Holy moly, Camila Cabello single-handedly evokes the holiday spirit with her rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
Cabello was part of a truly star-studded lineup for PBS’s “In Performance at The White House: Spirit of the Season,” joining legends like Norah Jones, Pentatonix, Billy Porter, three Bocellis … it seems the only thing missing from this show was a partridge in a pear tree.
The singer tweeted, “Such an incredible honor to perform again at the white house. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday with your loved ones.”
Watching it (for the fourth time now), it’s hard to not think of Cabello’s performance of the 1940s tune as the epitome of “classic with a twist.”
I mean, the all-red jumpsuit (those gloves especially), the flowing siren hair, the jazzy, chanteuse-y vocals—those alone feel iconic.
Then cue the mariachi band. And it has all the romance of a Spanish ballad. Just … wow. When music becomes a creative vehicle that transports you somewhere else. That’s simply magic.
The song received an overwhelming amount of praise, both from tried-and-true Cabello fans and never-before-listeners:
She was really damn good!
Hadn’t even heard of her. That was really impressive. A beautiful arrangement by the mariachi band too.— herschel stratego (@straTWEETgo) December 22, 2021
Excellent performance and glad our culture is being brought to the white house. Class all the way❤️?— iimasociates (@iimasociates) December 22, 2021
She never disappoints when it comes to live performance. Periodt ?— Phanna Duong (Pauna) (@phanna_duong) December 21, 2021
She sounds AMAZING , she looks FLAWLESS , her vocals are ON POINT , her outfit is GORGEOUS ?❤❤? I’m so proud of you Camila , your voice always is like PURE MAGIC ❄??— ??? (@lovepeace_8) December 21, 2021
I love that she incorporated the mariachi band into this song. Elevates the performance so much. #RepresentationMatters— Amy (@Amy_inWonder) December 21, 2021
This version is absolutely beautiful and brilliant, couldn’t take my eyes from the gorgeous Camila— Boleynanne2nd ? & C’s oh na na na ? (@boleynanne2nd) December 22, 2021
This was everything!! Camila sounded amazing and the mariachi band accompanying her took this performance to the next level!!— Milisa (@mili_hearts) December 21, 2021
Cabello had recently performed her mariachi cover as part of “Michael Bublé’s Christmas in the City” for NBC. On Instagram she wrote, “I wanted to pay tribute to my Mexican heritage with this Christmas cover…I wanted to bring it to an audience that normally doesn’t get to hear the beauty of Mariachi music.”
I’d say she succeeded, because that cover is truly beautiful. Music is an amazing gift, whether giving or receiving it.
