SAVANNAH STOWERS

C, XOXO by Camilla Cabello, 2024 – Album Review

Genre: Miami Pop

Camilla Cabello’s 4th solo studio album, C, XOXO, takes you through the emotional journey and escapist partying of a much needed Miami trip: it opens with the energetic high that marks the start of all great summer vacations, then, as the new environment begins to sets in, it slows down and the emotions that were lurking under the bright lights and cityscapes start to creep up. Despite the confidence and freedom that this album celebrates, it also frequently confronts the feelings that come with a stubborn unwillingness to let go of a relationship that’s long been over – and then was back on, and then over again. C, XOXO communicates the life cycle of a relationship through the aesthetic vantage point of a night out in Miami, from its intoxicating beginnings to the uncertainty of where your mind and body are meant to go when you’re forced to admit that the party is over.

This album  marks the start of a new journey for Camilla, her first after a major label change, and also her first in a sound and image that’s a noticeable departure from her previous, post-5th Harmony body of work. Despite the Charli XCX copying allegations and forced alternative pop feel that riddled this album’s rollout and debut, the aesthetic and sonic change seem fitting for where she’s at in her career and the switch up doesn’t feel as forced or unnatural as it initially threatened.

Much like the album’s slightly off center and confidently vulnerable cover, the tracks feel a little raw, a little fun, a little raunchy, and a little sad – a muffled range of emotions all happening at once.

I hesitate to classify this album as anything other than “pop”; while it does feature hyperpop and hip-hop influences, mostly due to the repetitive chorus structure of the album’s lead single “I LUV IT” and the numerous rap features in half of the album’s full length tracks, C, XOXO encapsulates what pop sounds like in 2024 – pop when you look at in the reflection of someone’s mirrored sunglasses on Miami beach.

This is a Miami party album on the surface, but it does more than just celebrate the highs of the night: C, XOXO shows the before, the during, and the after – beyond the club when you’re back at someone’s house, hearing music drift into the bathroom as you try not to cry.

It reminds me of a trend in the YouTube music space a few years ago where people would remix songs to sound like they were playing in a different room under different circumstances, with titles like “cherry – lana del rey but if you were in a bathroom at a party,”. This album perfectly encapsulates that muffled feeling of being somewhere when your mind can’t help but wander somewhere else.

This isn’t hyperpop, this is pop in 2024. It’s experimental for Camilla Cabello, but not jarring in the landscape of music today.

Standout Tracks

If you had told me that Camilla Cabello would deliver the more polished and mature follow-up to projects like Kim Petras’ Clarity and Selena Gomez’s Revival that I’ve been waiting for, I would have never believed you. If you had ever told me that I would grow to love “I LUV IT,” I would have never believed you, yet, here we are. C, XOXO has proved Camilla has a lot more artistry and ingenuity than I (and many others) would have ever believed. For once in her career, I’m looking forward to see how she delivers and her ability to potentially progress the current course of pop. 

C, XOXO  clocks out after a tight 33 minute run-time, following the trend of traditional album and track lengths that many mainstream artists seem to be moving back towards. The album does feature a lot of interludes which balance out the normal length tracks, making it feel a lot shorter than it actually is, especially because there are two very distinct sounds happening: the more upbeat, traditional pop party tracks, and the sadgirl crying-after-the-club tracks that veer slightly experimental. Because of that split, there does seem to be an incompleteness or lack of commitment to the new sound that she’s introducing. The album gives a few tracks that feel a little too safe, signs that Camilla hasn’t completely abandoned the more natural progression from her traditional pop roots. Since I prefer the new sound to the old, I wish I could have heard more of what 2024, mumble rap, Miami coded, hip-hyper-pop influenced Camilla had to bring to the table, however, I’m glad I took the time to finally get acquainted with her artistry. Thanks for now and until next time: TTYL C,XOXO.

Rating: 7/10

If you like C,XOXO, I’d recommend listening to BB/ANG3L by Tinashe, Clarity by Kim Petras, and Sunshine Kitty by Tove Lo