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Havana (Camila Cabello song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Havana
| cover = Havana (featuring Young Thug) (Official Single Cover) by Camila Cabello.png
| alt = Left profile picture of Camila Cabello with disheveled brown hair, in front of a bright red background.
| type = single
| artist = Camila Cabello featuring Young Thug
| album = Camila
| released =
| | studio = *NightBird (West Hollywood)
*Westlake (West Hollywood)
*TwentyNine Lions (Studio City)
*Larrabee (North Hollywood)
*Mastering Place (New York City)
| genre = *Latin
*pop
| length =
| label = *Epic
*Syco
| writer = *Camila Cabello
*Jeffery Williams
*Brittany Hazzard
*Pharrell Williams
*Adam Feeney
*Brian Lee
*Ali Tamposi
*Andrew Watt
*Louis Bell
*Kaan Gunesberk
| producer = Frank Dukes
| chronology = Camila Cabello
| prev_title = Know No Better
| prev_year = 2017
| next_title = Never Be the Same
| next_year = 2017
| misc =
}}
"'Havana'" is a song recorded by Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello featuring guest vocals from American rapper Young Thug. It was released on August 3, 2017, along with "OMG", from her solo debut album, 'Camila' (2018). It was initially released as a promotional single, then was serviced to radio on September 8, 2017, as a single. Due to its rising success, "Havana" later became the official lead single of 'Camila', replacing "Crying in the Club". In November 2017, a remix version of the song with Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee was uploaded to Cabello's YouTube page. The first verse of the remix is sung in Spanish while Daddy Yankee replaces Young Thug's verse.
"Havana" received critical acclaim with music critics calling the song "sultry" and "bouncy". "Havana" peaked at the top of the 'Billboard' Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Havana" topped the charts in 23 countries worldwide, including Australia, Canada, Chile, France, and the United Kingdom. It is certified Diamond in six countries. Its music video, directed by Dave Meyers, shows Cabello playing herself as Karla, as well as a telenovela actress and a film protagonist. It won the Video of the Year award at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, receiving three other nominations. A vertical video, directed by Sam Lecca, was released on November 10, 2017, on Cabello's official Vevo account. The clip shows the singer and several dancers in the New York City Subway. The clip was previously a Spotify exclusive.
Cabello performed "Havana" at several award shows, including the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards, the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards, and the 2018 'Billboard' Music Awards. In September 2018, Cabello released a live version of the song featuring her solo performance. The live version of the song would later be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. It was the best-selling digital single of 2018 according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), with equivalent sales of 19 million units worldwide.
"Havana" was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in October 2021 for selling 10,000,000 units, making Cabello the first Hispanic singer to achieve this milestone.
Composition
"Havana" is a salsa-inspired mid-tempo pop and Latin song with R&B-pop beats, on which Cabello embraces her Cuban heritage. Cabello sings the chorus over Latin-influenced piano riffs and rhythm, with the melody's chord progression constantly switching between GmED7 and GmEmaj7D7. It has the same slinky, snap-accented intro as "Same Old Love" by Selena Gomez, released two years before. Camila's vocals span from the low note of G3 to the high note of D5. Sadie Bell of 'Billboard' interpreted the line "Half of my heart is in Havana" as the song chronicling "a romance that found Cabello's heart left down south", while for 'Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos said that in the "clubby, smooth" track, Cabello falls in love with "a mysterious suitor from East Atlanta", though she has left her heart in her hometown. Young Thug performs a sing-song verse over the "bouncy" piano. 'Rap-Up' described the song as a "Latin fusion", and 'XXL' called it a "straightforward pop track". The second verse featuring Young Thug is replaced with the original lyrics sung by Cabello.
Critical reception
Jamieson Cox of 'Pitchfork' regarded the "sultry, salsa-inflected" song as a "keystone for a superstar origin story." Writing for 'Billboard', Sadie Bell said that the "sexy" track radiates a "Latin flare". Similarly, Much's Allison Bowsher opined the track "arrives just in time to keep the summer heat going on the radio." Raise Bruner of 'Time' wrote that "Havana" "hits a freshly sultry note that we hope to see more of in her debut album." Peter Berry of 'XXL' felt that Young Thug's verse "blends with the bouncy piano perfectly." 'Billboard' considered it the 19th best song released in 2017, with Lyndsey Havens writing that the song "didn't arrive like a breakthrough hit, but it ended up changing the entire course" of Cabello's solo career, as she "sheds the weight that came with trying to prove herself outside of her former girl group and clears a path to finally be herself." Popjustice ranked it 19th, while 'The Fader' ranked it 48th. Stephen Kearse of 'Complex', which ranked the song 28th, wrote: "Warm, bouncy, nostalgic, and sweaty, 'Havana' builds a one-night stand into a pulsating fever dream that blurs reality and fantasy", praising Cabello's "layered vocals" and Young Thug's presence.
