Camila Cabello Explains Why She Left Fifth Harmony - NME

Camila Cabello has explained why she left girl group Fifth Harmony, opening up about her departure little over a year later.

Fifth Harmony formed in 2012 during the US version of X-Factor, with Cabello remaining a member until she left the pop group in December 2016.

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Cabello releases her debut solo album ‘Camila’ on Friday (January 12). The record, which has so far been praised by critics, spawned the hit single ‘Havana’.

Speaking in a recent interview with the New York Times, Cabello explained that her 2015 solo collaboration with Shawn Mendes, ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’, caused tension among the group.

She also stated that when she asked to help write lyrics for Fifth Harmony songs, she was rebuffed.

Cabello “initially wanted to stay in the group while working on a solo album,” the report suggests, “but the other members shut her out instead”.

“I was just curious and I wanted to learn and I saw all these people around me making music, writing songs and being so free,” Cabello said. “I just wanted to do that and it did not work.”

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Cabello claimed to have been issued an ultimatum after attending writing sessions with producers like Diplo.

“It became clear that it was not possible to do solo stuff and be in the group at the same time,” she explained. “If anyone wants to explore their individuality, it’s not right for people to tell you no.”

Cabello’s hit ‘Havana’ recently became the longest running female No.1 single since Adele‘s ‘Someone Like You’. She is also tied with Katy Perry, Kesha and Taylor Swift for the second longest-running chart-topper this decade.

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NME‘s Nick Levine recently described Cabello’s debut album as a “strong and surprisingly confident first impression”.