But if I saw any of them at an awards show, I would say hi and it would be totally cool. She hasn’t kept in touch with her former group mates but says it’s “not because there’s any animosity left - just the courses of our lives have drifted. These days Cabello, who counts Ed Sheeran, Mark Ronson and Billie Eilish’s brother-producer, Finneas O’Connell, among her recent collaborators, doesn’t fret about former friends and even expresses her admiration for “Love Lies,” the Khalid hit with 5H’s Normani.

edition of “The X Factor.” Cabello exited the group in 2016 to pursue a solo career, sparking debate over whether her co-members were blindsided by the move, the drama of which played out on social media. Indeed, she’s come so far, you almost forget her start in Fifth Harmony, perhaps the only breakout act to emerge from the short-lived U.S. Cabello boasts major brand partnerships (Guess) and commercial endorsements (L’Oréal). This string of streaming and radio smashes followed guest turns on songs with Machine Gun Kelly (“Bad Things”) and Shawn Mendes (“I Know What You Did Last Summer”) and a coveted opening slot on Taylor Swift’s Reputation stadium tour. It yielded the hits “Havana” and “Never Be the Same” - the former a sexy ode to Cuban culture, the latter a timeless ballad that conquered the pop charts. Cabello’s debut album, “Camila,” was one of the top sellers of 2018 - and Sony Music’s second-biggest mover for the fiscal year ending March 31. “Fake it ’til you make it.”Īnd make it she did. “Basically my strategy in life,” cracks Camila. As Sinuhe recalls, “The teacher came to me and said, ‘She’s not gonna have any problem.’”

Still, she wowed her teacher with her unflappable confidence. (She’s an architect by trade but found herself working in retail.)Ĭabello didn’t speak any English when she enrolled in elementary school. While waiting for Cabello’s father, Alejandro, to join them in Miami, they scraped by on her mother’s modest income. She and her mom, Sinuhe, entered the country in 2003, arriving in Florida on the heels of another immigration controversy: the debated return of 7-year-old Cuban-born Elián González to his birth country.

It’s easy to see why Cabello’s passion for the issue hits close to home. I was, like, there is literally no difference between these people and my mom.” “That’s also what I was thinking as I was looking at the images of kids being held against their will. “That could have been me,” she says matter-of-factly. illegally - like Cabello’s family did upon escaping Cuba in 2003. It’s worth noting that three of the representatives are American-born and one a naturalized citizen, and none had to immigrate to the U.S.

Camila cabello fifth harmony issue