Camila Cabello and team accused of ripping off Caroline Polachek, Halsey and more for 'Romance'
Camila Cabello released her sophomore album Romance on Friday, and unfortunately the [Johnny Rose voice] rollout hasn't gone as smoothly as she likely envisioned. Reviews of the album have been mixed, with many criticizing its producers' heavy reliance on Auto-Tune "not as a special effect but as a kind of cure-all lotion slathered over every syllable that passes Cabello's lips... a cyborg sheen on what are ostensibly heartfelt songs of burgeoning new love."
Now, it appears that Cabello and her team are under fire from multiple sides as stan Twitter accuses them of ripping off other artists for both the album's music and visuals.
Truth be told, these accusations began prior to the album's release. The Internet immediately drew comparisons between Cabello's "Cry for Me" and the music of MARINA after the former was performed on Saturday Night Live, and the performance's Marie Antoinette-inspired costuming had Madonna fans crying foul. But through multiple Twitter threads, it becomes clear the aping doesn't stop there. Below, all of the artists from whom Cabello and co. may or may not have drawn inspiration.
Bebe Rexha
back to you by louis tomlinson & bebe rexha + feel it twice by camila cabellopic.twitter.com/Z6gBuK9CMx
- ꒰ hails ꒱ (@malibunightz) December 7, 2019
Caroline Polachek
caroline polachek’s pang album visuals + camila cabello’s romance album visuals pic.twitter.com/yi2axUxjTE
- ꒰ hails ꒱ (@malibunightz) December 8, 2019
Christina Aguilera
just a fool by christina aguilera + this love by camila cabello pic.twitter.com/NiRftE2xed
- ꒰ hails ꒱ (@malibunightz) December 8, 2019
Halsey
they didn’t even try to hide it lmfao pic.twitter.com/OwXylSrIhG
- nicole (@wybnicole) December 7, 2019
halsey’s aureum room for her spotify event + camila cabello’s romance pop-up event pic.twitter.com/Mace835U5Y
- ꒰ hails ꒱ (@malibunightz) December 8, 2019
Madonna
madonna performing vogue at the 1990 vma’s + camila cabello performing cry for me on SNL pic.twitter.com/LX6x9clhJ0
- ꒰ hails ꒱ (@malibunightz) December 8, 2019
MARINA
the similarity between the intro of karma by marina + liar by camila pic.twitter.com/zpgTVMJSog
- ꒰ hails ꒱ (@malibunightz) December 7, 2019
Rihanna
love on the brain by rihanna + this love by camila cabello pic.twitter.com/u0UUWv24cL
- ꒰ hails ꒱ (@malibunightz) December 8, 2019
SOPHIE
oil of every pearl's un-insides album cover by SOPHIE + romance album cover by camila cabello pic.twitter.com/GzBj2F7vdm
- ꒰ hails ꒱ (@malibunightz) December 7, 2019
So far, the only artist to comment has been Polachek. In response to a side-by-side comparison of the album artwork for Romance and her own album Pang, she wrote, "Images don't matter... just context and integrity (which creative directors don't have the time or focus to steal). This similarity isn't on the label or popstar [sic], it's a symptom of the normalization of outsourced worldbuilding [sic]."
Source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10, 11
