Tamara Jenna
- May 19, 2022
- 6 min read

INTRODUCING Camila Andrew

FEATURED ARTIST

Camila Andrew

Bogota, Columbia

ARTIST BACKGROUND

Camila Andrew is a Colombian-American singer and songwriter that fuses her Latin and American roots to create authentically fresh sounds that take her listeners on a journey.

In the year 2017, Camila Andrew launched her music career, subsequently breaking the Bogota music scene. Taking her audience through music that travels from R&B, funk, and all the way through to Latin music this artist wants to embed her fusion in the ears of as many people as possible. Since then, she has begun her artistic journey as a performer and composer. During the year 2019, Andrew participated in several festivals like Festival de Blues y Jazz Libélula Dorada, Voces del Jazz en Cartagena, and Indie Week Music Festival in Toronto where she had received the award of Best International Emerging Artist. In the year 2020, she also participated in international festivals such as Chester Live’s ‘Online and Live’ Festival. Currently, Andrew is working on her following releases where she will break the music industry with her new sound. I managed to grab Camilla Andrew for a TJPL NEWS interview but first, let's hear her latest track 'What do you want?'...

WHAT DO YOU WANT? REVIEW

Produced by Monts, mixed by Grammy winner Kiko Castro, and mastered by Grammy winner, Carlos Silva, 'what do you want?' is Camila Andrew's debut single of the new stage of a promising career in the global music industry, incorporating both Spanish and English in an RnB melody. This single is meant for the audiences of Kehlani, Ariana Grande, and Justin Bieber. 'What do you want?' by Camila Andrew opens with a quiet, soft, and dreamy trap drum loop. A distant guitar pluck is accompanied by a kick in all the right places to add an extra dimension to the production. I love the way that the vocals are complete and clear. The inclusion of Spanish vocals adds that little extra sprinkle to the track. I would say that the instruments in the mix are a slightly too buried behind the vocals. I would have liked to have heard the emotion of the instrumentation more. I think that lifting the mix of the instrumental elements would bind the piece together more. Having said that, I do think that this is a great track, the vocals, and the lyrical content are just as beautiful as the instrumental in their own right. I would have liked to have heard more! Maybe if the track was longer and offered a break in between vocals we could have heard what the instrumental had to offer. The song feels slightly shorter than it could have been. Overall though, I really love the track and think that this is an artist who we definitely need to keep our eyes on! A real relaxing track for all of you slow R&B lovers out there.

STREAM HERE

INTERVIEW

Your sound ranges from R&B to funk and all the way to latin music. How did these influences

come into play in your sound?

I’ve always had my Latin and American roots, and since I was I child I’ve been exposed to both branches of music and many more different genres and styles. Both my parents are classical musicians and they have always had a large fan of musical references from rock and pop (in both English and Spanish), to contemporary and classical music. So these have naturally come into play in my own compositions. The Latin and American trends have always been a part of me and slowly I’ve been able to incorporate them in the best way to create my sound. Of course this has implied doing some deep research and exploration to find a balance between both commercial sounds. In this track you can hear some latin rhythms and bilingual lyrics combined within an R&B melody.

I know that you've performed at some international festivals, how did that come about? and how did it feel to do those?

I guess I’ve always been a restless person in the sense that I always want to learn more things and knock on more doors. So attending these festivals was no coincidence. I did the application process and thankfully got selected and participating in these national and international festivals has strongly impacted my career. For example in Indie Week, where I obtained the award of Best International Emerging Artist, I met some of the most amazing people that I still work with to this day. In addition to the joy of performing to new audiences, one of the main beauties of these festivals is networking and meeting so many emerging artists from around the world like you.

What is the main goal for 'What Do You Want?' What would be the ultimate achievement?

‘what do you want?’

Talks about sacrificing too much in a relationship. It is that breaking point when you’ve

given everything (and more) to another person but it’s still not enough so you just sit there thinking… “What do you want from me?” The main message of the song is that nothing and no one should ever be more important in your life than YOU. You should always be the protagonist in your own story, so don’t allow other people, no matter how important they are to you or how much they love you, to define your worth or your feeling of self. Besides from the message, the main goal for ‘what do you want?’ is to give a taste of what’s coming from

Camila Andrew’s new stage. It is the debut single of my new sound. The ultimate achievement is to reach new people and expand my audience.

What are your ultimate career goals overall?

I wish to impact as many people as I can with my music. That’s my ultimate goal, to leave a legacy doing what I love most: music.

When did you first realize that you had the potential to be an artist? Is there a memory that has stuck in your mind as the turning point for you?

I don’t think you ever realize you have the potential to be an artist. Instead you realize you have a passion, a strong drive that tells you that music is the path that you need to follow. For me I understood from a young age that music was my future. I remember hearing songs and crying, and feeling the music down to my core. That doesn’t happen to everyone. And watching artists like Justin Bieber on stage I recall thinking, wow, I want to do that, I want to be there. I saw his great influence on the world and on people and I knew that I wanted to share my message with the world too and hopefully impact people positively with my music as strongly as he did. I’ve always been a big writer. I guess it’s simply something that comes naturally to me. But I used to have this fear of showing my talents to people. I was so timid and shy, afraid of what people might’ve said, thought, or do. And it wasn’t until I broke that mask that I was able to step into my true potential as an artist and claim my sound. This has just happened over time.

As an artist, you have many different vocal styles, what are the main influences in your

songwriting process?

Yes, I have studied my instrument (my voice) for many years now and I’ve learned and obtained resources from many major artists: Christina Aguilera, Céline Dion, Lauryn Hill, Demi Lovato, H.E.R. But in my songwriting I’ve always felt inclined towards more old fashioned lyrics like those from geniuses like McCartney, Lennon, Billy Joel, Lauryn Hill, Queen and Michael Jackson. Lyrics that tell stories, teach lessons, and share different messages about life. I put a lot of thought and effort into my lyrics because that’s what I personally listen to first in a song. I believe that lyrics have the power to transmit true messages to people. When people listen to a song over and over again, the message of the song gets encrypted in their subconscious minds and like it or not it affects their perception of reality. Regarding the music, I’m a piano player too so it always just boils down to me and my piano. If the song makes sense there, it makes sense with any instrumentation and arrangement that my producer, Monts, and I might create later.

How would you define your sound?

My sound is the summary of years of exploration, testing, and failing endless times. My current sound, that I’m just debuting with my single ‘what do you want?’, is a direct reflection of my roots combined in current, fresh, authentic sounds. The best words to define my sound would be honest, powerful, sensual, intimate, and global.

What are your future plans? What can we look forward to for the rest of 2022?

2022 is the year of launching and captivating people with my new sound. I’ve got a full catalog of music that I am ready to release this year and next year. So you can look forward to hearing much more of Camila Andrew!

Where can we find the track? Links to socials and distribution handles

what do you want? is currently available on ALL streaming platforms:

https://camilaandrew.lnk.to/whatdoyouwant

Please feel free to DM me on Instagram! I’d love to connect with you:

https://www.instagram.com/camilandrew

INTRODUCING *Camila Andrew*