It Was Burning It Was Hot So I Did a Again

Camila Cabello ended the 2010s with a pair of Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit singles and a Billboard 200 albums chart-topping debut LP, one of the well-nigh promising solo breakout stories of the decade. It's been success she's had a little trouble matching a couple years into the 2020s — but the tendency may exist reversing with the release of her latest single, the Ed Sheeran-featuring "Bam Bam."

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With a tear-stained music video and lyrics seemingly addressing her breakup with boyfriend pop star Shawn Mendes, "Bam Bam" all the same rides an umptempo, salsa-inflected acoustic groove — and has proven a pretty easy sell on radio and streaming, ascent to No. 22 on Billboard'due south Pop Airplay chart and debuting at No. xiii on Streaming Songs. The song also bows this week at No. 23 on the Hot 100, already Cabello's highest entry since the No. 12-peaking "My Oh My" at the beginning of the decade.

Is this the song Cabello needs to go dorsum on rails? And how has Ed Sheeran proven then omnipresent already this year?Billboard staffers talk over these questions and more below.

1. The No. 23 bow for "Bam Bam" is the highest debut for Cabello in a few years. What factor do you most aspect the song's strong Hot 100 start to?

Katie Atkinson: She did a great chore teasing this one out, with a full two weeks of buildup before the release and eyebrow-raising lyric previews that appeared to allude to her very public personal life. Too, Ed Sheeran is in the midst of a big radio moment, so his interest definitely didn't hurt.

Katie Bain: I'thou sensing a trio of factors: first and probably most crucially, this is just a really tricky, accessible and informal song that's easy to similar. I think information technology gets some actress oomph in terms of human interest given that Cabello is sorta, kinda addressing her breakup from Shawn Mendes in the vocal. And of course, crossing over with Sheeran'south fanbase can't injure. (Both of their voices sound fantastic on this one, too.)

Starr Bowenbank: I call up there'due south a lot of factors contributing to the nautical chart success of "Bam Bam," most manifestly the references to Cabello's past relationship to Shawn Mendes. Hungry fans volition ever want to know more of the breakup narrative, which the track does provide. Cabello's too doing a great job toeing the line betwixt North American and Latin pop music, particularly in this song's instrumentation, which bodes well for gaining listeners across cultures — Spanish listeners will recognize her influences and American listeners will recognize the song as a dance-set rails for fun Bound Interruption or summer playlists. Plus, having a popular powerhouse like Ed Sheeran providing an assist on a rails never hurts.

Jason Lipshutz: The combination of the song's quality, Ed Sheeran'southward involvement and the natural intrigue effectually the postal service-breakdown rails helped secure a fairly strong debut for "Bam Bam." The song itself hits harder than Cabello's preceding singles, and there's no uncertainty that its thinly veiled lyrical references to her relationship with Shawn Mendes stirred the online pot; Cabello and Sheeran are also nevertheless pretty bankable top xl artists at this point, too, which undoubtedly helped "Bam Bam" and should continue to do and so in the coming weeks.

Andrew Unterberger: You may have noticed there hasn't been a ton of star ability on the Hot 100 lately, peculiarly with new releases from this calendar twelvemonth. At a more crowded time, maybe radio and streaming might not accept flocked immediately to "Bam Bam," merely correct now information technology appears that whatever solid single from two proper name stars like Cabello and Sheeran is gonna put up numbers right away.

two. The previous Cabello-Sheeran collaboration "South of the Border" drew mixed reviews and stiffed on the charts a flake, peaking at No. 49. Does this collab simply work better than the previous one did?

Katie Atkinson: Yes. I retrieve this one benefits from being a joyful Latin-infused pop song without hitting listeners over the caput with smarmy lyrics ("She got the brown eyes, caramel thighs," "he want the lil' mamacita, margarita," the vocal championship itself). Information technology might too assistance that Ed leaves the Spanish-linguistic communication singing to Camila this fourth dimension around. More often than not, I think the friendly, sweetness dynamic of "Bam Bam" works best between these two.

