Camila Cabello made her highly anticipated return to the MTV Video Music Awards stage on Wednesday (Sept. 11).
On the heels of delivering her C,XOXO (Magic City Edition) deluxe earlier in September, Cabello has stepped into a new era as she traded out the blonde hair for her natural brunette locks. Along with jumping to the dark side, the Fifth Harmony alum snuck in a shortened version of “June Gloom” to serve as the pensive introduction leading into her stirring “Godspeed” performance.
Wearing a ripped white dress and strappy heels, the singer stepped into a glass case along with the camera set up on a tripod and a laptop that she eventually smashes in frustration. She worked the camera and got up close and personal to sing directly to the millions watching at home.
The 27-year-old hopped out and showed off the climbing octaves of her impressive mezzo-soprano vocal range while bidding farewell to a toxic ex lover. She’s then surrounded by a team of mysterious dancers to bring the performance across the finish line.
Billboard caught up with the singer on the red carpet before the show, where she detailed how she’s cutting ties with everything that’s not bringing positivity to her.
“I’m in my ‘Godspeed’ era, and that song is very much about letting go of everything that does not serve you. So I kind of am having a funeral today for just everything that is negative, everything that doesn’t serve me,” she explained. “Death to the things that are negative, death to the people and the situations that try to bring you down.”
C,XOXO was released in June via Geffen Records with assists from Playboi Carti, Lil Nas X, JT and Yung Miami, BLP Kosher and Drake. The LP reached a peak of No. 13 on the Billboard 200.
Watch the performance below.
