<p>Barely 22, Cuban-American superstar Camila Cabello, powerhouse Latina, and yes, pop sensation Shawn Mendes’ current girlfriend, has had the year of her life.</p>.<p>While last year she won four of the five categories she was nominated in, at the American Music Awards, this year, Señorita, her collaborative single with Mendes, has seeped through every playlist imaginable (<span class="italic">successfully forcing us to feature a pop song this week despite our vow not to)</span>.</p>.<p>Spotify declared it to be the most streamed global song of the year and it is now one of the longest running #1 on the global charts of both iTunes and Apple Music, among others.</p>.<p>What’s so special about Señorita that it has become such a heady addiction world over?</p>.<p>Yeah, it is about romance; it is gratuitously giddy, but it is also a tad ‘meta’ if you look beyond the cooing. And, of course, it is a wink-wink-nudge-nudge at her relationship with Mendes (every millennial worth her Gucci is stanning ‘Shawnmila’ now).</p>.<p>The song has also been included in Camila’s new album ‘Romance’, which, incidentally, has more explosive tracks than Señorita if one cares to listen.</p>.<p>Surprisingly enough, for such a young star, the album has deep writing and explores love in all its forms — its obsessive qualities, shamelessness, lust, toxicity and adventure. And yet, just like Camila herself, a Cuban-Mexican immigrant, who is quickly realising the value of publicly embracing her Latin roots, the songs are both about power and vulnerability. Just as love (and romance) is, is it not?</p>.<p><span class="bold">Play By Ear</span> <span class="italic">will showcase a potential earworm every week for you, the discerning listener, who is on the hunt for some musical serendipity and is keen to explore genres beyond pop and Bollywood.</span></p>
<p>Barely 22, Cuban-American superstar Camila Cabello, powerhouse Latina, and yes, pop sensation Shawn Mendes’ current girlfriend, has had the year of her life.</p>.<p>While last year she won four of the five categories she was nominated in, at the American Music Awards, this year, Señorita, her collaborative single with Mendes, has seeped through every playlist imaginable (<span class="italic">successfully forcing us to feature a pop song this week despite our vow not to)</span>.</p>.<p>Spotify declared it to be the most streamed global song of the year and it is now one of the longest running #1 on the global charts of both iTunes and Apple Music, among others.</p>.<p>What’s so special about Señorita that it has become such a heady addiction world over?</p>.<p>Yeah, it is about romance; it is gratuitously giddy, but it is also a tad ‘meta’ if you look beyond the cooing. And, of course, it is a wink-wink-nudge-nudge at her relationship with Mendes (every millennial worth her Gucci is stanning ‘Shawnmila’ now).</p>.<p>The song has also been included in Camila’s new album ‘Romance’, which, incidentally, has more explosive tracks than Señorita if one cares to listen.</p>.<p>Surprisingly enough, for such a young star, the album has deep writing and explores love in all its forms — its obsessive qualities, shamelessness, lust, toxicity and adventure. And yet, just like Camila herself, a Cuban-Mexican immigrant, who is quickly realising the value of publicly embracing her Latin roots, the songs are both about power and vulnerability. Just as love (and romance) is, is it not?</p>.<p><span class="bold">Play By Ear</span> <span class="italic">will showcase a potential earworm every week for you, the discerning listener, who is on the hunt for some musical serendipity and is keen to explore genres beyond pop and Bollywood.</span></p>