Camila Cabello
Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (/kəˈmiːlə kəˈbeɪoʊ/;[1] Latin American Spanish: [ˈkaɾla kaˈmila kaˈβeʝo esˈtɾabao]; born March 3, 1997)[2] is an American singer and songwriter.[3] She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in Fifth Harmony, Cabello began to establish herself as a solo artist with the release of her collaborative singles "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (with Shawn Mendes) and "Bad Things" (with Machine Gun Kelly)—the latter peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100. She left the group in late 2016.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cabello and the second or maternal family name is Estrabao.
Camila Cabello
- Cuba
- Mexico
- United States
2012–present
Vocals
Her debut studio album, Camila (2018), peaked atop the US Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and saw generally positive critical reception. Largely influenced by Latin music, its lead single "Havana" (featuring Young Thug) received diamond certification by the RIAA, peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and did so in 23 other countries, including the UK and Canada.[4] Its follow-up, "Never Be the Same" reached the top ten in multiple countries. Her 2019 duet with Shawn Mendes, "Señorita" was met with similar success as the former—becoming her second song to peak the Billboard Hot 100—and was included on her second album, Romance (2019). The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and spawned the top 20 single "My Oh My" (featuring DaBaby).[5]
Further leaning into Latin pop, she released her third studio album Familia (2022) to continued success; it was preceded by the single "Don't Go Yet" and peaked within the top ten of the Billboard 200.[6] Its second single, "Bam Bam" (featuring Ed Sheeran), reached the top five of the Billboard Global 200—Cabello's highest entry on the chart—and peaked within the top ten in several countries, and number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5]
Cabello has amassed billions of streams on music platforms, and "Havana" became the best-selling digital single of 2018, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). Cabello's awards include two Latin Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, and one Billboard Music Award. In 2021, Cabello starred as the title character from the film Cinderella.
Early life and education
Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao was born in the Habana del Este district of Cojímar, Havana, Cuba[7][8] to Alejandro Cabello and Sinuhe Estrabao. Her father is Mexican and was born in Mexico City, before moving to Cuba. She has a younger sister named Sofia.[9] Cabello spent much of her early life moving back-and-forth between Cuba and Mexico.[10] Camila has Mexican citizenship.[11][12]
When Cabello was six years old, she relocated to Miami, Florida with her mother, crossing the border from Mexico to the United States and taking a 36-hour Greyhound bus-ride to Miami, after waiting only one day at the border before being granted permission to enter the US. Cabello was told by her mother that she was going to Disneyworld as an incentive to go to the US; they moved into Cabello's grandfather's colleague's home, who would later become her godmother. Cabello's mother took night courses to study English. Cabello's father was unable to obtain a visa at the time, and joined the family approximately 18 months later; upon his arrival in the country, he would work washing cars in front of Dolphin Mall.
Cabello's mother—a trained architect with a degree earned in Cuba—initially worked at Marshalls, stacking shoes, until one day, two other Cuban women approached her at work and told her that they had a brother who worked in architecture; she was told that the brother needed someone who worked in AutoCAD, and Cabello's mother learned the program in a week. In time, she had earned enough money to move out of her father’s colleague’s house and into an apartment with her children. Cabello's mother and father eventually formed a construction company named after Camila and Sofia.[7][13][10][14] Cabello acquired American citizenship in 2008.[15]
Cabello attended Miami Palmetto High School, but left during the 2012–2013 school year (while she was in 9th grade) to pursue her singing career. Later, she earned her high school diploma.[16]
Artistry
Primarily a pop, Latin, and R&B singer,[133] Cabello possesses a soprano vocal range.[134][135] She grew up listening to artists such as Alejandro Fernández and Celia Cruz.[136] Her debut studio album is a pop record, influenced by Latin music.[133][137] The album incorporates elements of reggaeton, hip hop, and dancehall[137][138][139] and took inspiration from contemporary Latin artists such as Calle 13 and J Balvin, as well as from the songwriting of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.[140] Her sophomore album was inspired by the "big sounds" of the 80s and Queen.[141] She has also cited Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, David Bisbal, Alejandro Fernández, Maná, Beyoncé, John Mayer, Demi Lovato and Eminem as influences.[142][143][144][145][146][147]
