Gone Girl

Camila Cabello Kicked Off Her Solo Career and Her Band Sisters in Fifth Harmony Unexpectedly Denounced Her for It. Now She’s Got a Top Five Single, a Much-anticipated Album Coming and Zero Second Thoughts: “you Have to Honor That Inner Voice”

- Chris Martins

CAMILA CABELLO IS LATE FOR BRUNCH. But not sullen, rock-star, hiding-behind shades late. More like 19-year-old, mixed-up-the-address late. She’s running through the dining room of Versailles, a Cuban restaurant deep in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, lush black hair streaming, apologies pouring forth, having just rushed from the other Versailles, in the city’s center. As soon as she sits on this mid-January Sunday morning, flashing that disarmingly broad smile, the singer — who was born in Cuba, resides in Miami and is staying in an Airbnb here in town — says, “I’ve got you on what we’re going to eat.” She then proceeds to order, in rapid-fire Spanish, a bounty of food: lemonades, steaks, rice, beans, plantains, croquettes, flan.

Confusion, stress, the promise of a splendid feast: That has pretty much been the story of Cabello’s recent life. It was only a month before this weekend that she was still a member of Fifth Harmony, the most successful girl group since Destiny’s Child, with more than 7 million digital songs sold, according to Nielsen Music. Before the year was out, she was a solo artist weathering accusations from her bandmates (namely, that she quit through her representatives after dodging a series of label interventions and therapy sessions) and even hate-tweets from zealous fans (see: #CamilaIsOverParty).