in May 2017, followed by a performance at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, and then new writing and recording sessions for her album were undertaken following the success of her 'Havana' single, in order to capitalise on it's success. The single became Spotify's most-streamed song ever by a solo female artist in June 2018, with over 888 million streams at the time, and so she wanted the album to go in that musical direction. This postponed the album's original release date, and 'Camila', her debut album, was eventually released on 12 January 2018. It was a pop record containing Latin-influenced songs and ballads, and debuted at number one in the United States with 119,000 album-equivalent units. In April 2018 she embarked on the Never Be the Same Tour, her first headlining concert tour as a solo artist, and by May she was performing as the opening act for American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift in her Reputation Stadium Tour. In October 2018, Cabello announced she would start working on new music in the new year, and in April 2019 it was announced that she would star in an upcoming film adaptation of 'Cinderella', directed by Kay Cannon for Sony Pictures. Because her debut album was drastically revised after the success of 'Havana', a number of songs were dumped from it in order to make room for the new 'Havana'-influenced tracks, and so there were quite a few demos and out-takes left over when it was released. Enough, in fact, to make up a perfectly acceptable companion album to 'Camila', which could have been released shortly afterwards to tide fans over until her next single was released in 2019. 

Track listing

01 Be Right Here
02 Love Life
03 Come When I Call (feat. Pharrell Williams)
04 Must Be Love
05 Cleopatra
06 OMG (feat. Quava)
07 Scar Tissue
08 Curious
09 The Middle
10 Unforgettable
11 Died
12 Thinkin' Bout One
13 Knows Me
14 Witness
15 Just Like You
16 The Boy (feat. Ed Sheeran)