Camila Cabello gets some collaboration love for her new album “C,XOXO”: Review

Just as spring was beginning to bloom, it developed into one of the biggest diva seasons in pop history – from Ariana Grande’s “Eternal Flame” and Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” to Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department”, Dua Lipa’s “Radical Optimism” and Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft”.

But at the beginning of summer, there is no sign of diva fever abating: Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams and Chappell Roan provide feminine warmth.

And let’s not forget Camila Cabello, who is back on Friday with her new album “C,XOXO.” It’s her fourth album since leaving Fifth Harmony as a solo artist – and how the hell did that happen? Didn’t she just disband the group?

Well, since then she hasn’t exactly become the next Beyoncé.

But don’t get me wrong: She still had hits like “Havana,” which hit No. 1 in 2017, and “Señorita,” another chart-topping single she had with Shawn Mendes when they were together.

And on her new LP, Cabello collaborates with everyone from Playboi Carti (on the trap opener “I Luv It”) to Lil Nas X (on the electro-popping “He Knows”) to former City Girls JT and Yung Miami (on the reggaeton jam “Dream-Girls”).

But the top guest is Drake, who appears on not one but two tracks. And my thing is their song “Hot Uptown” – it’s really hot, guys.

It takes you back to the house vibes of Drake’s 2022 album “Honestly, Nevermind” and almost reminds me a little of his “Take Care” collaboration with Rihanna. And there’s even a hint of the Afrobeats bliss of Tyla’s “Water.”

There are other bops on the album, but also ballads—she’s generally weaker on the latter, although she shows some vocal ability when she slows it down on “BOAT” (which stands for “best of all time”).

But despite its overall solidity, the album feels a bit disjointed—and Cabello doesn’t have the unique vocal beastliness of a Christina Aguilera to hold it all together.

And as far as chart targets go, I don’t hear another “Havana” or “Señorita” here.

Still, Camila gets a few XOXOs from me.