Philanthropy
In February 2016, Cabello announced she had partnered with Save the Children to design a limited-edition "Love Only" T-shirt to help raise awareness of issues involving girls' equal access to education, health care and opportunities to succeed.[148] In June 2016, Cabello, producer Benny Blanco, and members of the nonprofit arts organization OMG Everywhere helped to create the charity single "Power in Me".[149] Cabello has also partnered with the Children's Health Fund, a non-profit dedicated to providing health care to low-income families with children.[150]
On April 3, 2017, Cabello performed at Zedd's WELCOME! Fundraising Concert, which raised money for ACLU.[151] Cabello sang to patients at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital on May 8, 2017.[152] In late 2017, she joined Lin-Manuel Miranda and multiple other Latin artists on the song "Almost Like Praying" for Puerto Rico hurricane relief.[153] Cabello also announced she was donating all proceeds of "Havana" to the ACLU for DREAMers.[154]
Cabello donated portions of proceeds from VIP sale packages to the Children's Health Fund while on the 2018 Never Be the Same tour.[155] On July 13, 2018, she performed a concert in San Juan and donated a portion of the concert's proceeds to Hurricane Maria Relief Fund.[156] In November 2018, Cabello became an ambassador for Save the Children.[157]
In March 2019, Cabello announced she donated $10,000 to a GoFundMe campaign for a homeless immigrant.[158] In September 2019, Cabello pledged to raise $250,000 for Save the Children organization.[159] In October 2019, Cabello performed at the We Can Survive concert which donates to breast cancer.[160] On October 22, 2019, Cabello appeared with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Kensington Palace in support of the finalists for the BBC Radio 1 Teen Heroes Awards.[161]
In March 2020, Cabello participated in iHeart Media's Living Room Concert for America, a benefit to raise awareness and funds for the COVID-19 pandemic.[90] In March and April 2020, Cabello participated in Global Citizen Festival's Together at Home virtual concert to raise awareness and funds for the COVID-19 pandemic.[162][163] In May 2020, Cabello, alongside Shawn Mendes, joined protests in Miami for racial justice after the murder of George Floyd.[164] In July 2021, she expressed support for the 2021 Cuban protests against the country's government.[165]
In January 2021, Cabello partnered with the nonprofit Movement Voter Fund to launch The Healing Justice project, a project to identify ten organizations to receive grants to pay for mental health resources for their frontline workers.[166] Cabello pledged the seed money for the venture, $250,000, and has pledged to continue to support the project going forward.[167] So far the project has given grants to several organisations, including Muslim Woman For, Freedom Inc and QLatinx.[168]
Cabello is an outspoken advocate for climate change and regularly speaks about this on her social media and in interviews. In September 2021, Cabello recruited over 60 artists to sign an open letter to several entertainment companies including Amazon, Facebook and Apple Inc., calling on them to ask Congress to pass the climate action that President Joe Biden called for in his Build Back Better agenda.[169]
In March 2022, Cabello performed at the Concert for Ukraine benefit concert. The two-hour benefit show was put on to raise money for the Disasters Emergency Committee's (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Cabello performed a cover of "Fix You" by Coldplay and her single "Bam Bam", with Ed Sheeran joining her on stage for their first live performance of the song together.[113]
In May 2022, Cabello launched and hosted a benefit concert to support the emergency "Protect Our Kids" fund. The singer has teamed with Lambda Legal and Equality Florida to help protect LGBTQ+ students and their families from Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay or Trans" bill.[170]
As part of her collaboration with Pepsi for UEFA Champions League, Cabello is among music and football talent that will be supporting #Football4Refugees, an appeal launched by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee Agency, to unite the global football community to raise funds for displaced people around the world.[171]
On August 22, 2022, Cabello announced that she had provided vocals and written a song with Hans Zimmer for the documentary series Frozen Planet 2.[172] Cabello called this an 'honour' and the song debuted on August 28, 2022, incorporated in the first trailer for the show.[173] It won the award for Best Song/Score in a Trailer at the 2022 Hollywood Music in Media Awards.[174]
