Interview
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Jade Thirlwall officially launched her solo career with “Angel of My Dreams,” which arrived on Friday (July 19), and to celebrate, the pop star sat down with Billboard‘s Meghan Mahar to discuss her next musical chapter.
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“‘Angel of My Dreams’ is about my love-hate relationship with the music industry, which I’ve been a part of for quite some time,” she explained of the single, which samples Sandie Shaw’s “Puppet on a String,” a song that represented United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1967. “I have a lot to say about that, good and bad. ‘Angel of My Dreams’ is like a love letter to the Industry and how obsessed I am with it and how much I love it, but with that comes some trials and tribulations.”
She continued, “I’m a huge pop fan, and when I look at the pop girlies that I love, they’re the ones that are doing the absolute most. The looks, the choreo, the big songs, big choruses — give it to me! That’s what I want and that’s what I want to deliver.”
Thirlwall got her start as part of Little Mix alongside Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson. The now-trio — Nelson left the band in 2020 — announced their hiatus in 2021.
“I’m grateful I was so young when I was put in that band,” Thirlwall recalls. “I was only 18, and I think that naivety and innocence fared well for what I was put into because I was just so grateful to be there. Me and the girls worked so, so hard right until they end. It was rose-tinted glasses initially. It’s really important for me to surround myself with friends and family at all times to keep me grounded and understand what the bigger goal is. Obviously you have the blanket of the girls around you when you’re handling fame as a group, it tends to be easier. It comes with its troubles obviously — like the comparison thing. Not from each other, but I think when you’re in a girl band, everyone tries to compare you. It’s just natural. We had each other to support through everything.”
She continued, “This is essentially me starting again, so I don’t even know what it feels like fame-wise on my own. I’m really grateful I started this journey now at my age, because I’m just a lot more level-headed. I couldn’t be a solo artist 10 years ago. We’ll see what happens.”
Watch Billboard‘s full interview with Jade Thirlwall above.
On Friday (July 19), the music world received something it hasn’t gotten often over the last 10 years: a new “Weird Al” Yankovic song.
“Polkamania!” is not a new parody, but a polka medley, the type of which he would often include on his full-lengths — a mash-up of pop smashes performed by Yankovic, with his accordion coursing through the different melody snippets. Since he hasn’t released an album since 2014’s Mandatory Fun, which made history as the first comedy album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, Yankovic had a decade’s worth of pop hits to select from, and created a pastiche of Hot 100 chart-toppers from across the past 10 years.
That list ranges from Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” to the Encanto smash “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” — to, rather improbably, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP.” And the new song was also given an eye-popping music video, which sews together different styles of animation from some of Yankovic’s favorite filmmakers and collaborators.
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Yankovic — who has kept busy over the past decade by touring, releasing a handful of remixes and scattered tracks, and working on the 2022 fictionalized biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, which he co-wrote and co-produced — hopes that “Polkamania!” scratches an itch for longtime listeners, who have been waiting years for his new takes on popular music. “For some, I suppose it will be nostalgic,” the 64-year-old tells Billboard, “because it sounds very much like every other polka medley I’ve done, and they haven’t heard that in a while. And for some people, this will be a time capsule — if you’ve been out of touch and not listened to pop radio in the last 10 years, this is a good four-minute refresher course!”
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Below, Yankovic discusses his new song, his decision to move away from the album format, and the artist who immediately OK’ed his latest parody. (Note: this interview has been edited for clarity.)
When did the idea for “Polkamania!” start coming together?
A while ago, maybe even a year ago. It’s been in the back of my mind for a while — I figured that I wanted to do something to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Mandatory Fun. I wanted to come up with something new, so I’d have some new material to play next time I went out on the road. And a lot of years went by where I hadn’t done any parodies or polka medleys, and I just figured I had to kind of catch up — I had to do at least some commentary on the last decade in music. So this is my version of that.
Why was the 10th anniversary of Mandatory Fun important for you to commemorate?
Mandatory Fun is probably my last traditional “Weird Al” album. We released a double LP, the soundtrack to Weird, last year, and I’m sure there will be other projects like that. But in terms of actual “Weird Al” albums, I think that’s the last one, for a number of reasons.
But obviously I’m still trying to put out new material — it’s just that the album format for me has always felt a little restrictive, and not the best way for me to get my music out into the world. And I know that sounds a little ironic, because it’s not like I’ve exactly been prolific in terms of my recorded output in the last 10 years! But I still just feel like, I like the freedom of not having to release 12 songs all at once.
You spoke about moving away from the album model 10 years ago, when Mandatory Fun was released. Looking back on the past decade, do you feel like you made the right call?
Yeah, I think so. I don’t know if it makes sense in terms of a career or staying relevant, but those aren’t driving forces on my life — at this point in my life and career, I basically just want to do what feels right for me, what I enjoy doing. And I’ve taken a little bit of a break from recording, and have been focused on TV and film projects, and obviously a lot of touring as well. Recording is something that I would like to think will always be a part of my life and my career — it’s just that, now, I’m not beholden to a record label, I don’t owe anybody anything, and I just kind of work at my own pace.
Did “Polkamania!” come together like your previous polka medleys, in terms of the composition and squeezing the different melodies together?
Very much. I hadn’t done it in a few years, but it was kind of like riding a bike. I think this is my 13th or 14th polka medley, so it’s second nature to me. So the arrangement came together pretty quickly, once I had an approved list of songs that I could use.
Was it always going to be a smattering of different hits released over the past decade?
Yeah, that was always the idea. I think I actually even limited it to songs that had hit No. 1 on [the Billboard Hot 100], to have it narrowed down a little bit while looking at a decade’s worth of music. Then I made a little chart — like, how many weeks was this No. 1? Based on that, and based on my general feeling about how important each song was in the zeitgeist, I submitted my list to my manager, who then had the job of going out to all the artists and agents and managers and publishers and reps to see if we could actually get them cleared.
Did it take a while to get all the songs cleared, compared to previous songs or medleys?
It’s always about the same. Some people get back to your right away — I think [“Bruno” songwriter] Lin-Manuel Miranda took about 30 seconds. And some took a while, and I had to be more aggressive and track people down, see if I had any friends of friends that knew the artists, that kind of thing.
Listening to the medley for the first time and not knowing which songs are going to appear, I immediately recognized when you launched into “Shake It Off” or “Old Town Road,” but it took me a few seconds for “WAP,” and then I went, “Wait… is this…”
I have to say, that’s my favorite! Once we got the Taylor Swift song, I thought, “Okay, we’ve got a medley now” — but “WAP” was the one I was really, really hoping we would get, just because I thought that would be my personal favorite.
