Camila Cabello’s Steamy ‘Havana’ Video is This Week’s Guilty Pleasure By Lisa Beebe
Cuban American pop singer Camila Cabello left the girl group Fifth Harmony at the end of 2016 to focus on her solo career, and so far, she’s doing just fine on her own. Cabello’s second single, “Havana,” has been streamed more than 200 million times on Spotify. The music video was released today, and it seems likely to make the song an even bigger hit.
In the “Havana” video, Cabello plays a shy homebody who watches telenovelas and romantic movies, envisioning herself in the main character’s place. The video features two social media stars—Lele Pons as her sassy older sister and LeJuan James as her abuelita. The highlight is a dream sequence in which Cabello dances in a Cuban club wearing a red, fringed minidress as Young Thug performs on stage. On Instagram, Cabello has been promoting the music video as #HAVANAtheMovie, and it’s not an exaggeration—the video is funnier and sexier than most romantic comedies these days and at only six-and-a-half minutes, it’s easier to watch.
“Havana” was directed by Dave Meyers, whose previous music videos include Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” and Katy Perry’s “Swish Swish.”
The video ends with an on-screen dedication to “the Dreamers.” At a Today show performance last month, Cabello, whose family lived in Havana and Mexico City before moving to Miami when she was five, voiced her support for people affected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. She told the audience, “This is America, the America we love, where no matter your race, your color, your beliefs or where you came from, if you have a dream, you can make it possible.”
Cabello is expected to release her first solo album, tentatively titled The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving. later this year.