Camila Cabello Gets Candid About The 'Nightmare' That Were The First Years Of Her Solo Career (2024)

Camila Cabello was very brave when she decided to leave Fifth Harmony and forge her own path as an artist, but despite her incredible success, she remembers the first few years of her solo career as a bad experience. She was still reeling from the band's breakup and finding herself, and it was a tough time she couldn't wait to leave completely behind.

The young singer is ready to completely reinvent herself, and this album is partly about leaving that "nightmare" in the past. She was also working on getting over her breakup with Shawn Mendes while she was writing the album, so there are some emotional songs. She's very proud of her new music and how it's finally portraying her true self.

Camila Cabello Has Bad Memories Of The Start Of Her Solo Career

When Camila Cabello left Fifth Harmony, it wasn’t exactly on good terms, and it took a while for everyone involved to get over the breakup. There were different versions of how things ended, with the band claiming that Camila’s team broke the news out of nowhere and her denying it.

“Saying that they were just informed through my representatives that I was ‘leaving the group’ is simply not true,” Camila Cabello said in a statement at the time. “Just like the other girls said in their statement about their plans, I had also planned to continue with my own solo endeavors in the new year but I did not intend to end things with Fifth Harmony this way.”

In a recent interview, the singer spoke candidly about the years that followed her departure from the band. They were not easy, but now she is relieved to be in a different place.

“Your early twenties are just a f***ing sh*t show and a nightmare and a hellhole — at least for me,” she stated.

Her new album, C, XOXO, she explained, sees her completely letting go of that version of herself.

“C, XOXO is finally letting go of that. Now that I'm not feeling so heavy and mentally burdened, I can actually have some f***ing fun and have long nails and dance and flirt.”

How Camila Cabello Is Changing Directions With Her New Album

Camila Cabello is completely changing directions with her new album, as an artist and as a person. She wants to completely reinvent herself, and that includes changing her appearance, her musical influences, and her way of approaching her career.

"I feel like I needed to have a different physical appearance, something different to kind of help me channel that energy that I accessed in my songwriting voice more," she said about dyeing her hair blonde. The energy she wants to channel is "chaotic and brave," or her "unhinged sparkle, which is my new favorite term from TikTok."

In her reinvention, she's also processing her relationship with Shawn Mendes, which she had some trouble getting over.

"It’s me sitting with this feeling of understanding that I feel really confused as a 26-year-old who I really felt I was in love with this person. Now I feel kind of lonely and small and weird, but at the same time, I’m an adult and I feel so strong in other areas of my life, but not this one. There’s just the wrestling of those feelings without it being kind of neat or in a box," she shared.

As Camila Cabello continues to grow as an artist, she's discovering the person she wants to be and leaving behind experiences that belong in the past.