Who was behind the concept of the animated video?
A lot of people that I’ve worked with before, like Bill Plympton and Augenblick Studios and Ghostbot, and some people that I’ve been fans of for a long time – li-ke Cyriak, who’s a British animator who does these amazing surrealistic pieces, and Vivienne Medrano, who does Hazbin Hotel. It’s really an amazing list of talented animators, and I’m just thrilled with what they’ve come up with.
What’s it been like to prep a traditional song and video release like this again?
It’s fun! I mean, I haven’t had this kind of deadline and anxiety, everything that comes with a new release — the suspense of “How’s it going to do?,” and this kind of media blitz. We did a bit of that with the movie, but it feels a bit more personal when it’s your recorded work. So I’m very excited to be doing this project, and hopefully it’ll lead to more.
So what’s next? You’re always working on different projects…
I have five or six things that are in current stages of development, and I can’t speak of them, because some of them will probably happen and some of them probably won’t. So I’ve learned my lesson not to talk too much about things that might happen because, this town being what it is, oftentimes, things never work out. But hopefully a few things well! That’s what I’m counting on.
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LL COOL J is back in album mode and hitting the press circuit as he preps for the release of his 14th full-length project, The FORCE. In a new interview with media personality Charlamagne Tha God, LL COOL J discusses his legacy along with his brief beef with JAY-Z and more in their chat.
LL COOL J, 56, was the first guest for Charlamagne Tha God’s new series, Out Of Context, and the pair launched into an easygoing conversation that centers on LL’s status as a GOAT of the culture with the celebrated rapper showing massive amounts of humility throughout.
At the start of the interview, LL challenges the idea of what legacy means in Hip-Hop culture, reminding viewers that at the very least, this is an art form open for interpretation and you can’t worry about the perception from the fans. LL is also aware that releasing music in the age of the Internet is different from his beginnings in 1985 when he was still a teenager.
Around the 50-minute mark, Charlamagne Tha God raised the point of how battling in Hip-Hop has taken a new turn with LL making mention of the Drake and Kendrick Lamar beef while adding that in these types of contests, you can’t take it personally.
However, Charlamagne inquired about a long-running rumor that LL and JAY-Z battled in a parking lot in the 1990s with Sauce Money, then affiliated with Roc-A-Fella Records, attempting to challenge the Queens rapper as well. LL explains that JAY-Z also began rapping but shared that he ran out of rhymes but it didn’t appear that he was deeply affected by the moment.
Check out the full interview below with Charlamagne Tha God and LL COOL J.
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Photo: Julia Beverly / Getty
The story of Glass Animals’ 2020 slow-burning smash “Heat Waves” had a miraculous ending: The fourth single from the British band’s third album Dreamland landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 2022, following a record-breaking 59-week rise on the charts.
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The sleeper hit ruled the charts for 5 weeks, and following its 91st week, “Heat Waves” became the longest-charting song on the Hot 100 of all time, dethroning The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights”; it currently sits at three billion streams on Spotify alone. Since the millennium, only two U.K. groups have reached the Hot 100 summit: Coldplay and Glass Animals. The song’s origins are equally engrossing, proof that doors can almost slide shut as quickly as they open.
“Heat Waves”, which features Glass Animals’ trademark fusion of indie-rock, R&B and pop, was written and produced solely by frontman Dave Bayley. Its lyrics reference the death of a close friend and the pain when the subject’s birthday rolls around: “Sometimes, all I think about is you/ Late nights in the middle of June/ Heat waves been fakin’ me out”.
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“Even before I released it, I felt that “Heat Waves” was a bit too personal and too sad,” Bayley tells Billboard on Zoom from London. He was in the process of selling the song to another artist, though picked it back up when he learned the potential buyer wasn’t going to record it. “It’s really easy to write something personal and to give it to someone else as you have a little bit of distance from it and you can be more honest.”
He continues: “When [the song’s success] started happening, it felt weird. It was like walking outside naked – I felt exposed. It’s a personal song and it has an optimism, but hearing it out and about… it was haunting me in a way.”
The campaign around Dreamland, their first album released in conjunction with Polydor after years on indie label Wolfe Tone, was equally disorientating. Bayley, who grew up in the U.S. until he was 12, built a nostalgic mood board inspired by his ‘90s childhood memories for the autobiographical songs: NBC’s hit sitcom Friends, early internet communities and the dominance of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. By the time Dreamland was released in August 2020, the world was deep in lockdown, the online and IRL worlds one blurry mess. We were back online and reliving Jordan’s prowess through ESPN’s documentary The Last Dance.
Glass Animals’ new record I Love You So F***ing Much, due July 19, is informed by this “head f–k” period. Bayley sought to juxtapose the personal songwriting with existential sonics, and sought inspiration in the cosmos. The LP’s artwork – a close-up of Bayley’s eyes surrounded by pitch-black nothingness – presents either an intimate message from the outer reaches of humanity, or, depending on your viewpoint, a detached, lost soul searching for salvation.
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The Oxford band – completed by Drew MacFarlane (guitar), Edmund Irwin-Singer (bass) and Joe Seaward (drums) – had flirted with commercial and critical success in the past. “Gooey,” from the group’s 2014 debut Zaba, was certified two-times platinum by the RIAA, and sophomore record How To Be A Human Being was nominated for the U.K.’s prestigious Mercury Prize in 2017. Along the way, the group collaborated with hip-hop heavyweights like Denzel Curry and Joey Bada$$, with the material charting globally in Australia, Canada and the U.S.
In 2018, the band cancelled a string of live dates when Seaward was hit by a lorry while cycling in Dublin; he suffered a broken leg, fractured skull and neurological injuries. Speaking to NME in 2020, Bayley said that Seaward returning to the stage “felt like a miracle”.
Months after its first shows back with Seaward, however, the band was pulled off the road due to the developing COVID pandemic. It eventually began booking shows again in 2021 – including a performance at the Billboard Music Awards – but the experience of success still felt at an arm’s reach. The band kept its own touring bubble and shunned parties to avoid scuppering any live dates with a positive test.
“It was a very strange time. We were watching everything happen from a distance and feeling quite detached from it,” Bayley says. “We would see Instagram stories of people dancing in the park to [“Heat Waves”], which was wonderful… but there was also a disconnect.”
In 2022, Glass Animals was nominated for best new artist at the Grammys (ultimately losing to Olivia Rodrigo) just as “Heat Waves” was peaking at No.1. In the days leading up to the April 4 event, though, Bayley returned a positive test and had to miss the ceremony, the biggest dip on the most bizarre of roller coasters.
