Why Camila Cabello Doesn’t Go By Her Real Name
Camila Cabello is a singer and songwriter, who rose to fame in 2012 as a member of the popular girl group Fifth Harmony. Cabello has released multiple hit singles and is well known for her impressive vocal range.
While in recent years, she has become infamous for her relationship with fellow singer Shawn Mendes, for her fans, she will always be a shining musical star. A celebrity who has won multiple awards, Cabello might have a distinct name — but at birth, she was given a slightly more understated moniker.
When did Camila Cabello become a star?
Cabello was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1997. As a child, Cabello and her family moved frequently, spending time in both Cuba and Mexico.
At the age of five, Cabello and her mother moved to Miami, Florida, where she began attending school. By the time she reached ninth grade, she knew that she wanted to pursue a career in music, and dropped out of high school that year.
In 2012, Cabello auditioned for the reality competition show The X Factor. While her initial solo audition wasn’t successful, she was eventually paired with fellow contestants Ally Brooke, Normani, Lauren Jauregui, and Dinah Jane to form the girl group Fifth Harmony.
Camila Cabello is well known for her romance with Shawn Mendes
For the next four years, Cabello toured and performed with Fifth Harmony, releasing popular songs like “Work From Home.”
Around 2016, Cabello established herself as a solo artist, and later that year, she decided to leave Fifth Harmony in order to pursue her own musical ventures. Her debut studio album was released in 2018, spawning the hit single “Havana,” which became an international chart-topper.
In the years since her breakout as a solo star, Cabello has made headlines not only for her music but for her romance with Shawn Mendes. While some critics have slammed their relationship as “fake,” the two have been together for several years, since confirming their romance in the summer of 2019.
Why doesn’t Camila Cabello go by her name at birth?
While millions of fans know the musical superstar called Camila Cabello, her given name is actually Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao. She changed up her name when she first started singing professionally, choosing to use her middle name as her stage name.
The decision to change her stage name was a natural one. As Cabello explained in a behind-the-scenes interview for her “Havana” music video: “Karla’s my first name…Camila is my middle name…My family always called me Camila, but when I came to school in the United States, I was really, really shy, and the teacher started calling me Karla.”
Cabello explained that she was too shy to correct the teacher at that time and that it took a while before she was truly able to embrace her identity – and when she did, it was with the name Camila.
“In my life, I’ve pushed myself to do a lot of things that have made me uncomfortable…I feel like I found myself through Camila, and performance, and through music,” the young artist stated.
Certainly, Cabello has carved out her own unique identity in the world of music, and it is likely that she will be around for decades to come, shining a light on her experiences and ideas.
