Camila Cabello opens up about how her early 20s were 'a nightmare and a hellhole' ahead of the release of her fourth studio album

Camila Cabello has opened up about how her early 20s were 'a nightmare and a hellhole' ahead of the release of her new album.

The American singer, 27, found fame aged just 15 as part of Fifth Harmony on The X Factor US, before going solo four years later.

But it would seem that her early years as a solo artist were challenging, as she told The Times on Thursday.

'Your early twenties are just a f***ing sh** show and a nightmare and a hellhole — at least for me,' she said.

The Shameless hitmaker's new album C,XOXO was released on Friday - and she has said it is focused on leaving those difficult years behind.  

She said: 'C,XOXO is finally letting go of that. Now that I'm not feeling so heavy and mentally burdened, I can actually have some f***ing fun and have long nails and dance and flirt.'

The record, produced by El Guincho and Jasper Harris, was inspired by the 'eclectic rhythms and sounds of her hometown.' 

Song I LUV IT was dropped in March as the lead single from C,XOXO, which is her fourth studio album as a solo artist. 

In the track, she sang to a lover: 'Kiss me hard - someday, you'll miss this meteor shower in your power, seein' stars, oh my God....'

Camila released a statement accompanying the single, shedding light on how the turbulence in her own love life bled into the lyrics.

'Certain things in our human realm do make me feel like I'm in outer space, and the very rare few times where I've had incredible chemistry with someone is one of them,' the Cinderella actress spilled.

'Part of that cocktail is also the emotional drama between you and that person, and the chaos and butterflies and nerves and passion,' she confessed. 'It’s unsustainable and not peaceful and exhausting, but also, I LUV IT.' 

Earlier this month the Cuban born singer told Billboard she wants the world to become 'more loving' over time.

She said: 'Hopefully when I’m no longer here, I want the legacy I leave behind to make the world, somehow, more loving. 

'There's different ways of doing that, through art and music, and I always try to keep myself accountable,' she said.

Camila, who comes from a working-class family-of-four, said she hopes to see society value hard work and effort.

'I'm so proud of my family history, and proud of my work ethics, and any sort of strength or drive that I have is from hearing their stories, she gushed.

'I really feel that I come from a family of fu***ing hustlers. My mom and dad never lost that, and even my grandparents.

'I feel that so much of that is carried in my bloodline. There’s something carried in our story that I feel makes me handle life and look at life in a different way,' she finished.

2024 is set to be a big year for the Señorita singer as she accepted the Global Impact award at the Billboard Latin Women in Music event on June 9.

'What strikes me the most is how sincere, hard-working, and caring she is as a human being,' the starlet's manager Roger Gold gushed.

'Camila really absorbed that from her family, from her upbringing, from her journey to The United States. She grew up very, very humbling,' he said.