BY DC CUEVA
This week is a busy one for MTV Reality fans: Monday has two episodes of Floribama Shore and Part 1 of the Teen Mom 2 reunion after last week's eventful behind the scenes special. The Challenge Final Reckoning rolls along on Tuesday, and Wednesday is the premiere of Are You The One? Season 7. And it is the start to what will be a busy fall season ahead for MTV fans, as it will be followed by the MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall, the return of Jersey Shore Family Vacation, and the premieres of Zach Holmes' Too Stupid to Die, Pretty Little Mamas with moms who call San Diego home, the U.S. version of Just Tattoo of Us, and Made in Staten Island.
The ladder series, executive produced by Karen Gravano of VH1's Mob Wives and featuring her daughter Karina as a cast member, is among the latest new series to be given a promotional launchpad of being part of cable's highest-rated reality network, which features its biggest series in those Jersey originals. This spring, the precious spot of following Jersey Shore was given to the first U.S. version of another MTV show that originated overseas in Ex On The Beach, where Challenge newcomers Kayleigh, Joss and Melissa got their starts before they made their American debuts on Vendettas this year.
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| Twitter @MarcoDelvec |
But, you may not know that there is a link between one of those fourteen exes who invaded Hawaii to one of the nominees for the most coveted piece of silverware MTV can give out and one of the biggest artists of the past year. There, she started with America's biggest girl group since Destiny's Child and then stepped out on her own and has become a big name herself, including collaborating with Shawn Mendes and Machine Gun Kelly before she became a solo artist. And he was an ex of one of the two representatives of Bachelor Nation who popped up in Hawaii as he and the exes were part of the "ultimate relationsh** show" that brought new fans to this channel.
In this installment of Before They Were MTV Stars, we take a look at Havana, starring Camila Cabello and Marco Delvecchio from Ex On The Beach USA... now up for 5 Video Music Awards.
Twenty years ago, an American pop music scene - which had seen hip-hop and Seattle grunge rock steal its thunder, was awakened out of its slumber by the sight of five girls from Britain. The Spice Girls brought their style of teen pop from the streets of London to U.S. concert stages and even its own movie. So began the Renaissance of teen-friendly music in the world's most-coveted music market, which would then see the likes of 'NSYNC, Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera and others take to the stage as Total Request Live revitalized MTV. Shortly after, Destiny's Child and Beyonce joined them, and later came the Pussycat Dolls, British groups The Saturdays and Little Mix, and the groups of Korean K-Pop.
Fifteen years after Spice Mania, Camila, Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane and Lauren Jauegui spent their summer 2012 auditioning as soloists on season 2 of the U.S. version of British musical showcase, The X Factor. Five girls from L.A., Miami, Atlanta, Texas and Cuba all had common passions of pursuing their lifelong goal of making it big in music, and to do so in front of a national television audience who would see their journey from being those who performed in front of just family and friends to now a larger audience than they had ever experienced before.As those who performed alone in those earlier stages of that season, they did not advance during the "boot camp" portion of the long road to the big stage. However, judges Demi Lovato, L.A. Reid, Britney Spears and the ultimate judge of all in talent competitions, Simon Cowell, saw potential in these girls, and they were put together as a group in Miami. Marc Anthony was the first person to see what they would be all about when they performed for the first time as a group during another set of auditions at the judges' houses. Simon saw these girls as "clearly one great group" after they performed.
Ally, Camila, Dinah, Lauren and Normani advanced their way onto the big show itself, first calling themselves "1432" and later asking for the public's help in renaming themselves after the name was deemed too generic by Simon and Reid. After covering songs by Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato during the season's live phase that autumn, fans at home renamed them Fifth Harmony. And the girls moved into the semifinals, where a cover of Ellie Goulding's "Anything Can Happen" propelled them into the final three, but finalists Tate Stevens and Carly Rose Sonenclar did better than them when it mattered most on finale night, and they finished in 3rd place. But the group did receive a consolation prize of signing to Simon's Syco label a month after falling short of the top prize.
That X Factor experience was only the beginning to what would become a tremendous ride for Fifth Harmony: an EP album, covers of songs by Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande getting a stamp of approval, and toured with Demi and Cher Lloyd before their full-length debut Reflection debuted in the Top 10. "Worth It" with Kid Ink was the group's breakthrough that brought them on their first headlining tour, followed by their 2016 sophomore effort 7/27 - signifying the date when they formed on X-Factor. "Work from Home" with Ty Dolla Sign became their highest-charting single, earned two VMA's, an American Music Award and another successful world tour.
After they performed at a Jingle Ball radio concert in Miami, a message posted on social media revealed to a heartbroken fandom of Harmonizers that, "...via her representatives, Camila has decided to leave Fifth Harmony. We wish her well." A more-detailed post the day after revealed that the rest of the group had difficulties working with Camila and her team on trying to get her to be on the same page performing the rest of the cycle and then work on their later self-titled third studio album. And when the remaining four members performed at last year's VMA's, they threw shade at their former member when an anonymous fifth member appeared with them at the outset of their performance of their hit "Down," and was then thrown offstage - causing a social media reaction.
Camila posted a response to the 5H statement where, while she had nothing but fond memories and respect for Ally, Dinah, Lauren and Normani, she refuted the group's claims that she had wanted to leave the group but had looked forward to staying with them while also pursuing solo endeavors. But after she had success teaming with Shawn Mendes and Machine Gun Kelly, the group felt betrayed about how their success would come at a price with one of their own eventually going her separate ways. And Camila added, "As scary as it is to take the leap, I am excited and full of joy because I know that no matter what happens, I am following my heart."
