Former Fifth harmony member Camila Cabello teased our musical taste buds with a sprinkle of tropical flavour this year, with the release of her worldwide banger, Havana!
Havana was one of a few songs in the charts this year that carried class as well as sass. For those readers who are also coffee lovers, will understand my comparison of Camila’s rich and smooth voice on this track to a cup of Nespresso’s delicate, velvety layered coffees. I carefully use the word ‘layered’ because of Camila’s voice on this track, along with other popular tracks, such as OMG, and Bad Things featuring Machine Gun Kelly. They each possess distinctive characteristics such as raspy ad-libs and passionately sultry vocals which complement her smooth vocals nicely.
Camila, originally from Cuba, took her roots and culture to create a composition that grasps elements of tropical music, along with hip-hop beats (and rappers), and Latin flavour. These elements come together nicely to create a sultry, Hispanic vibe for listeners to bop to.
This was Camila’s second single as a solo artist to date and features Young Thug, whose distinct rapping style and vocals add Cuban/Carribean style to the track. Then we have ad-libs and writing credits by Starrah, who has recently completed a project with Diplo which you should go and check out. And also, none other than Pharrell Williams who also helped produce the song with the help of Frank Dukes! In an interview
Camila admitted that she ‘tricked’ Pharrell into adding his vocals to the single by making him give examples of some ad-libs, then using them for the official track. Sneaky but we love those ad-libs.
It goes without saying that the composition and vocal arrangement was packed with star-studded artists and talented musicians. Camila has recorded over three versions of Havana, including one in Spanish, which we are yet to hear. Given the long list of names, it is obvious that Camila’s single Havana was simply a 2017 banger!
Watch the hilarious video below:
Editor/Author of Music Content: Sharna Bains