Then and now: Camila Cabello goes from girl group to superstar solo artist

Camila Cabello can’t be stopped! The 21-year-old Cuban-American singer-songwriter’s star has been steadily on the rise, and we can’t get her catchy songs out of our heads. Cabello signed her first record deal in 2012 as part of the girl group Fifth Harmony. The ladies came in third on the talent competition show The X Factor, and for Cabello, that was just the beginning. After four years, she parted ways with the group and is now enjoying superstar success as a solo act. When her self-titled debut album dropped in January, it instantly broke records, soaring to No. 1 on iTunes in more than 100 countries in just under 24 hours. She also did the unthinkable, becoming the first singer in 15 years to hold the No. 1 spot both for her song “Havana” and for her album Camila. Beyoncé had achieved that way back in 2003, with the release of her song “Crazy in Love” and album titled Dangerously in Love. It's been an incredible year for Cabello and her career. Her first single, “Havana,” a megahit, was named Spotify’s most-streamed song. She’s the first solo Latina artist to make that Spotify record. Wait, there’s more: The tune spent seven weeks on the Pop Songs chart — the longest reign for a female artist since Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” claimed top honors in 2013. The achievements keep on coming. Cabello recently received two 2019 Grammy nominations: Pop Solo Performance and Pop Vocal Album. In the Album category, she's up against Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes and P!nk.