“It might sound melodramatic, but I had a lot pinned on going to that and absorbing the moment,” Bayley says. “It felt like a unifying opportunity for our fans, and a chance to experience everything that had happened in the real world. It would have been a tangible thing, and it didn’t happen. That spun me out a bit.”
To counteract these missed opportunities, Bayley put himself into situations where he thought he ought to be: at parties, socialising and in the studio with external writers and producers. He gained writing and production credits on Florence + The Machine’s 2023 LP Dance Fever alongside Jack Antonoff, including on lead single “My Love”.
But it was due to another positive COVID test a year later that forced Bayley to quarantine for a fortnight in a rented AirBnB in Los Angeles. He turned to his pen, and the songs came fast in a fit of inspiration. “I was in this massive doom hole and feeling s–t about everything. I was trying to make sense of it all and the writing felt good,” he says. The uncertainty and unrealness of the era eventually became the motor: “That chaos is actually really exciting and beautiful – there’s sadness, hate, happiness and love, and you need all of them in your life.”
He paired the intimacy with the expanse of space, building a “retro futuristic” recording studio in London, kitting it out with gear from the 1950s and ‘60s to give the electronics an appropriate warmth. He gleefully reels of the disparate sonic inspirations on his personal “S–t I Like” playlist, including Throbbing Gristle, Suicide, My Bloody Valentine, Frankie Valli and British electronic pioneer Delia Derbyshire.
This grandeur and ambition collides with yearning confessions on their new album. “ICMYFILA” – short for “I Can’t Make You Fall In Love Again” – sings of someone who “walked out of my life” without a proper farewell, the chiming synths behind it reminiscent of Hans Zimmer’s score for Christopher Nolan’s space epic Interstellar. On “White Roses”, Bayley’s bouncing vocals meet the booming rap-inspired beat behind it: “I’ll just be the ghost on photos on your phone”, he warns.
It all makes for a fitting coda to a period of such confusion and chaos, a band caught up in the dizzying nature of success. “There was a huge sense of perspective and questions and it led to this existential theme to the record,” Bayley says. “It doesn’t have a whole lot of answers, other than that it’s OK to be lost and not really understanding what’s going on.”
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But could history be about to repeat itself? “Take a Slice”, an album track from 2016’s How To Be a Human Being, is currently surging up the Shazam charts and streams of the song are spiking on DSPs. The song has reached No. 22 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 after the app’s users connected it to a scene from Pixar’s Inside Out 2, pairing its squealing guitar breakdown with frenetic imagery. Fresh releases and catalogue releases are now at the mercy of unpredictable users and growth, but Bayley is familiar with and accepting of the terrain now.
“It’s really beautiful [to have these moments], but you have to be careful as the temptation is to stop releasing bodies of work,” he says. “I love cohesive bodies of work where the end result is greater than the sum of its parts, but that can get lost if you start thinking too much and chasing virality.”
As “Heat Waves” – a paean to a lost friend – proves, the conviction of the message is what remains.
“A lot of these platforms are great, but eventually there’ll be a new one and something different and what matters is the song,” he says as a smile spreads across his face. “The thing that’s proven itself over and over again is that if you write something that is meaningful and honest, it hopefully stands the test of time.”
Last summer, salute spent two days in a Tokyo hotel room putting the finishing touches on their debut album. This may seem like a glamorous situation. It wasn’t.
“It sounds cool, finishing your album in Tokyo,” the Manchester-based producer says, “But the last thing I want to be doing in Tokyo is sitting at my desk. I wanted to be outside.”
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Talking to Billboard over Zoom from London on a recent Friday afternoon, salute says these tedious finishing touches were the hardest part of making an album that emerged during writing sessions with friends at a massive house in the English countryside, where a No Social Media rule was put in place. After additional sessions in London, the project, True Magic, reaches its final stage of completion Friday (July 12) when it’s released via Ninja Tune.
A 14-track collection of shimmering, sometimes tough, occasionally sexy and always sleek music that fuses house, garage, synth and French touch, the album is the culmination of nine years worth of single and EP releases, a steadily growing profile and the connections the producer has made along the way.
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“Most of the people on the album are just friends of mine,” they say of the set’s collaborators — a list that includes longtime pal Rina Sawayama (“one of my closest friends in music”), Disclosure, who initially got in touch by DM-ing an invite to their L.A. studio, and other friends including Sam Gellaitry, Empress Of, Karma Kid and Leilah.
Following 2024 U.S. sets that included salute’s Coachella debut in April and a performance at the Four Tet & Friends festival in New York this May, True Magic will bring them back to the States this fall for a nine-date run that ends at III Points in Miami.
Amid the release, salute talks about making True Magic, using an inclusion rider to ensure they play on more inclusive lineups and why they’re happy about not being an overnight success.
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1. Where are you in the world right now, and what’s the setting like?
I’m in London at the moment for a show that I’m playing tonight. This is a very boring hotel lobby.
2. What is the first album or piece of music you bought for yourself, and what’s the medium?
This is so cringe: My parents are super Christian, so they wouldn’t let me buy any secular music. I wanted to buy hip-hop for example, and had to buy Christian hip-hop. I was nine or ten, and they took me to this Christian bookstore, and I bought this CD and had no idea who any of the artists were on it. But that’s not the album I recognize as being my first. The one I recognize as my first is Aaliyah’s [2001] self-titled.
3. What did your parents do for a living when you were a kid, and what do they think of what you do for a living now?
My dad was a cab driver, and my mom was a nurse. I think at first they were confused, because they hadn’t considered you could make a living with dance music. They were probably worried about me, so they weren’t super supportive at first. But further down the line when they understood that it made me happy, that I was able to sustain myself and there was an actual job, they supported it, which is great.
4. What is the first non-gear thing you bought for yourself when you started making money as an artist?
I bought these expensive New Balance shoes. I was 18, went into the shop in Vienna and did that thing where you buy something without looking at the price. I had all this cash in my hand, and I was like “I’m going to get those shoes, they look amazing.” They ended up costing me like, 250 Euros, which was so much money to me at the time. I was like, “F–k it.” I committed to them. I still own them, and I still wear them sometimes. When I put them on for the first time, I felt rich.
5. What is the last song that you listened to?
I was just listening to the new Kaytranada album — the last song was “Lover/Friend” by Kaytranada and Rochelle Jordan. The album is absolutely amazing.
