Camila Cabello

“Havana” (feat. Young Thug) & “OMG” (feat. Quavo)

[Double Feature]

(Single Review)

.

.

Are you ready for an ultimate dance fiesta?

.

Former Fifth Harmony member Camila Cabello shocked the world late 2016 when she announced she would be leaving one of the biggest girl groups in music. Already teaming up as a solo artist with Shawn Mendes and Machine Gun Kelly during her girl group days, there was no denying that the X Factor’s rising star had solo potential to break free and make it on her own.

The release of her first individual solo single Crying in the Club dropped in May 2017, along with a music video that had her emotional promotional single I Have Questions open up the clip. The two songs worked extremely well with the elements of the music video and the young starlet had proven that she has what it takes to run the show by herself with both tracks charting globally.

Following the release of her first solo tracks, Camila is back once again to release two new promotional Havana featuring Young Thug and OMG featuring Quavo as a double feature, with an anticipated movie length music video to drop soon. As both tracks sound pretty similar, I can understand the connection between the two to release them as a joint package. These tracks are also expected to be included in Camila’s first debut solo album The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving. later in 2017.

.

.

Listening to Havana for the first time, I instantly got a slow and sensual latin vibe that had me intrigued straight away. The repetitive opening lyrics to the track will immediately get stuck in your head with singer and producer Pharrell harmonising in the background vocals as well. The instrumental has a serious latin/hip hop feel to it, which kind of makes you feel like you’re drifting away to a tropical island. Camila sings about a relationship she formed with a man in Havana, coming to the conclusion that she left her heart back in those memories. She reminisces about the love she felt in this place, yearning to be taken back.

.

“All of my heart is in Havana, there’s somethin’ ’bout his manners”

.

Young Thug responds to Camila’s lyrics by acknowledging the fact that he knows he’s made an impact on this girl. Although the lyrics portray that both artists are charmed with one another, there is a distinct realisation that Camila is blinded by the relationship as Young Thug’s lyrics make him sound in control. I love the spicy story the two artists have created throughout track and you can definitely tell there’s chemistry between them. Towards the end of the track, the instrumental features instruments such as the trumpet that really pushes the track to be different to many other pop culture songs released in 2017.

.

.

It was then time to listen to OMG, which surprisingly sounds extremely similar to Havana. However, once I listened to the song entirely, they both have a completely different purpose. The song begins extremely racy as Camila sings with a playful tone in her voice. The instrumental starts of quite tame and then as soon as the chorus arrives, the beat drops and I was ready to dance. She sings about being extremely confident in her position and how she knows her stance is irresistible. She then returns the favour and uses the chorus to compliment the way a certain individual is dancing and moving their body, making her literally say “OMG”.

.

“Ice cold like my drink, lose your concentration when you take a sip”

.

Quavo then returns the compliments as he sings about his fascination with Camila and how he’s extremely intrigued by her actions and movements. He then has a slight change in tone, emphasizing the fact that he knows he definitely has an erotic effect on Camila. Although the song is very fast paced and playful, the two artists mesh incredibly well together as their similar vocal ranges bounce off one another perfectly. The instrumental praises their vocal abilities as well as it tends to drop in and out on important parts of the track, putting a focus on certain lyrics.

.

.

After listening to both these new tracks, it’s exciting to see a change in Camila’s solo progress from emotional powerhouse ballads to flirty dance beats, proving the fact that she has a wide range of versatility to bring. Although both tracks are both quite similar in terms of instrumental, vibe and lyrics, there is definitely a separation in terms of vocals as Camila uses her typical high notes in Havana where as she moderates a consistent lower tone in OMG. If these two tracks are already making me want to get up and dance, I can’t wait to see what the movie length music video is going to bring with this double feature. Overall, a continuing success for Camila as she proves to the world she’s got what it takes to create her own career.

.

Needing a few new weekend jams to get the party started? Camila Cabello has got you covered.

.

.

Connect with Camila Cabello

Website     Twitter     Facebook     YouTube     Instagram

.

AMNPLIFY – DB