Romance is the second studio album by Cuban-American singer and songwriter Camila Cabello. It was released on December 6, 2019, through Epic Records and Syco Music. The singer recorded the album from November 2018 to September 2019. It was produced by Frank Dukes, Louis Bell, the Monsters and the Strangerz, John Hill, Andrew Watt, and Finneas, among others. Cabello finished recording Romance on October 31, 2019, and the next day submitted the masters for the album. On November 13, Cabello announced that the album would be released on December 6, 2019. Musically, it is a pop record that contains R&B, Latin pop, and rock influences.
Romance was supported by five singles: the double lead singles "Liar" (which peaked at number 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100) and "Shameless" (which peaked at number 60 on the same chart), "Living Proof", "My Oh My" (featuring American rapper DaBaby) and "First Man". The album also includes the US Hot 100 number-one single "Señorita", Cabello's duet with Canadian singer Shawn Mendes, from the deluxe edition of Mendes' self-titled third studio album (2019). The album's CD editions did not include the track "My Oh My".
Romance received generally positive reviews from music critics and debuted at number one in Canada, number three in the US, and in the top ten in several other countries including Australia, Mexico and New Zealand. To promote the album, Cabello was set to embark on The Romance Tour, starting with Europe and then North America. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in May 2020, for selling one million album-equivalent units in the United States, becoming Cabello's second album to do so, following 2018's Camila.
Background and recording
After the release of Cabello's debut album, Camila (2018), Brian Lee and Louis Bell told MTV News that they were already looking ahead to her next project. Bell said he imagines she will work on her second album during her then-upcoming tour, saying they will send ideas back and forth from April until June when they will finally be able to get into the studio together. He wants to give the second album a "more mature progression," but ultimately, the new songs will depend on Cabello. On September 1, 2019, Cabello posted a teaser clip on her Instagram revealing the name of the album. The first installment was revealed on September 5. On October 31, 2019, she announced that the album was completed. Cabello began teasing the album's release on November 12, 2019. by posting parts of the album's cover art. Cabello formally announced the album's release the next day. On November 26, 2019, the entire standard edition of the album leaked online, just over a week before its release. Cabello revealed the album's track list on November 29, 2019. The album was released on December 6, 2019, with pre-orders beginning on November 15. The album mainly focuses on love and Cabello wanted to focus on that for this album, Cabello immediately knew she wanted to name the album Romance. Romance was recorded in a period of 10 months between November 2018 and October 31, 2019. Cabello wrote over 80 songs for the album during this period.
Composition
Music and lyrics
Musically, Romance is a pop record with influences of R&B, Latin pop and rock. Lyrically, Cabello described the album as "sounding like what falling in love feels like". Additionally, much of the album was inspired by Cabello's relationship with Canadian singer Shawn Mendes.