On the evening of October 28, 2024, Camila Cabello will forever remember when music queen Beyoncé recognized her new album, C, XOXO. The event was hosted by Michael Rubin, co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, who threw his super-exclusive all-white party; it was truly star-studded. On hand annually, Rubin’s night was full of A-lister sparkle and penthouse views as Beyoncé, Drake, Camila Cabello, and more rubbed shoulders in a dazzling display of friendship and fashion.
Later that night, Beyoncé reached out to Cabello in a tizzy, fawning over C, XOXO, which has been one of summer’s most-exalted, beloved pop releases.
The recognition from one of the most highly regarded individuals in the business was surreal even for Cabello, who later took her praise to social media to thank her for the acknowledgment. “To hear those words out of Beyoncé’s mouth,” she wrote online, recording the touching exchange and posting it to share with her followers. It’s a new chapter for Cabello, who explores candidly female friendship, self-discovery, and empowerment.
There is an arresting, genre-bending sound of pop influenced by her root city of Miami-from reggaeton to hip-hop, Afrobeats, and electronic music all in one immersive experience. Songs like “He Knows” and “Dade County Dreaming” are imbued with the inimitable rhythm of Miami-tossing the listeners deep into the bright sounds and deeply personal lyrics of Cabello’s world. It was the first of her projects under her new label, Interscope, where she holds full creative freedom to shape her vision for a record.
However, Cabello had collaborated with some of the most famous artists, including Playboi Carti, Lil Nas X, Drake, and City Girls, each adding a different texture to the songs. Drake’s “Hot Uptown” and “Uuugly” have been: stands out especially since Cabello had described the two’s synergy as “natural and aligned.” She recently shared, in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, that their collaboration started via social media. “I DM’ed him… and I played him my album, and he was all in,” she remembered. Drake adds more edge to these songs because the fans hear another side of Cabello’s music, meshing wordplay lyrically with the hotness and energy that is Miami.
It connected to listeners with the hedonistic themes of the album, along with the delving into sound exploration. Most importantly, though, it stretched the confines for Cabello as an artist and gave her audience a gritty, honest look into her life. The fact that it genre-bends and tells stories on a deeper level is something that Cabello has taken pride in, admitting it was both thrilling and trying to wear such range across this palette. The words of Beyoncé gave the album another layer of validity, and Cabello was pushed even harder to forge her path ahead.