6. If you had to recommend one album to someone looking to get into dance music, what album would you give them?
Settle by Disclosure, it is your best bet. That album perfectly combined house, garage and pop music, and I don’t think anyone has come close to doing that, in terms of U.K.-leaning dance music. The first Kaytranada album, 99.9%, was really important music for electronic music. But I think overall, in terms of cultural impact, it’s Settle.
7. Amid your rise and all of your success, what have been the most surreal moments?
I was in Colombia playing a festival and sightseeing, so I was in Medellín for a week. I was on the metro at like, 2:00 p.m. listening to music, and this guy calls out to me and says, “This is going to sound strange, but you’re not a DJ, are you?” I was like, “Yeah.” He shows me his phone, and he was listening to one of my songs. I was on the metro, in the backend of the city, thousands of miles away from home, and this guy is telling me how much he loves my music and how excited he is to see me perform.
That happening is bizarre and very humbling as well – people coming up to me and telling me how my music has helped them. Also going to places that are so far away, where I don’t speak the language and there’s a complete cultural disconnect, but you’re bonding over music you’ve made. That, to me, is so surreal.
8. You wrote that “writing this record nearly cost me my nerves.” Care to tell me more about that?
I love writing music and the creative part of it, having a few friends around and writing songs. But actually sequencing the album, finishing those songs and doing all the technical bits at the end, that probably takes up most of the time. None of the songs on the album took that long to write. It’s the last bit, doing all the technical stuff, re-recording elements, that is so tiring. I hate it. That’s when you’ve heard every song a few hundred times, and it’s like “I don’t even know if this sounds like music anymore.”
9. How did you know when it was done?
When is anything done? When there was nothing obvious that stood out to me, and I was able to listen through without cringing at anything. [Laughs.] That’s when I knew. For the most part, it was like, “Am I broadly happy with this? Am I going to regret putting this out? No? Then it’s done.”
10. What does success for the album look like to you?
I think of success less in streaming or units sold and more in cultural impact. If my album inspires a bunch of producers to move into being album artists, rather than just dance music producers who release three or four track EPs, breaking out of the DJ mold and working more on their artistry. That’s what I think Disclosure did with Settle. It influenced a whole generation of producers to realize that there was crossover into pop music. That’s what I want to do through True Magic, to have the level of confidence that Settle did. I know it’s a lofty goal, but that album inspired me so much.
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11. It feels like a healthy moment for dance music, with new albums by Kaytranada, Peggy Gou, Justice, you, among others, all released this year. Does that track for you?
It definitely tracks for me. There’s so much happening in all corners of dance music, and I think we’re back in low-level golden era without realizing it. Historically, dance music has suffered from a lack of really good albums — and all of the sudden, all of these amazing projects are dropping. For all of these artists to be releasing music in the space of a year, and for most of it to be so good, that’s rare. It shows how healthy dance music is.
What underlines that for me: in America, it’s mainly tech house and dubstep, but there is such a huge appetite for stuff outside those genres. When I go [to the States] and see the tickets my friends are selling, and how many people show up to these pop-up shows we do, it’s really encouraging. America has always had that thing where people say, “Oh America is a few years behind everywhere else,” but I don’t think that’s the case anymore. When I go America, my crowds are really knowledgeable — they’re very open as well, which is super important. So I agree, dance music is in an amazing place.
12. Who have been your biggest supporters?
Within music, Hudson Mohawke is a big supporter of mine. He shows me so much love. DJ Seinfeld is a huge supporter of mine. Barry Can’t Swim has my back through and through. Mall Grab has shown me so much love over the years — he’s introduced me to his audience, and is part of the reason I’ve been able to tour Australia. Annie Mac from Radio 1, she’s obviously retired now, but she was a very vocal supporter of my music for like, eight years. She is responsible for showing my music to so many people. Without her, my career would not be anywhere near what it is right now.
13. I read in your DJ Mag profile that you have an inclusion rider. What prompted that decision?
I was playing a show in Newcastle in the north of England, and I got there and every DJ on the lineup was white and male. It wouldn’t have been an issue for me if they were good DJs, but pretty much everyone sucked. They were like, really bad. Basically, the promoter had just booked his best friends to play. I was there [thinking] like, “So many of my girl mates, so many of my queer mates, so many of my Black mates would have absolutely killed this night.” But it’s just kind of how it is, where a promoter will just book his mates rather than booking a good DJ.
I got back to my hotel and texted my agent like, “I want to make sure that I am performing among more people who look like me, and among more people who are nonbinary and trans, etc.” I found a template for an inclusion rider online, and it basically stipulates that 30% of the lineup of any stage I play on has to be from an underrepresented group, and has to be approved by me.
14. How has that worked out?
It’s been really great. It’s not the solution to a problem, because the problem is very much systemic. There is a reason why there is such a drought of non-white, non-male DJs at the top of the DJ sphere, and it goes further than just implementing an inclusion rider, but I think it’s better than nothing. It’s a good start.
I had this queer DJ that was supporting me in Belgium say “thank you so much, I’m so grateful that I’m able to play for a crowd this big.” That is, to me, what it’s about — because those opportunities are not usually given to people outside a very specific category of DJs. As a Black person myself, I’ve had to deal with being on lineups where I’m the token, and I just want it to feel less tokenistic and more like the promoter actually gives a f–k, and it makes a difference. I’ve had promoters who weren’t interested in it, so those are promoters I’m just not going to work with anymore.
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15. What’s been the best business decision you’ve made so far in your career?
It’s realizing I don’t want A&Rs involved in my creative process. The label I’m releasing on now, at the start they said, “We can be as involved or not involved as you want us to be with A&R-ing the album.” I said, “Actually, I want you to back off completely and I will deliver it to you at the end.” I sent them a draft of the album halfway through the production process, and then again at the end — and they were like, “This is amazing.” I was like “Yes, because you let me do my thing.”
16. Has that now always been the case?
The previous label I was signed to — it’s not their fault, because I didn’t say anything, but the A&R was meddling quite a lot. That’s when I realized I wasn’t making music I was happy with; I was letting someone else dictate what I should be making. It wasn’t great for me. But I love A&R-ing, and I think I’m good at it. I love putting people in rooms and making great stuff. If I’m given space to do that, that‘s where I flourish.
17. What’s the most challenging aspect of your career right now?
Being away so much. Not seeing the people that matter to me. I was recently away for like, six weeks. I did Coachella, then went to Japan, and then randomly did more shows in the U.S. I’ve been touring at this level for two years now — and it’s amazing and I love it — but it does suck that I can’t just call my mate and say “do you want to go for a drink?” because I’m halfway around the world.
