LOS ANGELES — He began off desirous to be a star soccer participant, however as a substitute Rauw Alejandro has change into a breakout Latin music sensation.
His beginning title is Raúl Alejandro Ocasio Ruiz, however rising up in Puerto Rico his family and friends used to name him Raulito, which finally grew to become Rauw for brief.
Alejandro has been on the rise for the previous few years, however 2021 catapulted him into one other degree of success. He has been named one among The Related Press’ Breakthrough Entertainers of 2021, alongside Damson Idris, Simu Liu, Rachel Zegler, Adrienne Warren and extra.
“I feel to this point in my profession, this 12 months has been my greatest, and I hope the subsequent one, surpasses this one,” he mentioned from his suite in Las Vegas in November, simply hours earlier than attending the Latin Grammys.
“This 12 months, I began like collabing with Selena Gomez by January,” he mentioned.
Then “Todo de Ti,” included in his 2021 album “Vice Versa,” topped the charts in Latin America with over 670 million performs on Spotify — and a video with 425 million plus views on YouTube — and was nominated for tune of the 12 months and report of the 12 months on the Latin Grammys.
He ended up profitable the trophy for greatest city fusion/efficiency alongside Camilo for his or her hit “Tattoo Remix.” Now he’s nominated for subsequent 12 months’s Grammys for his album “Afrodisíaco” within the class of greatest Latin city music album.
“I had like 5 songs within the prime 50, it was loopy,” Alejandro mentioned about this 12 months alone. “We did 65 exhibits within the U.S., Central America, Spain, the Caribbean.”
Alejandro additionally offered out 4 exhibits on the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Puerto Rico, which was an enormous deal for him.
Earlier than topping charts, Alejandro was taking pictures targets on the sector as a soccer participant beginning at age 7.
“I used to be like, I’m going to be like a well-known soccer participant. You recognize, I’m going to be in Actual Madrid from Puerto Rico, one thing like that. However you grow old, you get extra accountability. And it is advisable to pay the payments. Lots of stuff. I had like a darkish second in my life,” he defined.
On the age of 21, he turned to his pastime and fervour — music and dancing — to drag him out of the darkness after struggling a soccer harm. His dad performed the guitar at dwelling and his mother was a backup vocalist who launched him to artists akin to Michael Jackson, James Brown and Chris Brown. Alejandro mentioned he’s all the time been mesmerized by performers and took part in his personal college’s theater, expertise exhibits and artwork packages.
So, for Alejandro, the pivot to singing, producing and dancing appeared pure. He recorded a number of R&B songs and shared them along with his closest pals. They favored the songs and advised him he had an unique sound and pushed him to pursue music professionally.
“So I used to be stepping into it. I used to be like, ‘Oh, how do I begin to do music? What ought to I do? Like, what’s the subsequent transfer?’ And I simply all the time been curious and simply going into the music world with out me figuring out. Then I begin all this Rauw factor,” he mentioned with an enormous smile.
Other than his love for music and performing, the 28 year-old star has all the time had a love and admiration for girls after being raised by his grandmother, mom and sister. He describes ladies as “function fashions” and “superheroes.”
The R&B crooner, easy dancer and reggaeton artist admits he was solely 5 when he fell in love for the primary time. He joked, he’s all the time been in love with somebody.
“I used to be in kindergarten and I used to be like, ‘Mother, I like this woman.’ And my mother was like, ‘What are you speaking about love? You don’t know nothing about love.’”
However his mother helped him anyway, they usually picked out chocolate and a stuffed animal for his new love, solely to be turned down.
“All the ladies mentioned no to me after I was little. That’s a reality. I used to be all the time in love, however they’d all the time say no. So I assumed, ‘After I develop up, I’m going to go to the gymnasium, get a little bit greater,’” he remembered with amusing.
None of that is a matter anymore. Alejandro is courting Spanish celebrity Rosalia and is thrown bras and panties with notes, cellphone quantity and footage from followers begging for a name from him. Alejandro joked they’ve collected so many objects from the concert events he would possibly maintain an exhibit sooner or later, after the whole lot has been washed.
Early subsequent 12 months Alejandro is releasing “Lure Cake Quantity 2” as an EP, a venture he began earlier than his debut album for his underground followers together with the sounds of R&B, lure and pop. He’s additionally engaged on his third studio album however admits he nonetheless has an extended solution to get it accomplished.
Other than Gomez, he’s collaborated with Jennifer Lopez, his idol Chris Brown and Ozuna to call a number of. Alejandro mentioned he’s open to collaboration with new artists as properly however for the time being he’s crossing his fingers for some “24k Magic.”
“I’m an enormous fan of Bruno Mars. I might like to have one thing with him. I all the time say it in interviews. ‘So, yo Bruno (Mars), in case you’re watching this, hit me up. Let’s do one thing.’”
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For extra on AP’s 2021 class of Breakthrough Entertainers, please go to: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-breakthrough-entertainers
