"First Man" is a song by Cuban-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 in ...

from her second studio album ''

Romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

'' (2019), on which it appears as the fourteenth and final track. It was written by Cabello alongside

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 B ...

and Jordan Reynolds, the latter producing it with

Finneas Finneas Baird O'Connell (born July 30, 1997), known mononymously as Finneas ( stylized in all caps), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has written and produced music for various artists, most notably his sister, ...

. The song was announced as the album's seventh and final single on June 21, 2020.Sources concerning the single release of "First Man": * * * An official music video for "First Man" was released the previous day, in celebration of

Father's Day Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United ...

. It features clips from Cabello's childhood with many of the footage containing videos of her and her father. "First Man" peaked at number 94 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, following Cabello's live performance of the song at the

62nd Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Ali ...

. Musically, "First Man" is a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

piano ballad. Lyrically, the song is about Cabello's relationship with her father while she is in a romantic relationship with a "good guy".

Background and composition

"First Man" was confirmed with the album's track list on November 29, 2019. It was written by Camila Cabello, Jordan Reynolds and Amy Wadge. It runs for three minutes and forty-nine seconds. "First Man" is a pop-rock piano ballad. Cabello wrote the song about her relationship with her father while she is in a romantic relationship with a "good guy." In terms of

music notation Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, "First Man" was composed using common time in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

G Major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

, 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 (often ...

of 100

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. Cabello's vocal range spans from the low note D3 to the high note of D5, giving the song two octaves of range. The tempo has a passionate feel. Finneas O'Connell 2019 by Glenn Francis

Music video

The official music video for the song was released on Cabello's

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channel on June 21, 2020, in celebration of

. The video features clips from Cabello's childhood with many of the footage containing videos of her and her father. Cabello watches the footage on a television while singing to her dad. In the description Cabello dedicated the video to her father.

Live performances

On November 2, 2019, Camila performed the song on ''New Music Daily Presents: Camila Cabello'', a special live show from New Music Daily of Apple Music in the heart of Los Angeles celebrating the release of her album ''Romance''. Cabello performed "First Man" at the

ceremony that took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on January 26, 2020.

Commercial performance

Just one day after the Grammy awards ceremony, sales of "First Man" had already increased by over 68,000%, and that rose to over 81,000% a day later. In those two days, the track sold over 11,000 copies. The cut was also the fourth-most-streamed song the day after the Grammys. The track racked up 1.4 million streams in the 24 hours following an increase of 890%. In the US, "First Man" debuted at number 94 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Cabello's 16th career entry. In New Zealand the song peaked at number 34 on the Hot Singles chart.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the 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 notes are desce ...

of ''

''. Publishing * Published by Sony/ATV Songs LLC ( BMI) o/b/o Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) LTD/Maidmetal Limited ( PRS)/ Milamoon Songs (BMI) / WC Music Corp. o/b/o itself. Buckeye25 (

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

) and Jreynmusic (ASCAP) / WC Music Corp. (ASCAP) o/b/o itself. Cookie Jar Music LLP (ASCAP) and

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

Ltd. Recording * Recorded by Jordan Reynolds at Jordan's House,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

* Mixed by

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 attended ...

at MixStar Studios,

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

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

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, songwriting * Jordan Reynolds –

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 ...

, songwriting *

– production *

– songwriting * 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 ...

– mixing * Dave Kutch – mastering

Charts

Release history

Notes

References

{{authority control 2019 songs 2020 singles Camila Cabello songs Song recordings produced by Finneas O'Connell Songs about fathers Songs written by Camila Cabello Songs written by Amy Wadge Songs written by Jordan Reynolds Pop ballads American pop rock songs