"Consequences" is a song by American singer

Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is a Cuban-born American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While i ...

from her debut studio album, '' Camila'' (2018). It was written by Cabello,

Amy Wadge Amy Victoria Wadge (born ) is an English singer and songwriter. She has co-written tracks with Ed Sheeran, including " Thinking Out Loud" for which she won the 2016 Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Early life Wadge was born and brought up in ...

Nicolle Galyon Nicolle Anne Galyon (born July 22, 1984) is a singer, songwriter, producer, record label executive, & publishing executive from Sterling, Kansas. She has written songs for Lady A, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, Florida Ge ...

and Emily Weisband, and produced by

Emile Haynie Emile Haynie (born July 13, 1980), often credited simply as Emile, is an American music producer from Buffalo, New York. His range of production includes alternative rock, hip hop, indie and pop music. Haynie has worked with several prominent a ...

and Bart Schoudel. "Consequences" is a piano-led

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. Lyrically, it is about the impact of a partner that was in Cabello's life. The singer teased its single release by sending packages to fans on October 3, 2018. "Consequences" had two versions released as the album's third and final single on October 9, 2018. That same day, the album's original version was sent to US

adult contemporary radio Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s Vocal music, vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, Soul m ...

and a new

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

version was released digitally. The orchestral version also impacted US contemporary hit radio on October 16, 2018 and US

on October 22, 2018. Commercially, the song reached number one in Wallonia (Belgium). A music video for the orchestral version, directed by Dave Meyers, was released on October 10, 2018. A

vertical video A vertical video is a video created either by a camera or computer that is intended for viewing in portrait mode, producing an image that is taller than it is wide. It thus sits in opposition to the multiple horizontal formats normalised by cin ...

was also released, showing the singer singing in front of an orchestra. The song was performed on '' Le Rico Show sur NRJ'', ''

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'' and the

American Music Awards of 2018 The 46th Annual American Music Awards were held on October 9, 2018, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. It aired live on ABC and was hosted by Tracee Ellis Ross. Cardi B and Drake led the list of nominations with eight mentions e ...

. It won the Best Lyrics award at the

2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards The 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards was held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on March 14, 2019, and was broadcast live on Fox. Ariana Grande and Ella Mai were the most awarded artists, each winning three iHeartRadio Music Awards on the night. C ...

Composition

"Consequences" is a piano-led

. Lyrically, it is about the impact of a partner that was in her life. Sam Lansky of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' cited the song as a "heartfelt" track both lyrically and musically while applauding its "pretty-ballad" songwriting for showcasing Cabello's voice. The song is performed in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor a ...

in time with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 105 beats per minute. Cabello's vocals span from G₃ to A₅.

Reception

Critical response

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' portrayed, "The piano ballad Consequences is an unexpected triumph: eschewing the usual melodramatics, Cabello’s vocal is controlled, delicate and affecting, while the accompaniment vaguely recalls – of all things – Asleep by the Smiths." Writing for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'',

Kitty Empire Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''The Observer''. Early life Empire says that she was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain ...

opined the track, "Consequences exhibits greater-than-average originality. 'Lost a little weight because I wasn't eating,' croons Cabello; 'loving you had consequences'." Dennis Leupold of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' expressed, "this girl definitely puts more of her heart into the emo. Cabello has a real flair for melancholy piano break-up ballads, as in 'Consequences,' where she ponders the high price of love: 'Dirty tissues, trust issues.'" Jamieson Cox of ''

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'' stated that "The overwrought one-two punch of 'Consequences'—which sounds a little like her attempt at something like

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to t ...

's '

Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tr ...

Sam Lansky Sam Lansky (born September 23, 1988)Connelly, Sherryl (January 14, 2016)"Time magazine culture editor Sam Lansky reveals his wild days in new memoir 'The Gilded Razor'. ''NEW YORK DAILY NEWS''. Retrieved April 6, 2017. is an American journalist, a ...

of ''

'' applauded its "pretty-ballad" songwriting for showcasing Cabello's voice while citing the song as a "heartfelt" track both lyrically and musically. Nick Levine of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' penned, "Stripped-down piano ballad ‘Consequences’ feels even more candid: she tells a former partner that 'loving you was dumb and dark and cheap,' and says she 'lost a little weight because I wasn't eating.'"

Music videos

A music video for the orchestral version, directed by Dave Meyers, was released on October 10, 2018. It featured an appearance by

Dylan Sprouse Dylan Thomas Sprouse (born August 4, 1992) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Zack Martin on the Disney Channel series '' The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' and its spin-off, '' The Suite Life on Deck'', where he starred alo ...

. In the video, Cabello and Sprouse run around, kiss and make music together. Cabello walks around a park while reminiscing about the couple's relationship. As of June 2019, the music video for orchestra version has over 42 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

and 80 million streams on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

. A

was released on November 13, 2018, on her official

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

account. The video was previously a

exclusive, released on October 30. The black-and-white video features Cabello singing in front of an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

in a studio, and as she writes and records the tune in the studio.

Accolades

Live performances

The song was performed at '' Le Rico Show sur NRJ'', ''

'' and the

. It also appeared on the setlist for Cabello's

Never Be the Same Tour ''Camila'' is the debut studio album by Cuban-American singer and songwriter Camila Cabello. It was released on January 12, 2018, through Epic Records and Syco. Work on the album began in January 2017, following Cabello's departure from the g ...

and when she opened for

Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour The Reputation Stadium Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her sixth studio album ''Reputation'' (2017). The all-stadium tour began on May 8, 2018, in Glendale, Arizona, and concluded on No ...

Cover versions

Lynnea Moorer performed the song on the fifteenth season of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleop ...

'' (U.S.), where she was a contestant during the third week. Cabello praised Moorer's "powerful" cover, which was accompanied by a piano, cello and violin. Writing for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', Emina Lukarcanin described the performance as "enchanting", stating that her "voice gracefully reached both high and low notes as she dazzled in a green off-shoulder top and matching glittery eyeshadow".

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits Credit refers to any form of deferred payment, the granting of a loan and the creation of debt. Credit may also refer to: Places * Credit, Arkansas, a ghost town * Credit River, a river in Ontario, Canada * Credit River (Minnesota), a river i ...

adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...

of ''Camila''. Recording * Recorded at Windmark Studios,

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

* Mixed at MixStar Studios,

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city (United States), independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 United States cen ...

* Mastered at the Mastering Palace, New York City, New York Personnel *

– vocals, songwriting *

– songwriting *

– songwriting * Emily Weisband – songwriting *

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

* Bart Schoudel – vocal production, recording * Josh Kerr – piano *

Serban Ghenea Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attende ...

– mixing * John Hanes –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Dave Kutch – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 2018 songs Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Songs written by Camila Cabello Camila Cabello songs Songs written by Amy Wadge Songs written by Nicolle Galyon 2018 singles 2010s ballads Songs written by Emily Weisband Vertically-oriented music videos Song recordings produced by Emile Haynie