Katie Bain: It'southward not that "Bam Bam" is an overtly better song, only I do think its faster pace and higher energy level but make information technology easier to go into, recollect and love. "Southward of the Edge" is a catchy, slinky and I think pretty sophisticated pop song with an enduring tune on the chorus (not to mention a Cardi feature), but information technology's subtle and doesn't hitting you over the head with bells and whistles like "Bam Bam" does.

Starr Bowenbank: Definitely. "Due south of the Border" felt like it was riding the tail stop of the tropical house wave that was present in pop music through the mid to later 2010s – except, when "South of the Border" was released, that wave was practically nonexistent. (Cardi B'due south poesy too lacked the usual grit and tounge-in-cheek wittiness that we have come to know her for, so information technology didn't boost the overall profile of the song.) The collaboration of Sheeran and Cabello for "South of the Edge" did not experience equally organic, whereas with "Bam Bam" information technology does.

Jason Lipshutz: When y'all put out an anthology with seemingly hundreds of A-list team-ups, equally Ed Sheeran did in 2019 with No. 6 Collaborations Project, some of those team-ups are going to become more attention than others. While "I Don't Intendance" with Justin Bieber and "Beautiful People" with Khalid became additions to Sheeran'south collection of hits, "South of the Border" (also featuring Cardi B) and the many other high-profile collaborations from the album could not command enough mainstream attention to cross over. "Bam Bam" works better than "South of the Edge," only the context of its release and promotion will better support its commercial aspirations.

Andrew Unterberger: Gonna go ahead and say that any Cabello/Sheeran collab that doesn't have the latter cooing "Te amo mami, te amo mami" is pretty probable to do improve than whatever that does.

three. Cabello seemed to exist on her way to being a reliable pop A-list hitmaker towards the terminate of the previous decade, just has hit somewhat rockier waters thus far in the 2020s. Practise you see this song as the offset of her getting back on runway in that location — and what, if annihilation, can she do to proceed on that path?

Katie Atkinson: I'thousand actually bummed that "Don't Go Still," the showtime taste of her upcoming albumFamilia, wasn't a bigger hit for Camila (it peaked at No. 42 on the Hot 100 dorsum in Baronial). Information technology was such a wacky party of a song, and Camila'southward voice was at its raspy best. Manifestly elevation 40 radio was not on the chase for a discarded Miami Sound Machine single in 2021. I think "Bam Bam" is a positive step for Camila, but we haven't yet heard anything that rises to the level of "Havana" or even "Señorita" in this new album cycle.

Katie Bain: "Bam Bam" is beautiful and catchy and her phonation and charisma shine especially brilliant during the big build at the end, but I'grand not sure that this song has got the legs to achieve pop megahit status. So to answer the first question, no. To get back on that path she needs another earworm striking similar "Havana" that'southward and so successful it merely enters public consciousness through osmosis.

Starr Bowenbank: As long as Cabello does non have whatsoever other controversial mishaps (or lackluster movie roles) lurking in her closet, heavily promoting "Bam Bam" could put her on the clear path of having her star rise once once again. The song has the potential to be a grower, especially as the months get warmer. If she tin become the vocal to go viral on TikTok over the adjacent few months, I'd say "Bam Bam" has song of the summer potential, especially compared to the single releases we've received in 2022 thus far.

Jason Lipshutz: Cabello excels at taking multiple swings of the bat in order to get a hit — when "Crying in the Club" wasn't working in the atomic number 82-upwards to her debut album, she pivoted to "Havana" and scored a smash, and the same matter happened when "My Oh My" became the surprise hit of her Romance anthology following a scattering of swings and misses. If "Bam Bam" isn't the breakout hit of her upcoming Familia — and maybe it is, considering how much of a hot streak Sheeran is on at radio — Cabello volition keep releasing singles until she finds one.

Andrew Unterberger: I think she'll need a existent knockout single to ever threaten for No. 1 again, but "Bam Bam" could reinforce her as a pop radio fixture at the least — and continue her relevant enough to go on fleshing out lineups at award shows and mini-festivals, and selling and touring well, if non spectacularly. It's a career that millions of struggling popular artists would give one or several limbs to have.

