Camila Cabello has revealed why she left girl group Fifth Harmony.
In an interview with The New York Times, Cabello explained that her first solo collaboration in 2015 with Canadian pop singer Shawn Mendes caused tension within the group.
“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,” she explained. “I just wanted to do that and it did not work.”
Cabello added that she was eventually given an ultimatum after things got even more awkward when she began attending writing sessions with producers like Diplo, Benny Blanco and Cashmere Cat.
“It became clear that it was not possible to do solo stuff and be in the group at the same time, if anyone wants to explore their individuality, it’s not right for people to tell you no,” she added.
The “Havana” singer intended to work on a solo album while remaining a member of Fifth Harmony, but the group allegedly shut her out.
Cabello left Fifth Harmony, which was formed in 2012 on the U.S. edition of X-Factor, in December 2016.
During the MTV Video Music Awards last year, Fifth Harmony kicked off their performance with a not-so-subtle dig at Cabello – a silhouette of a fifth member was dramatically pulled offstage.
“It definitely hurt my feelings,” Cabello recalled. “I wasn’t expecting it, I wasn’t prepared for it — especially because at that point I’d moved on from it. I was just like, ‘What? Why?’
“I have to make space for the good stuff to happen in my life. I don’t like holding onto the past, especially when it’s stuff that, in my opinion, is just petty.”
Despite the hurdles the young pop singer faced during her transformation into a solo artist, Cabello’s breakout single “Havana” has become the longest running female No. 1 single since Adele’s “Someone Like You” in 2011.
Cabello’s debut solo album Camila was released on Friday.