Accolades
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|+Year-end lists
|-
! Publication
! List
! Rank
! class="unsortable"|
|-
| 'Billboard'
| The 100 Best Songs of 2017
|
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| 'Complex'
| The 50 Best Songs of 2017
|
|
|-
| 'The Fader'
| The 101 Best Songs of 2017
|
|
|-
| 'The Philadelphia Inquirer'
| The Best Songs of 2017
|
|
|-
| Popjustice
| The Top 45 Singles of 2017
|
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|-
| rowspan="2" | 'Stereogum'
| The Top 40 Pop Songs of 2017
|
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|-
| The 50 Best Music Videos of 2017
|
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|}
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|+Decade-end lists
|-
! Publication
! List
! Rank
! class="unsortable"|
|-
|'Billboard'
| The 100 Songs That Defined the Decade
|
|
|-
| 'Elle'
| The 52 Best Songs That Defined The 2010s
|
|
|-
|'Paste'
| The 100 Best Songs of 2010s
|
|
|}
Chart performance
In the United Kingdom, "Havana" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 53 on the chart dated August 11, 2017. It rose to number two in its ninth week, behind only Post Malone's "Rockstar" featuring 21 Savage. On November 3, it reached number one, giving Cabello and Young Thug their first UK number-one single. It then held the top position for five weeks before falling behind Ed Sheeran's "Perfect".
In October 2017, the single reached number seven on the US 'Billboard' Hot 100 in its twelfth week, becoming Cabello's second top 10 entry as a solo artist and Young Thug's first. In January 2018, "Havana" reached number one on the Hot 100 for one week after spending seven non-consecutive weeks occupying the number two spot behind both Post Malone and 21 Savage's "Rockstar" for five weeks and Ed Sheeran and Beyonc's "Perfect Duet" for an additional two weeks, becoming both Cabello and Young Thug's first song to top the chart. The song took 23 weeks to reach the top spot, equaling the longest climb for a female artist with Sia's "Cheap Thrills" (2016) and Patti Austin's "Baby, Come to Me" (19821983). Cabello became the third artist in chart history to top both the Hot 100 and 'Billboard' 200 for their first time in the same week, after Britney Spears and Beyonc did so in 1999 and 2003, respectively. The song has also been certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Havana" became the ninth song to top the Mainstream Top 40, Rhythmic and Adult Top 40 airplay chartsover the 22 years that all three charts have coexisted.
"Havana" reached number one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart in its twelfth week on the chart, becoming Cabello's first number-one song, including during her time as part of Fifth Harmony. It held the summit for three weeks before also being displaced by "Perfect".
The song became Spotify's most-streamed song ever by a solo female artist in June 2018, with more than one billion streams at the time.
Music video
Background
Cabello shared a 26-second preview of the short film for "Havana" on October 22, 2017, through her YouTube channel. The video featured appearances by Lele Pons as Bella, LeJuan James as Abuelita, Noah Centineo as Cabello's love interest, Marco DelVecchio as the twins Juan and Rodrigo and Mikey Pesante as the dancer. It was directed by Dave Meyers and was released on October 24, 2017. Young Thug also appears in the video.Synopsis
writer.The main song starts late but the music video starts with Karla, played by Cabello, watching a telenovela, before being interrupted by her grandmother, who turns off the TV and advises her to live her life instead of spending her days indoors. Karla then leaves the house to go see a movie. The film she is watching, called 'Camila in Havana', takes the form of a music video, starring a version of herself wearing a fringe-covered red dress and performing at a club. Aside from appearing as Karla, Cabello also plays the telenovela actress and the movie protagonist. After the film ends, she leaves the cinema and stumbles across a cyclist, also the male protagonist of the film, and begins dancing with him.
Reception
Tom Breihan of 'Stereogum', which ranked the song 28th of 50 best music videos of 2017, reviewed on December 18, 2017: "Camila Cabello is going to be a movie star one day, and she might still never deliver a better performance than the one she gives in this multiple-role video."It received four nominations at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards, for Video of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Video, and Best Choreography, winning the first.
As of November 25, 2021, the video has received more than 1 billion views on YouTube, while the audio track has over 1.8 billion views, a total of 2.8 billion.
Live performances
Cabello performed the song for the first time on television on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' on September 25, 2017. The same week she performed on 'The Today Show', where she delivered a message to "all the dreamers" in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. On October 27, Cabello performed a Spanglish version of the song at the Latin American Music Awards. She also performed the song at the BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards, LOS40 Music Awards iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, and the MTV Europe Music Awards. Her performance at the MTV EMAs was ranked as the best of the night by 'Billboard' writer Joe Lynch. Her performance at 'Billboard' Women in Music was the stripped-down version of the song, backed only by a guitar, keyboard and light drumming. It was also performed at 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve' in 2017, and later she gave a cabaret-style performance on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' during the album release week. She gave a performance inspired by Marilyn Monroe's 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' role and Madonna's "Material Girl" music video at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards with Young Thug. Cabello performed the song with Ricky Martin, J Balvin, Young Thug and Arturo Sandoval as the opening act at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in February 2019. On May 28, 2022, Cabello performed the song in the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final.
