Camila Cabello has a story full of courage from her professional to personal life.
The 20-year-old singer is now giving us a very private look at everything from the very beginning of her journey and navigates through the present day. YouTube is proud to present Cabello's Made in Miami, an Artist Spotlight Story created in collaboration with the star to tell her and her family's story of undeniable courage and determination to follow their dreams.
"Thank you to YouTube for supporting me on my journey and for putting together such an incredible documentary," Cabello says in a statement. "I'm so proud of my family and our story, and I hope it inspires others to believe in themselves and pursue their dreams. Thank you to everyone who contributed."
"We're beyond excited to work with Camila and be part of her journey of becoming a global superstar," said Lyor Cohen, YouTube's Global Head of Music. "Our Artist Spotlight Stories are intimate and personal portraits of artists that give them the unique opportunity to share these special moments with fans and Made In Miami is just that."
Made in Miami is directed by Tabitha Denholm and gives us insight into Camila's professional journey as well as her family's courageous pursuit of the American dream.
Here's everything we learned from watching Made in Miami:
1. At First, She Thought Being a Star Wasn't in the Cards for Her: "I remember growing up, I was singing, but there was no real possibility in my mind of this being a career choice," the "Havana" singer says.
2. Leaving Cuba Was Camila's Mother's Idea: Sinhue Estrabao said she knew she had to leave the island because she wanted to give her daughter a better life. All along, Estrabao told her daughter that they were going to Disneyworld, Camila was five years old at the time. They moved in with a family friend that took them in and Estrabao, who was an architect in Cuba, had to take multiple jobs in retail.
3. Singing Privately: The star's parents explain that they had never really heard their daughter sing when she was young because she was so shy. In the home videos, we see a very young Camila as she avoids the question of why she won't sing to them. Camila would wait until her parents were out of the house to then sing.
4. YouTube Changed Her: Although in the beginning, Camila kept her performances limited to her room but then it all changed once she started doing song covers and uploading them to YouTube. She says it gave her a lot of confidence.
5. Fifteen's Birthday Trip: What also changed the course of her life was attending the South Carolina auditions that she begged her parents to go to. Her parents didn't hesitate to go but instead made it a family trip to have other things to do, just in case Camila didn't make it. Oh, but she did!
6. She Opens Up About Her Time In Fifth Harmony: "When I was in the group, I experienced different things and grew a lot, but then it felt like I had new things to talk about," she explains. "I think for me, as an artist, the only way to feel good is to make stuff that you love. But I got to this place where I couldn't express how I was feeling because I didn't understand my emotions."
7. Camila Longed to Create Her Own Work: "I think it was hard for Camila and Fifth Harmony because she does have that desire to write songs, and she does have something to say," producer Frank Dukes says.
8. Simon Cowell Was Shocked by The Timing of Her Departure From the Group: "When she told me kind of early on that she was going to leave, it was like, whoa. It was a year earlier than I thought. But once she'd made her mind up, you know, I had to respect that," The X Factor judge reveals.
9. Camila Was Nervous About Hitting the Studio: "This whole time, I'd been writing by myself, and I was so nervous to get into the studio because I'd never written in the room with producers before. I had acid reflux, and I didn't sleep at all. I thought, "Am I actually good or is it just my mom and my family that thinks I'm good," the star explained. "
10. Song Writing Became a Learning Experience: At first, producer and artist Charli XCX had some doubts about working with Camila.
"Of course, I made all of the classic assumptions of like, 'Oh, she's from a girl band, that was put together. Maybe she doesn't have that much writing experience,'" she "Boys" singer says.
While Dukes explains, "At the beginning, Camila didn't really know what the studio etiquette for writing was and where she should interject herself into things. It became clear that she was super talented and could write incredible songs."
11. "Havana" Just Happened: "Frank just played this beat, and I started doing melodies over it, and he was like, 'Oh my God, what the heck, we literally have a whole song," Camila explains.
12. She's a Perfectionist: Her Manager Roger Gold explains, "She's tireless about it. One time in the studio, she did 110 takes, and everyone was like 'You had it at 40.'"
13. Why She Changed the Name of her Album: "In the beginning, my album was going to be called, "The Hurting, The Healing, The Loving," and I changed it because I feel like I healed at the halfway point. And after that I felt like, 'No, this album is about me, and how I felt and how I love people and I've decided to ask a lot less people for opinions," she explains.
14.Family Keeps Her Grounded: "In my family, I have so much love around me all the time. Which is, I think, the biggest reason why I haven't lost my footing," she says. "Something that's just present in our family is this kind of blind courage. Every day there is something that makes me nervous that I just push myself to do."
15. Miami is Home: Take the title of the video, you can expect that Miami is home for the star.
"Every time I come here, I feel more in touch with everything that my family had to go through for me," she proudly says. "It's just that sense of being humbled by where you come from, and also the food here is awesome.