Innovating Latin pop star Sebastián Yatra opened up about love, songwriting and more on Tuesday (October 3) during his “Star Q&A” at Billboard Latin Music Week 2023, presented by Disney. which was moderated by Venezuelan singer Lasso,
Yatra spoke with Venezuelan singer Lasso (with whom he collaborated on their duet “Ojos Marrenos”) for about 30 minutes about his creative process, the best advice he has received, and even sang part of a song, “Básicamente,” which he considers to be one of the most beautiful in his repertoire.
Below, read five of the best questions and answers from their conversation:
Lasso: For you to write a love song, do you have to be in love? Or, do you have to be heartbroken to write about heartbreak?
Yatra: I think you have to have been [in love], at least at some point, to understand that emotion and what you go through when you are very much in love or very much heartbroken. In the end, you speak from the truth. And as a songwriter, what I have learned is that the more layers you remove and get closer to reality, the more you can connect with people.
Lasso: If your label tells you to make a boy-band with Latin artists, in which you are going to participate as a member, who would you chose as the other four?
Yatra: I would put you in, because I don’t want to look bad right now. I just met Peso Pluma backstage, so I would get Peso Pluma; our voice colors would give it a different touch. I would include Karol G. And I would include Guaynaa, he can rap.
Lasso: What makes a collaboration a perfect collaboration for you?
Yatra: I think everything starts with a song. You can put Michael Jackson and Bad Bunny together, and if the song is not good, at the end of the day … it gets lost; it was news, but it wasn’t a song. When you make music without thinking that it can be a hit because you are singing it [with some artist], when you make music that is about the people who are going to listen to it and about that emotion that can live forever, that is when you have the possibility of making a song that is memorable. A collaboration would be guided by nature, by good vibes with the other artist or by mutual admiration, or because musically that other person is really going to add something that, without that person, the song would not be the same.
Lasso: [A number of] great Latin artists are from Colombia: Shakira, Karol G, Camilo, Ferxxo (Feid), you … what do Colombian artists have that makes them so massive?
Yatra: I think it’s not a matter of talent, because there is talent everywhere. I think it’s something cultural, in addition to how difficult it has been for us Colombians due to the whole issue of war, drugs and drug trafficking. You see it in other industries. [For years], no other country wanted to invest in Colombia, so it was up to us to create our own industry … [those] difficulties are where I think the secret lies. A culture of hard work was created, of not complaining, of giving your best, of understanding that falling and having obstacles is simply part of the process.
Lasso: What advice did your dad or mom give you that you think about at least once a week?
Yatra: My mom is my number one advisor, and she has been putting my feet on the ground since long before I released a song. I started singing at the age of 12, focused on what I wanted to do, … and from that moment on she told me every day, “If you do well one day in this business, it is simply a profession, but you are just another human being, you are neither more nor less than anyone else. It is important that you are clear about that.” Being human is what really transcends anything and enters people’s hearts, and what really gives you a meaning and a purpose for doing this.
Celebrated for more than 30 years, the 2023 edition of Latin Music Week includes a Superstar Q&A with Shakira; the Legends on Legends chat with Chencho Corleone and Vico C; Making the Hit Live! with Carin León and Pedro Capó; a panel with RBD’s Christian Chávez, Christopher von Uckermann, and Maite Perroni; Superstar Songwriter discussion with Edgar Barrera and Keityn, among many other panels, Q&As and workshops.
See the ultimate Latin Music Week guide here. This year’s Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2-6, also includes showcases by Peso Pluma, Mike Bahía and Greeicy, DannyLux and Fonseca, to name a few. Check out the dates and times for the showcases throughout the week here.
Official partners of the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week include AT&T, Cheetos, CN Bank, Delta Air Lines, Lexus, Netflix, Michelob ULTRA and Smirnoff.
Latin Music Week coincides with the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony, which will broadcast live from the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla., on Thursday (Oct. 5) and will air on Telemundo. It will also broadcast simultaneously on Universo, Peacock, the Telemundo App, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.