Awards and nominations
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
!Year
!Organization
!Award
!Result
!
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="11"|2018
|rowspan="3"|American Music Awards
|Collaboration of the Year
|
|rowspan="3"|
|-
|Video of the Year
|
|-
|Favorite Pop/Rock Song
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|MTV Europe Music Awards
|Best Song
|
|rowspan="2"|
|-
|Best Video
|
|-
|rowspan="4"|MTV Video Music Awards
|Video of the Year
|
|rowspan="4"|
|-
|Song of the Year
|
|-
|Best Pop Video
|
|-
|Best Choreography
|
|-
|Radio Disney Music Awards
|Song of the Year
|
|
|-
|Teen Choice Awards
|Choice Song: Female Artist
|
|
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|2019
|ASCAP Latin Awards
|Award-winning songs
"Havana (Remix)"
|
|
|-
|Grammy Awards
|Best Pop Solo Performance
"Havana (Live)"
|
|
|-
|}
Track listing
*'Digital download'
#"Havana" (featuring Young Thug) 3:36
*'Digital download Daddy Yankee remix'
#"Havana" (Remix) with Daddy Yankee 3:19
*'Digital download original version'
#"Havana" (No Rap Version) 2:54
*'Digital download live version'
#"Havana" (Live) 4:08
*'CD single'
#"Havana" (featuring Young Thug) 3:36
#"Havana" (Remix) with Daddy Yankee 3:19
Credits and personnel
Credits from the liner notes of 'Camila' and adapted from Jaxsta.
Studio recording
* Camila Cabello's vocals recorded at NightBird Recording Studios (West Hollywood, California)* Young Thug's vocals recorded at Westlake Recording Studios (West Hollywood, California)
* Camila Cabello's vocals produced at TwentyNine Lions (Studio City, California)
* Mixed at Larrabee Sound Studios (North Hollywood, California)
* Mastered at The Mastering Place (New York City)
Personnel
'Performance'*Camila Cabello lead vocals
* Young Thug guest vocals
* Pharrell Williams background vocals
* Starrah background vocals
*Frank Dukes piano, bass, programming
*Kaan Gunesberk keyboards
*Serafin Aguilar trumpet
*Tom Moffett trumpet
*Leland Whitty saxophone
'Production and songwriting'
* Frank Dukes production, songwriting
* Matt Beckley vocal production, songwriting
*Camila Cabello songwriting
*Kaan Gunesberk songwriting
* Brian Lee songwriting
* Starrah songwriting
* Ali Tamposi songwriting
* Andrew Watt songwriting
*Pharrell Williams songwriting
* Young Thug songwriting
'Technical'
* Martin Gray recording
* Mike Gaydusek recording
* Robbie Soukiasyan recording
* Kyle Mann recording
* Marco Falcone assistant recording
* Sean Madden assistant recording
* Henry Guevara assistant recording
* Jaycen Joshua mixing
* David Nakaji assistant mixing
* Ivan Jimenez assistant mixing
* Dave Kutch mastering
Live version
Credits adapted from Tidal. 'Note: Click to view credits.'* Camila Cabello vocals
* Ryan Cecil recording
* Michelle Mancini mastering
* Serban Ghenea mixing
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"|+Weekly chart performance for "Havana"
! scope="col"| Chart (20172020)
! scope="col"| Peak
position
|-
! scope="row"| Argentina (Monitor Latino)
| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Belgium R&B/Hip-Hop (Ultratop Flanders)
| 1
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Bolivia (Monitor Latino)
| 5
|-
! scope="row"| Brazil Airplay ('Billboard Brasil')
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| Bulgaria (PROPHON)
| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Chile (Monitor Latino)
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| Colombia (Monitor Latino)
| 9
|-
! scope="row"| Colombia (National-Report)
| 8
|-
! scope="row"| Costa Rica (Monitor Latino)
| 3
|-
! scope="row"| Croatia (HRT)
| 2
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Dominican Republic (Monitor Latino)
| 19
|-
! scope="row"| Dominican Republic (SODINPRO)
| 43
|-
! scope="row"| Ecuador (National-Report)
| 7
|-
! scope="row"| El Salvador (Monitor Latino)
| 2
|-
! scope="row"| Euro Digital Songs ('Billboard')
| 1
|-
|-
! scope="row"| France (SNEP)
| 1
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Greece Digital Songs ('Billboard')
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| Guatemala (Monitor Latino)
| 5
|-
! scope="row"| Honduras (Monitor Latino)
| 5
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Iceland (Tonlist)
| 2
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Israel (Media Forest)
| 1
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Japan (Japan Hot 100)
| 10
|-
! scope="row"| Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20)
| 4
|-
! scope="row"| Luxembourg Digital Songs ('Billboard')
| 2
|-
! scope="row"| Malaysia (RIM)
| 2
|-
! scope="row"| Mexico (Monitor Latino)
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| Mexico Airplay ('Billboard')
| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Nicaragua (Monitor Latino)
| 9
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Panama (Monitor Latino)
| 3
|-
! scope="row"| Paraguay (Monitor Latino)
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| Peru (Monitor Latino)
| 10
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Romania (Airplay 100) 'Note: User may scroll down the 'Podcasturi' menu to play or download the respective podcast.'
