Now that Cabello has become a pop darling, it's easy to forget that she stumbled out of the gate with the underwhelming "Crying in the Club," her first single after the Fifth Harmony split. The pressure was on for Cabello to make a statement as a solo artist, but the dull dance track co-written by Sia never really caught on, peaking at No. 47 on the Billboard 100.
Cabello eventually ditched the song, leaving it off her album, Camila. Her manager, Roger Gold, told the New York Times: "The reality of that song is it doesn't feel or sound like Camila. The most important learning in this whole thing was that we were most successful when Camila trusted in her own instincts." Joey Arbagey, executive vice president of A&R at Epic Records, made similar remarks in the New York Post: "'Crying in the Club' was not Camila's absolute first choice of music to release. We were all very nervous about it."
Believe it or not, label higher ups also had major doubts about Cabello's next single, "Havana," according to producer Frank Dukes, but the song became a hit and gave her solo career the boost it needed. Crisis averted.