Obviously I appreciate meeting people on the road, and I’ve met so many amazing friends, but it’s just not the same as going to your best friend’s house to chill. It’s made me appreciate the time I do have when I’m at home. It’s made me a lot more present. I don’t take it for granted as much, when you might not see the person sitting opposite from you for a few months.
18. Maybe it’s also that you’re having these peak experiences, but you’re not with the people you’d like to share them with while they’re happening?
Right. I did this amazing show in America. I was playing Four Tet & Friends in New York [in May.] It was my birthday, and people were like, “This must be the best birthday you’ve ever had, right?” It was an amazing birthday, but I kind of wished my people were there with me.
19. Who’s been your greatest mentor, and what’s the best advice they’ve given you?
My greatest mentor is still my manager, Will. I’ve been with him for 10 years. He is probably the person who understands me the most, when it come to my career. Obviously it’s his job too, but he always just reminds me of the best version of myself.
It’s cliché, but when you really think of that, it translates into so many things. Everything I’ve done over any other project has reminded me to do what feels right for me and not try to please the label or [my manager]. In the past, when I’ve done what I thought someone else would want me to do, or what I thought I needed to do, it’s fallen flat. But Will is a constant reminder that people love me for me, and I shouldn’t forget that.
20. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
I used to worry so much and compare myself to other people so much. I’d see my friends’ careers blowing up, and I was like “I wish that was me.” It used to really mess with my self esteem. But when I see some of the careers where people have been really successful and it’s gone really quickly, it’s often happened that they’ve crashed afterwards. Maybe they didn’t have the support they needed, or things were moving too quickly and they didn’t find their feet properly.
I’m so grateful now that it wasn’t like that for me. My career has been such a slow burn. It happening like this has given me time to adjust. So I would tell my younger self not to worry, because it will all turn out just fine.
06/28/2024
Find out Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee and Iroha’s favorite songs, movies, MBTI and more.
06/28/2024
When the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) releases its annual Music Industry Action Report Card, co-founder and president/CEO Willie “Prophet” Stiggers says a barrage of distressed phone calls from executives inevitably follows. The assessments grade music companies on how well they’ve kept promises made in 2020 to diversify their executive ranks, among other measures; the executives call, he explains, to complain that the grades affect their bottom lines.
“That’s what we want to do,” says Stiggers, who is also the CEO of artist and brand management company 50/50 Music Group Management. “You can’t continue to operate with false promises after saying that you stand in solidarity with your Black brothers and sisters and then don’t promote the Black executive and don’t ensure that a woman is in an environment where she is protected and her vision is executed.”
BMAC was established in June 2020 following the movement #TheShowMustBePaused to advance racial diversity, equity and inclusion in the music business. But this year’s mass industry layoffs, which included many DEI executives, has “unrolled some of the progress we were making,” Stiggers says.
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As a result, BMAC will present a new version of its report before its fourth annual gala in September. The organization has sent a link to executives that asks them to anonymously indicate whether they have seen true change, what has worsened and what still needs to be addressed.
The early results, Stiggers says, are “almost a slap in the face — a ‘whitelash,’ if you will, to the commitments that were made in 2020. The question has become, Was this s— really performative or not?”
The National Action Network Award that Stiggers received this year — “a 360 moment for me because my activism began with [NAN founder and president] Al Sharpton. I created and led [the organization’s] youth division.”
Diwang Valdez
Why are there fewer Black executives in the music industry now than in 2019?
The major labels, I’m sure, would tell you AI [artificial intelligence]. The uncertainty of that realm has caused them to tighten up. But my suspicions are, there’s a bit of that, but these positions [for Black and women executives] were not permanent. A lot of the people were put in these positions in 2020 — managers became senior-level directors, for example — and then in 2024, they have been asked to go back to that lower position or exit altogether. When you have the RIAA report record-breaking revenue that the industry generated in 2023, it’s a little lost on me how that translates to the lack of employment.
What are your thoughts on the DEI positions that have been eliminated since 2020?
The reality is that a lot of these commitments from the labels were three-year commitments. That seemed to be the hot number where they thought maybe at the end of the three years this s— would go away or we would be on to something else. Seemingly, the contracts that these DEI executives had were three-year deals. Once they were up, [the labels were] like, “We did that. We checked the box. Now let’s go back to business as usual.” There was so much potential for us to set this thing on the right course. So for us to go backward is really embarrassing, and history is going to reflect this.
How are you counseling these companies to elevate people of color and women?
A lot of our conversations with these labels, we do confidentially. Here’s what I can say about it. We bring all kinds of stats to prove how profitable diversity is; how profitable it is when you let women lead; how profitable historically it has been when people of color — those who make the product, who consume the product — lead [in terms of] how that product is distributed. This is not even a moral conversation at this point. I’m telling you how it impacts your bottom line.
The prototype of the first BMAC Award, which was given in September 2021 to The Weeknd at the first gala. “He said, ‘This is the greatest award I ever received.’ ”
Diwang Valdez
What do you think of the Recording Academy’s attempts to diversify the voting membership for the Grammy Awards?
Racism is a 450-year-old issue. It is not going to be solved in three or four years. What we can do is talk about the progress that has been made. We have, for the first time, a Black CEO of the Recording Academy. That’s progress. We watched new categories get introduced [like] best song for social change. That didn’t exist prior to Harvey Mason jr. as CEO. He’s up against decades of systems that we are slowly chipping away at. The mere fact that there is a Black Music Collective. The fact that Jay-Z stood on the stage and held a Grammy named after Dr. Dre. We’re not going to act like that is the liberation of our people, but we’re not going to act like that’s not change.
You say BMAC has moved from protest to policy. How?
In 2022, it came to our attention that there were over 500 cases of Black men that were locked up for lyrics. That became a problem for us. So BMAC created the federal legislation called the RAP Act. The work that we did on that federal level created all these statewide bills like what Gov. [Gavin] Newsom signed in California last year. That was a direct result of our work. We are working with the group around Fix the Tix and are working with the groups around AI protection. Our work around legislative policy is as loud, as real and as meaningful as the work we’re doing with pipeline programs.
What are some of those pipeline programs?
Three years ago, we partnered with the RIAA and Tennessee State University and [Nashville Music Equity’s] Brian Sexton, who is an alumnus there, to bring a unique commercial business school to young people who want to get into the industry. We bring in executives and artists from all over the industry. They get paid internships that come out of that every year. We’ve had several people get gainfully employed at record labels and music studios. Most recently, Live Nation hired one of the participants. Tri Star [Sports & Entertainment] hired a young woman from this year’s classes.
