I first heard C,XOXO, the 2024 album from Camila Cabello, four months before its official release. Tasked with writing her PAPER cover story, I had only three days to digest the project. I listened ravenously, feeling as confounded by its eclectic, digitized sonic choices as I was charmed by its raw earnestness. I predicted then that the world would eventually come to understand the record, though my initial assessment proved premature. It turns out that Camila Cabello was simply ahead of the curve.

The album was presented as a hard pivot, moving away from the radio-friendly polish of hits like “Havana” and “Señorita.” Instead, C,XOXO is rooted in the sounds of her Miami hometown, blending hip-hop, Miami bass, reggaeton, and urbano music. It is a dense, sample-heavy project that functions as a sonic collage, featuring nods to artists ranging from Ojerime to Pitbull. For listeners accustomed to her previous output, the shift was jarring, and the album’s commercial performance suffered as a result.

A Reconsideration of the ‘C,XOXO’ Sound

Two years later, the cultural tide has turned. The album has proven to have a remarkable staying power, remaining a fixture in pop discourse. From viral TikTok defenses to high-profile endorsements from figures like Charli XCX’s creative director Terrence O’Connor, the record is finally being viewed through a more appreciative lens. Even when Camila Cabello began working with Aaron Dessner, fans were quick to express concern that she might abandon the unique, experimental sound she cultivated on this project.

The current pop landscape is far more receptive to the kind of referential, collage-style music that C,XOXO pioneered. We see this in the success of artists like Adéla, whose recent work utilizes similar pitched-down samples and chant-like choruses, and Slayyyter, whose album WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA embraces a similarly confident, genre-hopping approach. What was once dismissed as artistic insecurity is now recognized as a bold, creative confidence.

Embracing the Messiness of Pop

Perhaps the most significant shift is the industry’s newfound reverence for a certain “messiness” in pop music. While Brat dominated the conversation in 2024 with its polished, sturdy production, C,XOXO offers a different kind of appeal. It is charmingly awkward and far less self-aware, capturing the raw, stumbling reality of coming of age. Tracks like “Chanel No. 5” exemplify this, with its warped piano and Auto-Tune-heavy vocals that feel like a candid, free-flowing conversation.

If you haven’t yet given the album a fair chance, our current pop moment serves as the perfect impetus to revisit it. C,XOXO is a project that rewards the listener for their patience, offering a fresh, honest perspective that feels more relevant today than ever before.