Breaking my silence

Melinda reviews Camila Cabello's new album, "C, XOXO."

Oct 10, 2024

what Camila Cabello probably thinks I look like listening to her music. — MF

I never engaged with Fifth Harmony’s music beyond being pummeled by their single “Work From Home,” along with everyone else in 2016. The big wink-smirk-nod of a song sledgehammered its way through checkout lines and the car radio. I sang along indifferently.

Camila Cabello, the then 19-year old singer, was the perceived lead of an outfit I thought nothing about. Gun to my head now, I couldn’t tell you the names of the other members of the group besides Normani. I am rooting for Normani to this day, despite reason to believe that at this point in her solo career she will continue in the general tradition of her former girl group. That is, loudly flopping. Beautiful gowns, she can really dance and sing, et cetera, but she cannot get the plane off the ground.

Normani has more overt it-girl potential than the rest of the group, yet she lacks the household name recognition that Cabello has enjoyed through her mediocrity for so long. Cabello’s advantage here is that she hasn’t had the label and management issues that Normani has endured; she releases music somewhat consistently, with palatable production and with a team who promotes it diligently enough for it to permeate the mainstream. This process doesn’t necessarily produce music that’s good, so much as music that’s ever present. It’s a trait that has historically been valuable in the saturated landscape of the record industry. With the right people roping in the right production and the right features, a synthetic star can be born.

This past June, both solo artists released an album. Normani’s debut DOPAMINE has some genuine earworms on it, but she can’t get me to stick around for some reason. That’s why it pains me to say that C,XOXO, Camila Cabello’s fourth studio album, is actually good.

Over the years, I’ve grown in disdain for her, for kind of no reason besides the fact that her face irritates me. Additionally, I don’t think Camila Cabello can really sing. Something isn’t quite right about her dancing, either. When she whines, I wince. I found her previous hit singles “Havana” and “Senorita” featuring her ex Shawn Mendes (who also bothers me) downright infuriating to listen to. The rollout for C,XOXO was panned online by users who felt she was being disingenuous — whipping her now bleach blonde head around as she hung out the window of a moving car or straddling a carousel to appear in a state of constant, possibly drug induced gyration. And yet, I find myself listening to C,XOXO all the time. All summer, I waited to wake up from this horrible spell. I listened to it in the shower. In the car. Walking home from the gym. First thing in the morning. Back to back. As soon as the deluxe version dropped, which Cabello laughably dubbed the “Magic City Edition,” I was tuned in.

Reward my bravery and walk with me for a bit. Let’s start at the beginning: “I LUV IT” featuring Playboi Carti, the intro track and lead single on C, XOXO, drew criticism early on from fans (and me, and possibly Charli herself) for “copying” the brat summer aesthetic. I now see that this was a simple-minded assessment of the song. “I LUV IT” sets the stage for what we’re in for on the rest of the album, and while it could not exist without Charli XCX, it is still an insult to Brat and C,XOXO to compare the two. The song opens with the lines: “Supersonic, in your orbit / And I'm bad, diabolic / Bottle rocket, on the carpet / Threw it back and he caught it.” Already beyond ridiculous, but okay, I’m listening. What proceeds is something both incessant and transcendent. Your interest may wax and wane, but Cabello is determined to let you know that the point still stands: I love it I love it I love it I love it I love it I love it - I love it! I love it -I love it? I LOVE IT!! I love it I love it I love it! I love it. I love it - I love it? I LOVE IT! Iluvit Iluvit Iluvit Iluvit Iluvit Iluvit OOH.