A portrait of Stiggers; his wife of 29 years, Fatima; and three of their children, from left: Zaira, Nailah and Willie III. They have since been joined by daughter Safra-Cree. “We met in high school and started [our] family young, which defined my greater purpose,” he says.
Diwang Valdez
That’s not your only Nashville-related initiative.
BMAC also put out a report in 2022 called Three Chords and the Actual Truth: The Manufactured Myth of Country Music and White America. When we released that report, there was a call to action for the music world to join us in addressing the structural racism on Music Row in Nashville and creating access. We were inspired by a guy named Michael Tubbs from Stockton, Calif. He created Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and got mayors from all over the country to create these pilot programs where they would give [citizens of their city] guaranteed income of up to $2,000 a month. He got the qualitative and quantitative data needed to show the positive effects of small increments of money going to people directly.
We felt we could bring the same concept to the music industry and creators. The Academy of Country Music was the first to raise their hand and join us. A year to the date of that report, 20 young Black kids [in the music community] started receiving $1,000 a month, plus mentorship and [other] services.
BMAC is also working with the live industry.
We did a partnership with Live Nation and created BMAC Live, a 10-day intensive program in California as part of Live Nation’s School of Live. They allowed BMAC to come in and carve out a program specifically geared toward young Black non-college-bound students who have a desire to be in the live space. We’ve had 3,000 applicants already, and we are going to pick 20 of the best of that group and fly them out to Los Angeles for a full week. Each of those young people will go to their respective cities and receive a paid internship from Live Nation for six months. [Then] they will be eligible for the Live Nation apprenticeship program. That’s another six months that will then lead to employment. That’s the type of access and training we talked about, and that program will scale and grow annually.
A plaque commemorating the first Music Business Accelerator Program created by BMAC in partnership with the RIAA that started at Tennessee State University in 2021.
Diwang Valdez
Is there anything else you would like to highlight?
We’re working on something really special with Apple Pathways. [We are training young people] around spatial audio, spatial visual and preparing them for the technology of tomorrow. This is where we are going, and if we don’t create the accessibility to the technology, another divide is about to happen. Another shift will take place in which Black America is left out once again.
Is BMAC looking to expand its staff as these programs and initiatives develop?
Yes. We will be expanding and looking at college representatives. Young people are ready. They’re not moving with the same barriers and the same willingness to allow norms to continue to separate people. It’s a different spirit among this generation here.
One thing we realized is that this fight for justice isn’t just here in the U.S. We are in partnerships with organizations in the United Kingdom and Australia, and we are forging a tremendous movement with several key organizations throughout the continent [of Africa]. I’m very concerned about what’s happening with Afrobeats. If we don’t get over there and start working with our African brothers and sisters to understand the industry, the cultural appropriation that took place in hip-hop, blues, rock, country will happen over there. If we do not protect the [intellectual property], it will be cultural colonization all over again.
The life of Mexican influencer Yeri Mua has taken a new turn with her foray into music, writing yet another chapter in her peculiar story.
Born in the port of Veracruz, Mexico, Yeri Cruz Varela (real name) went viral in 2018 at just 16 years old, doing makeup tutorials on YouTube and social media that attracted thousands. But that was only the beginning. Over time, the girl with a carefree spirit would share with her audience family aspects such as her relationship with her parents, whom she made part of her content; her stormy love affairs, which became part of her daily life in her online publications; and her much talked about physical transformation, achieved after several cosmetic surgeries and, of course, makeup.
All of this has grown her fandom: On TikTok, for instance, she has more than 22.6 million followers; on Instagram, she boasts 12.1 million. (On YouTube she has a separate account where she now posts her music).
Her friendship with Mexican reggaetón stars like Jey F and El Gudi led her to fulfill her dream of becoming a singer in 2023, when she collaborated with them on the song “Chupón”, whose video has more than 100 million views. Then came “Línea del Perreo” with Uzielito Mix, El Jordan 23 and DJ Kiire, and “Mamita Rica” with rising star Kenia Os, who also started her career as an influencer.
Trending on Billboard
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Today, at 22, Yeri Mua is a celebrity who has caught the attention of superstars like J Balvin, with whom she released “G Low Kitty Remix” last April. Shortly thereafter, the content creator-turned-singer moved on from being an independent artist by signing a contract with Sony Music Mexico in early June. And, on Tuesday (June 25), she received a nomination for Premios Juventud in the “Creator of the Year” category.
In an conversation with Billboard Español, the Mexican influencer of the moment talked about her music plans, her ability to learn languages, her thoughts about starting a family, the moments that have shaped her character, as well as her plans to retire early.
How was your signing day with Sony Music?
As a woman I felt fulfilled. My managers, my best friend, my parents were there. Just before signing, my parents and I had a very intimate moment where we asked my grandfather, who is in heaven, for his blessings and to enlighten me on this important path.
Your parents have been together for many years. Have you imagined yourself getting married?
You bet I have. I would have no problem getting married at this age, even though many people say it’s not good. I’m not afraid because there is divorce. A wedding is a very nice family celebration.
Your relationships have been much talked about and your partners have even been criticized.
The truth is that I used to love toxic boyfriends — but to get married, I wouldn’t marry just anyone. For example, I get along very well with my current partner, because he listens to me in everything and that makes me happy.
I would like a beautiful [wedding] gown. There are not so many weddings anymore, so I would like a party in style. Maybe I would get married between 25 and 27.
Despite your age, you seem to have already experienced a lot. What is Yeri really like?
I think it is very demonized to make mistakes; making mistakes is a way to learn and move forward, and that has been my life. Many people think that I have always been a liberal person sexually and in every way — but no, when I was 17 my mother did not allow me to go out with skirts or showing cleavage.
My personality was formed as I grew up, because it was a process for my parents to accept the way I am now. I have always been extroverted, but it was a process. Today they love me and accept what I do.
Does anyone advise you on what to do?
I have not learned from what others tell me, I have to live it and stumble, and then I can get over the bumps. I don’t have to follow the advice of others; I have to follow my intuition even if it sucks. Today I can say that the problems I got into one, two or three years ago I would not commit them again.
You have talked about retiring young, at age 35. Is this true?
Yes, because I want to have a family and I don’t want my children to be nepo babies, to be exposed. If I am exposed it is because I want to. I don’t want my children to be exposed to cameras or fame without them causing it.
If I am working hard and breaking my back right now, it is to give them a normal childhood. I would like to have two children.
Has making money always been your objective?