She had taken a bold gamble that others have taken but often times would either be the move that would make them a star or a bust. Her first efforts as a solo artist post-5H saw her collaborate with Pitbull on "Hey Ma" for The Fate of the Furious soundtrack and with Major Lazer, Travis Scott and Quavo on "Know No Better" before revealing plans on her solo debut album which she called, "the story of my journey from darkness into light, from a time when I was lost to a time when I found myself again," all referring to the drama of leaving the girls she had spent four years with. She then released her first solo single "Crying in the Club" and performing at the 2017 Billboard Awards, as well as joining Bruno Mars' 24K Magic World Tour and becoming a face of the Guess brand.
"Havana" sees her embrace her family's heritage in mixing piano riffs and rhythm influenced by the Latin sound, while joining her was Atlanta rapper Young Thug and on a remix by Daddy Yankee - who was also part of last year's massive worldwide hit "Despacito" with Luis Fonzi. The track propelled her to a spot she didn't achieve with Fifth Harmony: #1 on the singles charts in America and in over twenty countries outside the U.S., and Top 10 in nearly thirty others. This summer, it became the most-streamed song ever by a solo female artist on Spotify with it having just joined the billion stream club, and also notching ten figures on YouTube. And the song's success actually postponed her album release date to this past January, eventually debuting at #1 also... just as the song became that album's proper lead single.
The video's subject & singer begins at home as "Karla" with her grandma doing, what everyone in the Latin American community does each night, of watching Spanish-language primetime soap operas, or telenovelas, and then going out to join her sister on a night out, including watching a movie featuring Camila in a different way of things: caliente dancing and Young Thug popping up. And the video ends with a message of it being "dedicated to all dreamers," with a reference to the Dream Act - which has been one of the top items of interest on the agenda of our President.
But before that night on the town, the video begins with the same kind of telenovelas that two-time Big Brother alum and now Challenge cult favorite Da'Vonne Rogers made reference to on Final Reckoning when watching the Britni & Chuck soap opera in the Redemption House from a ways away. There, Camila stumbles upon a scene more steamier to put on a night on Spanish-language TV than in the daytime on the anglophone side of things and more like what we're used to as MTV fans: her best friend in bed with one of two twin brothers, another friend who's watching it from as close as you can get, and another twin brother.
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| Marco with Camila & "Havana" video director Dave Meyers (IG @MarcoDelvec) |
He came to Hawaii as one of those exes who invaded Hawaii, but was largely a footnote to the drama that surrounded the likes of Paulie, the twisted web of Alicia, Cory & Taylor, and the triangle of Angela, Derrick and dunk king Tor'i, among others. And here, Marco played both twins of Juan and Rodrigo: one who was in bed and the other dressed up and emerging out of the closet in a video that saw Camila flex her acting skills.
Marco has been in other roles both before and after this, but it doesn't compare to these two: being part of a video that's notched over 660 million YouTube views since it premiered last August, and a MTV show that landed one of its most coveted timeslots of following its most-watched franchise in Jersey Shore and gained tremendous viewership. Remarkably, this very fact of him starring in "Havana" wasn't even mentioned on the series itself... hence, this very post before the VMA's.
For Camila, "Havana" offered proof that she not only was THE star of Fifth Harmony but also was the first track that proved that she can stand out by herself... the fact that both her self-titled solo debut album, "Havana" and followup "Never Be The Same" outnumbered her original group's recent work since her departure adds more to this, along with headlining both her own tour and joining Taylor Swift on the Reputation Tour.
From when it first debuted last summer, those Camilizers who supported Camila Cabello during her time of transition from being part of America's biggest girl group to going on her own knew that she had the potential to have success when she didn't need the help of four others who she shared an incredible ride with. What they didn't know that with one track that became a greater success than what she did with Fifth Harmony, she would vault to becoming one of music's biggest stars of the moment, and now one with greater success ahead of her.
It was X-Factor who introduced America to Fifth Harmony, who in turn helped introduce music fans to Camila Cabello. And it was the video for her biggest hit, "Havana," that linked it to that man who appeared in two roles in that video, and who also dated that girl from The Bachelor, which brought them to Ex On The Beach. Quite a latest tale of before Marco was an MTV star.
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As this is being posted on Monday, August 13, this is a big two-week stretch for those who follow the entire MTV beat and this MTV fan. For the former, there's two episodes of Floribama Shore tonight, The Challenge and Floribama facing off against Jersey Shore on Fear Factor tomorrow and a two-hour double premiere of Season 7 of Are You The One?. Next week sees the aforementioned VMA's, the return of Jersey Shore Family Vacation, and the fall sees new season and series premieres taking viewers across the entire reality TV spectrum.
And for me, all of this week's DCBLOG posts covering MTV Reality will appear earlier than usual (normally, they appear on the weekend with respect to all non-cable fans to catch up on watching episodes later on)... and two nights after the AYTO season premiere will come my eighth trip to Las Vegas. Expect plenty of coverage and content to appear on the home of all of my live tweet content DCNOW @DC408DxNow, plus Instagram, SnapChat and other public social media platforms where I have a presence on.
Stories like what you've seen above are only a part of this site's distinctively different look at the most exciting and dynamic programming of its kind... along with the usual episode recaps, opinions and analysis, ExtraTime offers a look at the people and stories of these shows and our world through the prism of these series. And we offer exclusive running diaries of all the social media reaction to every single episode of series revolving around The Challenge. Follow this site for all of that.
See you here at midweek when we'll begin this week's posts with those back to back episodes from Panama City Beach. Enjoy the week ahead...
- I AM DC
#DCBLOG
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