I don’t know about you, but every time I hear “Havana,” my mind takes me to Camila Cabello’s unforgettable opening performance at the 2019 Grammys with Ricky Martin, J. Balvin, Arturo Sandoval, and Young Thug. It’s the ultimate performance of the grandiose Cuban banger and it was a fitting choice to open Cabello’s NPR Tiny Desk (Home) dispatch from Miami that dropped today.
“This is Tiny Desk but I got a big band!” Cabello said as she got going and boy did she. Over 24 players joined the pop singer throughout the tightly-packed beachside locale. She admitted that if she sounded a bit nasally when speaking, it was because of a “tiny sinus infection.” but it wasn’t noticeable in her vocal delivery in the least bit. She totally demolished the five songs that also included “Real Friends” (from her debut album Camila), “Señorita” (with no Shawn Mendes, but with a larger than life trombone by Mayerlin Carrero), “Don’t Go Yet,” and a brand new song from her upcoming album Familia, “La Buena Vida,” which closed out the set.
She professed her love for Tiny Desk throughout and definitely pulled out every stop for this performance. “La Buena Vida” was easily the highlight here as Cabello was joined by a full-on mariachi band. She flashed her incredible range rising with the mariachi horns and violins.
The release date for Familia has not been set yet, but you can watch Cabello’s full Tiny Desk Concert above.