I am in favor of the fact that it is not necessary to get a college degree. Since high school, I started studying hairstyling, because we were not going through a very good economic period and I started working since I was a teenager: I did nails, scrubbed feet, took care of children, I did everything because I liked to earn money. My mom allowed me to do high school online as long as I worked and I haven’t stopped.
I believe that no one should skip the stage of enjoying youth. However, I believe that working changes young people’s mentalities.
Are there any other passions you have besides music and makeup?
I always went to private schools, although I studied one year in the U.S. in a public school.
My school in Mexico was trilingual, so in addition to Spanish, I learned English and Mandarin Chinese. Languages have always been easy for me. In fact, I started studying languages and I would like to return to it.
How do you stay in shape?
I confess that I had rhinoplasty, liposuction twice and breast implants. Before my surgeries I was 20 kilos (44 lbs.) overweight — I lost weight on my own and then I had surgery. To be honest, I am not so much of an exerciser nor a dieter. At home I have a person, Mrs. Lucy, who cooks for me. If you eat healthy at home, you don’t need diets.
Tell us about the experience of making a video with J Balvin.
Although it was very fast, it was very pleasant. Colombians have something special, they make you feel good. J Balvin is someone I admire for the musical legacy he is leaving, he is a gentleman.
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Who would you like to collaborate with?
My dream reggaetón collaboration would be with Karol G or Tokischa, but artists that I also love and are top for me are Ice Spice and Doja Cat. I’m very inspired by their image, and I’m going to work to achieve it.
Most of the men in Dorothy Carvello‘s new novel The Circle Broken are horrible: Bucky, a Nashville record-label chief who screams in a crowded restaurant that his wife is the “whore of Babylon”; The Colonel, who controls his country-star client and takes 40% of his royalties, leaving the singer with just 10%; and Michael, the tortured young talent who suffers a traumatic brain injury and berates and gaslights his partner.
“All my books that I write — and will be writing — will always have the theme of the corruption of the music business,” says Carvello, whose previous book was 2018’s Anything for a Hit: An A&R Woman’s Story of Surviving the Music Industry, which she followed up with a December 2022 sexual-assault lawsuit against two major labels and three longtime record executives. “And there will always be themes of women as the unsung heroes behind the men in any place in the music business.”
Carvello’s lawsuit repeated many of the allegations from her first book. She accuses the late Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun and former Universal, Sony and Warner chief Doug Morris of “horrifically sexually assaulting” her and claims Atlantic, its parent company Warner Music Group and former Atlantic exec Jason Flom “knowingly enabled … outrageous workplace sexual assault.” Among her claims: Female employees were “routinely exposed to Mr. Ertegun masturbating”; Morris carried a pornographic magazine around the office and placed it on Carvello’s desk when she was Ertegun’s secretary; and Ertegun committed “forceful and nonconsensual attacks” on Carvello at a Skid Row concert and in a corporate helicopter afterward.
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(Flom did not respond to requests for comment. Warner has said in a statement that the labels “take allegations of misconduct very seriously. These allegations date back 35 years, to before WMG was a standalone company. We are speaking with people who were there at the time, taking into consideration that many key individuals are deceased or into their 80s and 90s.” Morris, through his attorney, said Carvello’s allegations are “without legal or factual merit.” And Rick Werder, a former attorney for Ertegun’s widow, Mica, who filed a motion to dismiss Carvello’s lawsuit before her death last December at 97, called Carvello’s claims “utterly meritless.”)
Oral arguments were scheduled to begin in New York Supreme Court in mid-June, but a judge postponed them to September. “My jury will have to have trigger warnings because there’s a lot more that wasn’t in the book,” Carvello says, during a half-hour discussion about her writing career and the lawsuit.
Below is an excerpt of the conversation.
The only character name that appears in The Circle Broken as well as Anything for a Hit is Joel Katz, the real-life music attorney. In the new book, the fictional Katz gives a speech honoring a Nashville record mogul and says he’s “proof that If you do good enough in this town, you’ll be rewarded in kind. Unless you’re Jewish.” How conscious was your decision to put Katz in both books?
It was a conscious decision, because Joel Katz was the only premiere lawyer involved in so many people’s careers, artists and executives, and pretty much ran the town of Nashville. Also, I wanted to show that if you’re Jewish, Nashville is a town that’s hard. If you’re gay, Jewish, if you’re not white, Anglo-Saxon Protestant, it’s a tough town.
Why in general did you set The Circle Broken in Nashville?
I started to go to Nashville in 1988 and my first experience was at Atlantic Records Nashville. They were trying to sign an artist, and I was sitting there, and the person said to the artist, “Jesus wants us to have your publishing.” I was blown away by that. It always fascinated me, the religious undertones of Nashville. Even when I went down as recently as five years ago, a label head asked me what church I belonged to. I said, “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the Catholic church — we have our own bank and we have our own ambassadors.”
Cee Cee, the singer-turned-manager in the book, is the victim of abuse and, despite making a few questionable decisions, she’s full of empathy and has a lot of love to give. How personal was writing that character?
I wanted to show all the characters struggling with religious oppression, in a way. I went to an all-Catholic school, a Catholic college. Religion teaches you to obey. As women, we get it no matter where we turn. And in the music business, there are very few women. We’ve never had a woman even run a major corporation. We still have three white men running the game. When the Warner Music Group just changed CEOs [in September 2022], they had a chance to really do something and they still stuck with a white male [Robert Kyncl]. I wanted to show a woman who breaks free and makes a choice who gets away from that religious stuff and falls in love and goes for it.
Why write Anything for a Hit first, then file the lawsuit afterwards?
The law changed in New York in 2022. [The state passed the Adult Survivors Act in May of that year, eliminating the statute of limitations for sexual-abuse cases for a year — which led to more than 3,000 civil suits through last Thanksgiving, including Carvello’s in December 2022.] I couldn’t sue because I was time-barred. The book was published in 2018, and when I found out the law changed, I interviewed lawyers and decided to sue.
After Anything for a Hit came out, did you hear back from the people you wrote about?
No. I received not one pushback, not one letter, not one lawsuit, nothing. Dead silence.
One of the most disturbing details in Anything for a Hit, amid many descriptions of sexual abuse, is your allegation that Ertegun fractured your arm because he was angry about a subpar Skid Row concert after you’d steered Atlantic into signing the band. How long did it take you to get over that abuse, if at all?
Well, I’m not over it, and I probably never will be. I know what happened to me. I know what that truth is and I’m prepared to air that truth in a court of law, with a jury of my peers, at 60 Centre Street [site of the New York County Courthouse].
