Billboard cover star Camila Cabello talks about her upcoming album, ‘C,XOXO,’ and how she’s evolved her creative style to emulate her new era. She goes in-depth about what to expect from her new album, the importance of songwriting and creative freedom in its creation, paying homage to hip-hop, what it was like to collaborate with Playboi Carti on “I LUV IT,” her plans to incorporate touring in the near future and more!
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MusicTranscript
00:00 I feel like this whole album is like signed CXOXO because it's signed by me.
00:06 From me to you.
00:07 What's up guys? I'm Camila Cabello and welcome to my Billboard cover shoot.
00:10 So we are at my Billboard cover shoot in East Hollywood.
00:22 We've got a little kiddie pool over here because we're really trying to like bring Miami to East Hollywood.
00:29 As you can see I'm wearing a little bikini here because you know we're repping Miami on this album.
00:34 We're repping the Miami girls.
00:35 We got some heat that decided to show up for us today.
00:39 It is actually sauna level hot. Fun fact.
00:43 It's gonna be really fun. There's like a really cute little dog. And here we go.
00:46 What I'm most excited to capture today with Camila is we're in Grandma's house.
00:57 And I'm just really excited to lean into this vibe that she's created for herself and to capture her in her new moment.
01:03 And I think it's gonna be beautiful.
01:04 Camila's rebrand connects to this shoot because we have lots of metallics, clear, she loves blue.
01:11 Things that really feel sort of like mismatched. Nothing that's like too coordinated.
01:16 So we're pulling a lot from her vibes.
01:23 I feel like this new era, everything for me starts with the music and starts with the songwriting.
01:29 And I do my exploring to figure out you know what is like the voice for this album.
01:35 And I feel like the CXOXO voice is really about just like tapping into your inner baddie, embracing the chaos, the messiness.
01:45 Because like the music is so different and the aesthetic is so different.
01:49 I feel like it helps to have a stark change visually to go with a change musically.
01:54 So I tried on a bunch of different wigs and now she's fried and she's also gorgeous so fuck it.
02:00 I really was a sponge for all different types of influences.
02:07 Whether it was novels or poems or movies or music.
02:11 Throughout this writing process I definitely feel like we have paid so much homage to hip-hop.
02:18 Whether it's like 2000s hip-hop and R&B that I feel like is like my heart and soul.
02:23 I mean obviously there's a lot of different sides to me.
02:26 There's the part that you know loves to like be home with a heating pad with like a turmeric latte.
02:33 And loves to watch a Great British Baking Show.
02:35 But this is not the side that I'm tapping into for this album.
02:39 The side that I'm tapping into for this album, it's the side that you know wants to go out on the weekend.
02:45 And persuade all my friends to come and wants to make some decisions that might be a little bit messy.
02:51 It's that side.
02:53 And I think like the baddie side that exists in all of us.
02:57 First I should introduce my friend.
03:07 This is Howie who is a part of this shoot.
03:11 I just was telling everybody here how I feel like little dogs make every shot like feel a little bit more cunty.
03:17 I feel like you really added to the shot.
03:19 So I hope you make the cut little guy because I think you did a great job.
03:23 I feel like Playboi Carti is so emblematic of creative freedom.
03:34 I feel like he's just somebody who has this energy of going from like his deepest natural instincts.
03:41 And I feel like that energy and that intention is something that I really wanted to carry into this album.
03:47 I DM'd him just to kind of start a relationship.
03:50 Me and my collaborators Elgincho and Jasper we really wanted him to be on I Love It.
03:54 But you know you can always only hope.
03:56 You never know if the stars are gonna align.
03:59 But he loved the song.
04:00 No pun intended.
04:01 We were in the studio. I had a little tequila because I was honestly so nervous to meet him.
04:06 He has this mysterious vibe and he was honestly so sweet.
04:10 He just freestyled his part.
04:12 And a million TikToks later here we are.
04:14 There are some people online that say that they can't understand what he's saying in the song.
04:19 Even when we were in the studio and he was freestyling these melodies.
04:22 It's just as simple as like it feels good.
04:24 And it's funny like over time we decode what he says.
04:29 And you know you find like oh I love that bar and I love that lyric.
04:33 But in the beginning it's all about just like if it feels good or not.
04:37 And I think that's the most important thing about music is does it feel good or not.
04:42 Period.
04:43 I think what I can tease about the new album.
04:54 To be real selective here because I don't want to give away too much.
04:57 But I want to give away the most tasty little mini crumb.
05:02 There's no other song like I love it on the album.
05:05 It does have a spirit that is carried throughout the rest of the album.
05:10 In the sense that it's uncharted territory.
05:12 For me for example one of my collaborators Jasper.
05:15 He was like we always try to just keep it interesting and weird.
05:18 If there was like a soft piano then I'm almost doing like a like fast rap over it.
05:23 If there's a like harder beat then I'm doing something a little bit more melodic.
05:30 Like it's always kind of like these things that you wouldn't expect to go together.
05:34 I also feel like if you've been seeing CXOXO.
05:37 That came from a lyric in one song that said sign the letter at your door signed at CXOXO.
05:43 And I feel like this whole album is like signed CXOXO.
05:47 Because it's signed by me.
05:49 From me to you.
05:51 First of all I would like to address the naturalness of the pose of answering this question.
05:58 With just peeking out of the car.
06:01 And I'd like to show you guys also the behind the scenes glamour of our Billboard cover shoot.
06:07 We got some trash bags.
06:09 Got just the beautiful perfume scent of some discarded Little Bites bags.
06:15 Some of my favourite snacks as a child.
06:17 Rest in peace Little Bites.
06:20 [Music]
06:25 I feel like for this album it really was for me about getting back to the craft and practice of songwriting.
06:31 There wasn't any like people that I hired as co-writers.
06:35 It was just me doing like the bulk of it.
06:37 And I think that really was more responsibility and more fear.
06:42 If Papo and Jasper would come up with like fucking a fire musical idea.
06:47 You know it was up to me to kind of come up with the concept or like the idea of the song.
06:52 And this was the first time that I really was like you know I'm kind of like wearing the kind of like songwriter hat.
06:58 [Music]
07:05 This has been such a collaborative album.
07:07 And I've gotten to work with artists that I'm such a huge fan of.
07:11 I feel really really grateful.
07:13 Constantly I'm wrestling with imposter syndrome that these amazing artists like wanted to be on my album.
07:17 Because I often feel like this.
07:19 [Music]
07:21 In comparison.
07:22 In comparison to them.
07:24 [Music]
07:29 There was definitely a phase of my life where I felt like I was just like not into touring.
07:34 I felt so lonely.
07:35 I think that I'm gonna just like find a way to make it fun and sustainable for me.
07:40 Because I love this album so much.
07:42 And I feel like it just feels like such an album that I want people to experience live.
07:47 And that fuck it such an album that I want to experience live.
07:50 So I would love to tour this album.
07:53 And as far as what that will feel like in a live show.
07:57 We're already working on that.
07:59 [Music]
08:00 I hope fans take away from this era and from CXOXO.
08:06 Some courage to like live their messy lives.
08:09 And to do it in a way that feels signed by you.
08:12 I'm living my life.
08:14 I'm putting it out there signed by me CXOXO.
08:17 And I just want you to live your life and fucking write your name on it at the end of it.
08:23 Like this was by me bitch CXOXO.
08:25 Alright everybody that's a wrap.
08:27 [Cheering]
08:29 Thank you everybody.
08:31 Thank you Billboard.
08:33 [Cheering]
08:36 [Music]
08:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]