Camila Cabello’s Seductive New Song Def Sounds Like It’s About Shawn

Earlier this year, Camila Cabello described her C,XOXO album as “weird experimental pop music.” She’s since lived up to that motto, releasing dizzying snippets that pivot from her old sound, yet feels reminiscent to other pop stars. While some critics believe she’s had the likes of Charli XCX and Rosalía on C,XOXO’s moodboard, it seems another singer inspired a certain track on the album: her ex, Shawn Mendes.

On June 23, Cabello performed “June Gloom” during her set at Rock in Rio Lisboa. (If the title sounds familiar, she first teased the track on her Instagram back in April 2023.) During her performance, she said the ballad is named after a real “weather phenomenon” where it gets so foggy that it feels “like you’re in a cloud.” She then described she felt a similar fogginess when she recently reconnected with an ex, who took her on a drunken walk on the beach.

“I don’t know what I was more drunk off on, honestly. Him or the alcohol,” Cabello explained, adding he also spun her on a merry-go-round. She then reenacted the scene, spinning on the machine while singing the first verse.

“June gloom, June fog / I might as well say ‘Meet me in Montauk,’” she cooed, before questioning her ex’s — who seems to be in a new relationship — motive behind their secret meetup. “If she’s so amazing, why are you on this side of town? / If you like her so much, what are you here tryin’ to find out?”

Cabello then compares herself to his new girlfriend, sultrily wondering if her “little kisses” and slick talk still affects him. She doesn’t give him enough time to answer, though — instead, she warbles off about how much she thinks about him in the second verse. She sings:

How come you’re just so much better? / Is this gonna end ever? / I guess I’ll f*ck around and find out / I know I act like it’s whatever, just makes me feel better / The truth is, honey, you’re all I think about.

Cabello teased this specific section of “June Gloom” last April; however, there are some new changes. In the first snippet, she asked her ex beau if he’s “coming to Coachella” that year, and if so, that he’ll be on her mind all night. At the time, this lyric felt specific to Mendes, as he and Cabello were seen getting awfully cozy at the music festival that month.

The “I Luv It” singer released the snippet on Instagram a few days after their Coachella outing, titling the post: “4.12.” She deleted it soon after, but that didn’t stop fans from speculating the two were back together. (Cabello and Mendes split in 2021 after two years of dating.) Those speculations eventually slowed down in November 2023, when rumors began that Mendes possibly moved on with English singer Charlie Travers. Neither of them have confirmed the relationship.

While Mendes might’ve inspired “June Gloom,” it seems Cabello won’t be shooting her shot with him again. In her March appearance on Call Her Daddy, she said last year’s reconnection was an “impulsive” decision that turned out to be a “fun moment.” However, the former duo amicably understood that restarting their romance wasn’t the best decision.

“I think you’re just kind of like, ‘Yeah this doesn’t really…it’s not a fit—it doesn’t feel right.’ Luckily, I was in a place in my life where it took us both less time to be like, ‘This doesn’t feel right, and we don’t really need to try so hard to make it work,” Cabello said. “‘It’s all good, let’s move on.’”