An insane tweet from philosopher Azealia Banks. Not saying I endorse this, just thought you should hear what she has to say on the matter. - MF

And I do! Some quick background here: I am a novice hyperpop listener. I’ve never been to Miami. Sorry if you’re cooler than me or whatever, but that’s where I’m coming from on this. I don’t believe Cabello’s portrait of her life in the city as some scrappy, sexy, Florida club fantasy. But, similar to when you listen to her two-track collaborator Drake with the city of Toronto, you’re buying into a narrative. The world building is exaggerated and full of holes, but works as long as you’re down to go along for the ride. When you watch a bad movie, somewhere below the surface lies the version of yourself that’s having fun. C,XOXO cuts to the core of that feeling. And so I love when Playboi Carti comes in on “I LUV IT” and I can’t understand a word he’s saying, but his voice is so low down in contrast with Cabello’s autotune that I’m captivated anyway. The inclusion of a City Girls feature on “Dade County Dreaming” is so on-the-nose, yet so unexpected. The whole project batters the listener into various states of attention. When you come to, there is Camila Cabello, doing exactly what you expect her to do — attempting with all of her might to have more intrigue than she actually does, yes, but also surprisingly making something interesting, albeit commercially calculated.

The music is at its best when she pulls a thread between boastful and self-pitying. (It makes sense that she chose Drake to be a part of the project.) Cabello goes for an underhanded SEO play with “Twentysomethings,” but I’m not expecting her to be SZA. Still, the song is weirdly poignant, priming listeners later for similarly paradoxical tracks like “B.O.A.T,” “June Gloom,” and “GODSPEED,” all of which I’m obsessed with. On “B.O.A.T.,” with an incredible, surprising sample of Pitbull’s “Hotel Room Service,” she crafts an emotionally vulnerable masterpiece. She sounds like she’s on the brink of walking into the ocean. Shawn Mendes NEEDS to text this girl back. “June Gloom” (a subject of controversy because some fans think it’s Sabrina Carpenter shade) brings sad and horny to fascinating heights, the hypnotic outro of which sounds like balloons deflating at the end of a party. And “GODSPEED,” which she performed at this year’s VMAs, is both wounded and triumphant.

Of course, there are moments that are undeniably wack. “HE KNOWS” featuring Lil Nas X manages to be the most boring track on the album, and it’s probably not a coincidence that it’s the most similar in tone to her previous body of work. The “Koshi xoxo” interlude is essentially an in-album review from BLP Kosher, a small-time Florida rapper. The aforementioned Drake songs sound like recycled outtakes from his previous work. “HOT UPTOWN” is a cheap shot feature, sounding like a million songs he’s already made and that the charts have moved on from. “One Dance” summer isn’t coming back, and this definitely isn’t going to raise it from the dead. “DREAM-GIRLS” samples The-Dream’s “Shawty Is A 10,” which is a staunchly bizarre pick for someone who was so racist she went to therapy for it. I don’t want to hear Camila Cabello talk about anyone named Keisha, Sonia, Tanya, Monique, Niecy, or Keke, even in the affirmative. She is probably dying for us to forget about the rumors about the way she treated Normani. I didn’t forget!

Although catchy, “Chanel No.5” is littered with cringe-inducing lines, as Cabello makes the wishy-washy metaphor that she’s as seductive as the famed perfume (clearly she hasn’t been in the trenches of fragrance Reddit, which has been splitting into factions over the supposed ageism of the idea that scents like No.5 are often considered “old lady fragrances”). She insists to listeners that she’s a “cute girl with a sick mind” who knows “just how to play her cards right.” Yeah, okay. On “baby pink” featuring Eem Triplin, many tragic couplets: “Teasin’ my ex is my favorite hobby / Went a little too far, I'm sorry / Latin boys calling me ‘amor’ and ‘mami’ / Americans calling me ‘baby’ and ‘shawty’” — just awful. But just when she starts losing me, she follows it up with a stroke of genius: “After the gym, I go get calamari / Get in the Tessy and head to the party.”

Clinging to her featured artists and samples for cool points while saddling up to the sound of Charli XCX likely won’t work twice. She’s trying a lot on for size, and while I don’t totally see the fit, I have to admit this whole thing should look a lot worse than it does. I get the same feeling from this album that I do when I listen to Bhad Bhabie’s “Gucci Flip Flops” or her feature on Lil Candy Paint’s “22” (still don’t know who that is): This should be bad, but why is it so, so good?

