When you're the least talented member of your unimpressive girl group and yet you're the first breakout star, it's an interesting legacy you lead as Camila Cabello. Upon the release of her second solo album Romance, Camila has enjoyed an impressive run of pop hits. I think one of them was even good!
Yeah, in case you're still figuring it out, I am not a Camila Cabello fan. Even less so after the fact that she's been exposed as racist towards her bandmates, particularly Normani. But that doesn't mean she doesn't deserve her day in court! In fact, she'll have to work extra hard to prove her worth as a pop star that can stay around with this album. And folks... I'm not hearing it.
Camila Cabello is simply an unimpressive artist. That's pretty much all you can say. She comes in with an album full of half-baked, malformed ideas that barely evolve into actual songs, let alone good ones. "My Oh My" is one of the most excruciating listens on the album. Camila Cabello still sounds like a little girl trying on mom's clothes playing dress-up, not any sort of adult, making DaBaby's unfortunate appearance all the more jarring. Even he can't make this non-starter of a track any fun.
There are a few bright spots. I think "Shameless", as ear-rending as it can be, at least has a drive to be an actual pop song. "This Love" is the only ballad that halfway works. But oh God, most of this album is just a chore to get through. It sounds like Camila isn't even finished teething, the way she yelps her way through most of these songs. She either sounds completely uninterested or completely unlistenable. There's rarely a middle ground.
And I guess we gotta talk about "Senorita", the big breakthrough hit on this album. I feel that pretty much everything that can be said about it has already been said, every joke has been made, and every share of that sloppy Shawn Mendes/Camila Cabello kiss has been shared. But I just want to reiterate that this song is crushingly dull, with no momentum and barely any flavour to give it reason for existing. Blech.
I set my expectations low, and very rarely were they exceeded. Camila Cabello may have a career ahead of her yet; pop music does tend to make mediocrity rise to the top. But I do hope she actually gets a personality and grows up a bit. It would make her music a lot more bearable.
5/10
Best Tracks: "Shameless", "Should've Said It", "This Love"
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