Romance

by Camila Cabello

Overview

Is there a name for the opposite of a break-up album? Because that's what Camila Cabello's sophomore effort Romance feels like: a record as bursting with ecstatic emotion and erotic desire as the exuberant delirium of having just fallen in love. It's a palpable vibe she put on display during her blush-inducing performance of the single "Senorita" with her duet partner (and boyfriend at the time) Shawn Mendes at the 2019 American Music Awards. The performance ended with Cabello and Mendes teasing a kiss, a bold move that left the audience excited for what the rest of Romance would hold. What Cabello does reveal on Romance is an artist continuing to refine her distinctive pop persona as she happens to be deep in the sway of love. Working with a respectable cadre of songwriters and producers including Andrew Watt, Finneas O'Connell, Justin Tranter, and others, Cabello digs deeper into her Cuban heritage with songs like the aforementioned "Senorita," the horn-accented "Liar," and the yearning "Used to This," that display her growing sense of maturity, balancing pop, reggae, and R&B flourishes with even more Latin embellishments. If 2018's Camila was about striking out on her own after leaving her former group Fifth Harmony, then Romance is about Cabello defining herself in the pop landscape and setting herself apart from contemporaries like Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, and Taylor Swift. Consequently, the album feels bigger in scope with a slicker pop production aesthetic than her charmingly pared down debut. There is one break-up song on the album in "Should've Said It," a defiantly steamy anthem in which Cabello reclaims her independence from a former flame against the backdrop of a Santana-esque guitar hook. She strikes an equally swaggering, rock-inflected stance elsewhere, leaning into her throaty, scritch-scratch vocals on "Shameless" and showcasing her knack for soaring falsetto balladry on "Living Proof." Along with catchy hooks, what makes Romance particularly compelling is Cabello's candor and willingness to share her experiences and emotions in striking detail. On "Easy" she sings, "I never like my crooked teeth/You tell me they're your favorite thing/Anything else?/The stretch marks all around my thighs/Kiss 'em 'till I change my mind about everything else." If Romance is an album about Cabello feeling loved and seen by someone else, it's just as much about her seeing and understanding herself as an artist. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	12/06/2019
Label:	Epic
UPC:	0194397089929

Tracks

1. Shameless
2. Living Proof
3. Should've Said It
4. Se¿¿orita
5. Liar
6. Bad Kind of Butterflies
7. Easy
8. Feel It Twice
9. Dream of You
10. Cry for Me
11. This Love
12. Used to This
13. First Man

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Camila Cabello   Primary Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Shawn Mendes   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Featured Artist
Mattman & Robin   Handclapping,Vocals (Background),Bass,Brass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion,Synthesizer
Patrick Kiernan   Violin
Emma Owens   Viola
Natalia Bonner   Violin
Sally Jackson   Violin
Frank Dukes   Bass,Percussion
Peter Noos Johansson   Trombone
Benny Blanco   Keyboards
Jane Oliver   Cello
Mattias Bylund   Horn Engineer
Tommy Danvers   Keyboards
Ellie Stanford   Violin
Rosie Danvers   Cello
Eleanor Mathieson   Violin
Hayley Pomfrett   Violin
Robin Fredriksson   Bass,Brass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion,Synthesizer,Handclapping,Vocals (Background)
Cashmere Cat   Keyboards
The Monsters & Strangerz   Keyboards
Andrew Watt   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Steve Morris   Violin
Meghan Cassidy   Viola
River Tiber   Guitar
Zara Benyounes   Violin
Matt Tavares   Guitar,Synthesizer
Finneas O'Connell   Bass,Piano,Synthesizer,Guitar (Electric)
DaBaby   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Jordan Reynolds   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Philip Constable   Composer
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
John Hanes   Mixing Engineer
Lionel Richie   Composer
Ryan Tedder   Composer
Nick Taylor   Engineer
Frank Dukes   Producer
Manny Marroquin   Mixing
Crystal Johnson   Composer
Benny Blanco   Producer,Programming,Instrumentation
Rush Hour   Producer
Mattias Bylund   Editing
Justin Tranter   Composer
Chris Galland   Mixing Assistant
Benjamin Levin   Composer
Paul Lamalfa   Engineer
Nathaniel Alford   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
David Kutch   Mastering
Amy Allen   Composer
Bart Schoudel   Engineer,Vocal Engineer,Vocal Producer
Anita Marisa Boriboon   Creative Director
Rosie Danvers   String Arrangements
Jeremy "J Boogs" Levin   Production Coordination
Andrew Wotman   Composer
Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg   Composer
Jonas Berggren   Composer
Mike Bozzi   Mastering
Jenny Berggren   Composer
Amy Wadge   Composer
Joey Arbagey   A&R
Jordan Johnson   Composer
Eric Frederic   Composer
Sam Roman   Composer
Mattias Larsson   Composer
Nate Mercereau   Composer,Producer
Stefan Johnson   Composer
Zubin Thakkar   Vocal Engineer
Charli XCX   Composer
Malin Berggren   Composer
Ali Tamposi   Composer
David Silberstein   Production Coordination
Christian Johnson   Production Coordination
Robin Fredriksson   Composer,Producer,Programming
Jon Bellion   Producer
Jonathan Bellion   Composer
Carter Lang   Composer,Producer
Adam Feeney   Composer
Dalia Glickman   A&R
Cashmere Cat   Producer,Programming,Instrumentation
Ricky Reed   Producer
John Graham Hill   Composer,Producer
Jack Patterson   Composer
Lindsay Gilbert   Composer
Matthew Tavares   Composer,Producer
Magnus August Hoiberg   Composer
ROMANS   Producer
The Monsters & Strangerz   Producer,Programming,Instrumentation
Andrew Watt   Producer,Programming,Instrumentation
Shawn Mendes   Composer
Mattman & Robin   Producer,Programming
Camila Cabello   Composer
River Tiber   Composer
Oliver Peterhof   Composer
DJ Hardwerk   Producer,Programming,Instrumentation
German   Producer,Programming,Instrumentation
Finneas O'Connell   Composer,Producer,Sound Design,Vocal Producer,Drum Programming
Dayyon Alexander   Composer
Jeff Shum   Composer
Amber Park   Design,Creative Director,Package Art Direction
Gregg Golterman   Production Coordination
Maryellen Devaux   A&R
Alana Truong   Design Assistant
Westen Weiss   Composer,Producer
Louis Bell   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Producer
Ryan Dulude   Engineer
Bella P. Santos   Design Assistant
Diego L. Rodriguez   Design Assistant
Dustin Park   Engineer