After the #MeToo movement led to men in the music business being publicly accused of sexual assault, has anything changed?
We’ve had no #MeToo in the music business. Where is the #MeToo?
Several men have been called out in lawsuits and press reports — most recently Diddy, but also Russell Simmons, L.A. Reid, Charlie Walk.
No. I don’t think anything’s changed. Like I said, we have three white males running the business.
How were you able to make the transition from non-fiction and get a book deal in the fiction world?
I had to get a different agent and sell him on the idea, and that was not easy because the book tells two stories — my critique of the music business overall in Nashville, and the story of a woman, two women actually, struggling to help this one man. I had to learn how to write fiction. It took three years. The next book is almost finished and that’s taken me less than a year.
What can you say about it?
It’s called Frontman, and it’s going to be about a rock star and the six women in his life throughout his career that started in the ’70s in the U.K.
When did you notice that you had what the music business calls “solid gold ears,” and the talent to be a record-label A&R person?
When we were doing it in the ’80s and the ’90s, you had radio, and you could get a feel for what was happening and go out and see somebody play live and see how people reacted to the songs. I never say I have great ears. I want to clear my name. I want to reclaim my position in history as the first woman at Atlantic Records.
Where are you right now?
In New York. Born and raised. You’ll never get me to Nashville.
Throughout almost two decades, songwriter and producer Luciano Luna has stood out as one of the most prolific artists behind the scenes in regional Mexican music, with songs like “Te Hubieras Ido Antes” by Julión Álvarez that will remain for posterity in the genre.
“I belonged to the generation of songwriters who suffered the most, who fought to get our credit in song collaborations or announcements,” Luna tells Billboard Español.
On June 26th, the musician will receive SESAC Latina’s Legacy Award in Los Angeles, as part of the celebration of the association’s 30th anniversary.
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Born in Sinaloa, Mexico, Luna has been recognized four times as SESAC Latina Songwriter of the Year for his many hits performed by a variety of acts, such as Banda El Recodo (“La Mejor de Todas”), Calibre 50 (“Tus Latidos”), Julión Álvarez (“Te Hubieras Ido Antes”), Grupo Firme (“El Reemplazo”) and Banda Los Recoditos (“Me Sobrabas Tú”).
Throughout his nearly two-decade career, he has recorded over 1,500 songs, of which about 500 have been released as singles in Mexico and the United States. With the SESAC Legacy Award, the Latin Grammy winner adds to a list of accolades that also includes La Musa Awards and the Conqueror Award from the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In an interview with Billboard Español, Luna recently talked about the road he has traveled alongside colleagues such as Horacio Palencia and Espinoza Paz, the differences between the composers of past and present and upcoming projects with stars such as Pepe Aguilar and Carín León.
You have received many awards — what does this one in particular mean to you?
All awards are motivating, for me they are also important. Maybe for someone who doesn’t know about songwriting, it doesn’t mean much. Unless it’s a Grammy or a Billboard [Music Award], it doesn’t attract so much attention for those who are not in the industry.
Had you done any recounting of your career accomplishments before?
When I found out that I was going to receive this great recognition I realized that I have been composing for 18 years, I have been constant and now I am of the generation that has already come a long way. In fact, it will be 10 years since the first time I won SESAC Songwriter of the Year; I had 17 singles placed in 2004, so it was unforgettable. Subsequently I’ve been awarded three more times, so we’ve had a good run.
Your contributions to Latin music haven’t always been smooth sailing.
I belonged to the generation of songwriters who suffered the most, we fought to get our credit in song collaborations or announcements. The new generation, if they get a song recorded, they get into orbit very fast and they make money very fast too … Maybe the only complication is that there are a lot of them now, but nothing more.
To what extent have things changed for you financially?
Every stream today is worth something, and you get paid. I had to suffer along with Horacio Palencia and Espinoza Paz, because there was a lot of piracy [back then]. It was very difficult financially to think that you could only dedicate yourself to songwriting. I had never said this, but I received 1,800 Mexican pesos a year, about $950. Imagine what nonsense!
I could tell you that the first seven or eight years were very difficult — because it was the [physical] album era, so you had to deliver something that stood out so that it could become a single, get radio plays and then from there, that’s where you got the biggest income. I’m one of the veterans who battled and I’m proud of that. We have built a great brotherhood. Besides those I mentioned, there’s also Omar Tarazón, Tony Montoya, Geovani Cabrera and Edén Muñoz.
Do you think it’s fair how music is handled today?
It is unfair if we think that there is so much music released today that a lot of it remains hidden. But if you make quality, your music will continue to survive. I go to Banda El Recodo’s concerts and listen to 14 of my songs that they recorded eight or 10 years ago, and that makes me feel satisfied with my contribution to music.
What do you think is the key to transcend over time?
I bet more on a timeless style, not on what is trending, and that has worked for me. I am currently on Pepe Aguilar’s new album, that’s a dream come true; on Carín León’s new album with three songs; four songs on Luis Ángel “El Flaco”’s album; and soon with Ángela Aguilar and Conjunto Primavera. Another dream fulfilled is to work with Tony Meléndez, one of the voices I admire the most.
I have produced four of Chiquis’ albums; also with Banda Los Sebastianes. I am still here, perhaps no longer with that anxiety of being in first place. Now I have the wisdom to enjoy what I do.
What advice would you give to the new generations of songwriters?
Now that I will be given this award, I feel confident to advise new composers not to sign documents without legal advice, try to make music that will last for many years. They should have gratitude to their peers who guide them.
We had more love for this profession; today they fight for percentages and publishers rights when they only have one or two hits.
What are your thoughts on the current state of regional Mexican music?
What is happening with regional Mexican music adds up to all of us, but we have to take advantage of it to make quality and good collaborations and to be known globally. The new generations must know where the whole movement comes from. It is not fair to think that what is currently being listened to is all that exists.
Is there an artist you would like to collaborate with?
I have been talking with Julión Álvarez about working together again. There is also Alfredo Olivas, who is going through a great moment in his career. Last year for the first time he recorded for someone other than himself and he did very well with the song by [Aarón] “La Pantera” Martínez [“Ni Con Labios Prestados”]. I think Horacio and I can contribute to his career now that he is having that opening.
How will you celebrate the night of June 26?
It is a very intimate event and I want to experience it with my family. Since I was notified that I would be honored, we have been enjoying it together. My history with SESAC through [its vice-president] Celeste Zendejas has been very nice. I’m going to enjoy celebrating with my colleagues and be grateful, because many of those who will be there that night have been part of my career.