I don’t have to listen to Camila Cabello’s entire discography to know this is the best thing she’ll ever make. I’m just that kind of hater. Her efforts earned her a respectable Pitchfork 6.9, and she outsold Normani, which I’m sure was on her wishlist. Set to piano and synth, armed with glitter and bad hair dye (in another testament to her tryhard, her current Instagram bio reads “long, thick black hair turned white from flying too close to the sun”), and likely having recently viewed Spring Breakers (2012), C,XOXO sees Cabello realize autotune is her friend. The challenge after this will be her lack of interest in sincerity. Listeners remain interested in the autobiographical pop star, and while she’s shown faint glimmers of such in her performances since the album’s release, it may not be enough. As she sings on “baby pink”: “The skeptic’s becoming a fan / More complicated than I planned.” — MF

Hunter-gatherer corner

What we’ve read and DMed each other about lately — our internet bounty is below!

“Taylor Lorenz’s Plan To Dance On Legacy Media’s Grave” by Kyle Chayka - The New Yorker — As you maybe have heard, the state of media is changing. It was only a matter of time before
Taylor Lorenz
took the leap of faith that so many other talented journalists have in the past few years. I’m of the opinion that traditional media isn’t going anywhere; even the popularity of platforms like Substack and other talent-first homes won’t dethrone our biggest institutions — at least not for a very long time. Still, it was interesting to read about her departure from The Washington Post to start
User Mag
, and separately, to learn how many former Vox employees, where I currently work, have set out on their own (more than I realized!) — MF
“A Taste For Vibes, and Sometimes Wine" by
Casey Lewis
- The New York Times — I loooove a wine bar. There are too many openings in New York to keep up with lately, and I really love how many options there are now! — MF
“Industry Season 3 Finale: Loudly and With No Subtlety, Indeed” by Hunter Harris -
Hung Up
— As always, Hunter Harris comes in with the most accurate take on the season’s buzziest TV show. Industry is great, especially this past season, but there were some misses that I don’t see enough people talking about! — LM
“Is This the Beginning of the Josh Hutcherson Renaissance?” by Trishna Rikhy - Esquire — God, I hope so. — MF

Why Not?

Why Not? is our biweekly list of recommendations. Think recipes, gift guides, podcasts, clothes, and anything we consider to be generally chic. Have a suggestion? Let us know!

Cipicipi Dewey Film Tint - YesStyle — My friend Christina got me this lip stain on her trip to Japan last summer, and I don’t think I’ve ever owned a more perfect lip tint. It’s right between glossy and matte, doesn’t budge, and it lasts all day. I have “Tropical Orange,” which sounds intimidating but it has a really soft natural flush tone to it that doesn’t actually read orange, especially depending on your gloss/lip liner pairing. This shade would look good on everyone! I’m going to order some other colors stat. — MF
Visual Effects Strapless Minimizer Bra - Wacoal — This. Changes. Everything. I don’t know how it works, but this is the most comfortable strapless bra I’ve ever owned. It doesn’t dig into me, or make me look boxy. It’s quickly becoming my everyday bra?? For tops that I’d usually wear straps with even?? I have so many tanks that finally won’t be ruined by a certain overstuffed effect. I can’t say enough good things about this bra. I’ve been reborn. —MF
Lila Childs’s 2010s TV series female protagonist makeup tutorial — Lila’s tutorials are always sooo good, and this one is no different. She explains what to do in a straightforward way, and it utilizes the OG Naked palette, which Urban Decay just brought back. So Gossip Girl, so PLL, so perfect for fall. —MF
Gabby Bow Ballet Flat - Stuart Weitzman — I’ve been wanting a pair of casual summer/fall/spring shoes that weren’t sneakers (I basically live in my New Balance 550s, for better or worse) and I landed on these simple leather flats that were on sale at the Stuart Weitzman Outlet. I’m pleased to say that they’re super comfortable and chic; I even wore them to a wedding a few weekends ago! They’re final sale so be careful, but they’re also true to size. It took me a few wears to break them in but now I’m obsessed. — LM
Astoria Dress - Reformation — If you were wondering what I paired with the flats at the aforementioned wedding… It was this dress in the color Dusk! You really can’t beat Ref when it comes to wedding guest dresses, and this one was very comfortable and easy to wear. And while strapless dresses sometimes make me nervous, my mother-in-law can confirm I jumped around in it all night on the dance floor and had no issues. — LM

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