4. After an arguably underwhelming starting time-calendar week performance to kicking off his Equals era, Ed Sheeran seems to have found his footing, with two songs even so in the Hot 100'southward top 10 about three months into the new year, and at present a pair of top 25-debuting songs alongside Taylor Swift and Camila Cabello. How has he managed to resume his continuing at top twoscore'southward eye similar this?

Katie Atkinson: By making undeniable pop songs. I think "Bad Habits" got overshadowed on arrival by its bizarre music video, with Ed as a pink-suit-clad vampire. But once radio started spinning information technology, you can't assistance simply sing along. Aforementioned with "Shivers." He'south a comforting radio presence with reliably catchy songs. So the anthology didn't come in with a bang, but it will go out with i.

Katie Bain: Ed Sheeran is 1 of the best songwriters in modern pop music, and this string of recent hits — "Bad Habits" and "Shivers" especially — demonstrates his ability to craft songs that are different enough from each other to exist simultaneously without blending into each other and becoming forgettable. (Those two same songs are also sleek, probably his almost electronic frontwards music to date and generally just super listenable.) And with "Bam "Bam" and "The Joker and the Queen," Sheeran is getting the exposure of the Cabello and Swift camps via collaborations that transcend the chicken fanbase crossover for fanbase crossover sake. I think ultimately Sheeran's music has heart, and eye sets music apart, and you tin actually hear that he means it in everything he's got going right now.

Starr Bowenbank: Sheeran seems to exist a primary at creating earworms – songs of his that on the first mind might not sound like a bonafide hit will ever take a few lines or a chorus that will undoubtedly stick with yous by the second, third or even fourth fourth dimension listening to it. He'due south also writing in a way that'southward more fitting for his collaborators, as in the case of "Bam Bam" and "The Joker and The Queen," something that I believe has additional his chart standings.

Jason Lipshutz: A lot of my answers have mentioned radio, but it really is crucial to agreement what is a subtly enormous run that Sheeran is currently enjoying — "Bad Habits" and "Shivers" both have performed well on streaming services, merely they're yet pretty ubiquitous at elevation 40, where Sheeran has ruled for years. They're also dominating at a time when pop radio has a greater appetite for keeping multiple songs from the aforementioned superstar in heavy rotation, then that both singles from Equals can go along to thrive five months subsequently the album's release.

Andrew Unterberger: He'due south never really left, I suppose — the metrics have changed somewhat and he'due south not taking anyone by surprise at this bespeak, but Sheeran was a global pop superstar and is a global pop superstar. He'll likely remain one for some time to come.

5. "Bam Bam" gets its title from it chorus, which eschews traditional lyrics for a syllabic singalong. What's your favorite song with a wordless chorus?

Katie Atkinson: It'south hard to believe John Mayer released "Clarity" as a single back in 2004, only at the same time, Itotally believe it, because I'm all the same singing its "ooh-OOH-oohs" at full book almost twenty years later. It's like he left the placeholder "oohs" in when he realized no words were going to audio quite as good.

Katie Bain: This is probably cheating, but "Wordless Chorus" past My Morning Jacket.

Starr Bowenbank: K-pop reigns supreme on the wordless chorus front – the easiest that comes to mind is BLACKPINK's "DDU-DU DDU-DU." "How You Similar That" is also another banger from the daughter grouping that sees them going for the syllabic sing along route, but information technology works because it'southward just so catchy.

Jason Lipshutz: Don't say "Bawitdaba"… don't say "Bawitdaba"… Okay, let's become with an old indie-pop chestnut, Mates of Country'south "Goods (All In Your Head)," since its "Da da da daaaaa, da da da da, WHOA-OH!" refrain has soundtracked many car sing-alongs since the mid-00s.

Andrew Unterberger: How nearly a different "Bam Bam" — Sister Nancy's 1982 unmarried, an oft-resurrected reggae classic?

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Source: https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/camila-cabello-bam-bam-ed-sheeran-five-burning-questions-1235044254/

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