Camila Cabello, The Chainsmokers Almost Collaborated: Ex-Fifth Harmony Member Confirms Saying No To ‘Closer’

Sometime in March, Camila Cabello was rumored to have auditioned as the featured artist for the Chainsmokers’ big hit, “Closer.” Now, the former Fifth Harmony member has confirmed that she was indeed offered the part but just had to decline.

A video of Cabello singing Chainsmokers’ Closer was uploaded by Fifth Harmony Brasil in March and it was rumored at that time that she was supposed to sing the part that has been given to Halsey. In a radio interview with Elvis Duran, the 20-year-old Cuban-born singer confirmed that she almost did a collaboration with the DJ duo.

In the same interview, Duran played the leaked clip of the demo with Cabello doing Halsey’s part. It was then that the “Bad Things” singer confirmed that she did the recording and that The Chainsmokers had asked her to sing the part. Although Camila admitted that she likes to do it, she just had to turn down the project because of her commitment to Fifth Harmony.

“I loved the song, but I had to turn it down because I was with the group at the time, and we were about to put an album out.”

It looks like a missed opportunity for Cabello, considering The Chainsmokers’ “Closer” featuring Halsey was a huge hit, having placed No. 1 on the Billboard charts for several weeks — and Camila is aware of that.

“I always tried to do my solo stuff off-cycle, so that was super on, and so I had to say no, and then that was the number one song in the world.”

While Camila would have sounded great with The Chainsmokers, people think it’s hard to imagine having her instead of Halsey on board. The collaboration almost happened but fortunately, the clip still exists so fans will know how the song would sound like with Cabello as the female vocalist in “Closer.”

But even after having said no to the opportunity, Camila Cabello still made it big in the pop music scene. News of her exit from Fifth Harmony broke out in December and a drama on why she left the girls ensued. She did a recent interview with Billboard where she shared her thoughts on her departure from the girl band and her relationship with her Harmony sisters.

In the interview, Camila admitted that she is no longer in touch with the other girls but she did reach out to them. She didn’t go into details because doing so would make her feel “sad.” She also revealed that she shed a tear after leaving the group but the beach helped her deal with the drama.

“I went to the beach a lot. I listened only to Latin music. It reminds me of where I come from and that this [conflict] doesn’t have to be World War III.”

Cabello has since collaborated with different artists, like Shawn Mendes in “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and Pitbull and J Balvin in “Hey Ma.” Her album, The Hurting, The Healing, The Loving, is due this fall. Fans already got to hear two new singles, “Crying in the Club” and “I Have Questions.”

During her appearance on 92.3 radio in New York, Camila also gave a little background of one track from the album, titled “I’ll Never Be The Same.” The singer said it’s her favorite song at the moment and it’s practically a love song, one that’s about a boy. However, she clarified that it’s not about someone she’s seeing currently but rather a person from the past who came to mind after seeing sketches for her songs.

Meanwhile, Camila Cabello has also expressed her desire to work with Ed Sheeran, saying that doing a Spanish song with the “Shape of You” singer would be a dream. Camila already confirmed in an interview with Zane Lowe that Sheeran has worked with her and he had written a song for her debut album.

Check out a clip of The Chainsmokers’ “The Closer” with Camila Cabello as the featured artist.

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]