| 1
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Serbia (Radiomonitor)
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| Singapore (RIAS)
| 2
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Slovenia (SloTop50)
| 1
|-
! scope="row"| South Korea (Gaon)
| 6
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Uruguay (Monitor Latino)
| 1
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"| Venezuela (National-Report)
| 6
|-
! scope="row"| Venezuela (Record Report)
| 54
|}
Monthly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
Release history
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+List of release dates, showing region, release format(s), version(s), label(s) and reference(s)
! scope="col"| Region
! scope="col"| Date
! scope="col"| Format(s)
! scope="col"| Version(s)
! scope="col"| Label(s)
! scope="col"|
|-
! scope="row"| Various
| August 3, 2017
|
| rowspan="4"| Original
|
|
|-
! scope="row"| Italy
| September 8, 2017
| rowspan="2"| Contemporary hit radio
| Sony
|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| United States
| rowspan="2"| October 3, 2017
| rowspan="2"| Epic
|
|-
| Rhythmic contemporary radio
|
|-
! scope="row"| Various
| November 12, 2017
| rowspan="3"|
| Daddy Yankee remix
| rowspan="3"|
|
|-
! scope="row"| France
| rowspan="2"| November 24, 2017
| rowspan="2"| Original
|
|-
! scope="row"| United States
|
|-
! scope="row"| Germany
| December 15, 2017
| CD single
|
| Sony
|
|-
! scope="row"| Various
| September 21, 2018
|
| Live
|
|
|}
See also
* List of best-selling singles worldwide by year
* List of 'Billboard' Hot 100 number-one singles of 2018
* List of 'Billboard' Digital Song Sales number-one singles of 2017
* List of 'Billboard' Radio Songs number-one singles of 2017
* List of 'Billboard' Streaming Songs number-one singles of 2018
* List of 'Billboard' Adult Top 40 number-one songs of 2018
* List of 'Billboard' Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2017
* List of 'Billboard' Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2018
* List of 'Billboard' Rhythmic number-one songs of 2018
* List of 'Billboard' Dance/Mix Show Airplay number-one songs of 2017
* List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2017
* List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2018
* List of UK Singles Chart number ones of 2017
* List of number-one hits of 2018 (France)
* List of airplay number-one hits of the 2010s (Argentina)
* List of number-one singles of 2017 (Australia)
* List of number-one digital tracks of 2017 (Australia)
* List of number-one digital tracks of 2018 (Australia)
* List of number-one singles of 2017 (Ireland)
* List of number-one songs of 2017 (Mexico)
* List of number-one singles of 2017 (Poland)
* List of number-one singles of 2018 (Portugal)
* List of number-one singles of 2017 (Scotland)
* List of number-one singles of 2017 (Slovenia)
* List of number-one international songs of 2018 (South Korea)
* List of best-selling singles in South Korea by year
References
Category:2017 songs
Category:2017 singles
Category:Camila Cabello songs
Category:Young Thug songs
Category:Daddy Yankee songs
Category:Songs written by Camila Cabello
Category:Songs written by Young Thug
Category:Songs written by Pharrell Williams
Category:Songs written by Frank Dukes
Category:Songs written by Starrah
Category:Songs written by Ali Tamposi
Category:Songs written by Brian Lee (songwriter)
Category:Songs written by Andrew Watt (record producer)
Category:Songs written by Louis Bell
Category:Songs written by Daddy Yankee
Category:Spanglish songs
Category:Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director)
Category:Number-one singles in France
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Number-one singles in Romania
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Greece
Category:Number-one singles in Argentina
Category:Number-one singles in Hungary
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Israel
Category:Number-one singles in Poland
Category:Number-one singles in Portugal
Category:Number-one singles in Scotland
Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Songs about cities
Category:Songs about Cuba
Category:Torch songs
Category:MTV Video of the Year Award
Category:Song recordings produced by Frank Dukes
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