When Bad Gyal (born Alba Farelo Solé) saw her grandmother – her dad's mum – supporting her at one of her concerts, nothing else mattered. “I thought, 'I can relax now,'” says the Spanish artist in a candid chat with Advertising sign'small Leila Cobo. “If he approves, if he looks at me with eyes of hope and understands that it is me, then all is well.”
It's safe to say that today, it's not just her grandmother who approves of Bad Gyal's music, which is often a mix of dembow, reggaetón and dancehall. In fact, Bad Gyal, who first entered the world's radar with her own handle on Rihanna's “Work”, was most recently an opening act on Karol G's massive Mañana Será Bonito US tour and has now collaborated with Ñengo Flow, Anitta, Nicki Nicole and Ovy on Drums. With over 13 million listeners on Spotify, Bad Gyal has been quick to carve out a lane for herself thanks to her commanding stage presence, infectious beats and cheeky (often blunt) lyrics.
It makes sense that she would drop her debut album, La Joya (via Universal Music Latino/Interscope), at this point in her career. “I felt it was [the right] time when I had more experience in songwriting, in the studio, in choosing producers, in the material that has been made, what is better, what is less important,” explains the 26-year-old singer and songwriter. “Over the years, you gain experience and know yourself better.”
Knowing herself is also what allows her to exude confidence knowing exactly what she wants and doesn't want. “I've always been confident that I'll do what I want to do,” says Bad Gyal emphatically. “I've earned my place and people respect me a lot.”
So when Rauw Alejandro wanted to twerk with her on stage at one of his shows in Puerto Rico last month, she respectfully declined. And, unsurprisingly, this particular moment went viral on TikTok, with some praising her reaction as a girl move. “At first, I think it was a culture shock. Usually, if I'm going to play with a guy, I do some rehearsal. But that wasn't happening there, so it surprised me,” he says. “Secondly, I have never twerked with a man on stage. In the future, maybe.”
Check out Bad Gyal's interview above where she also talks about how 'Chulo Pt. 2', in collaboration with Tokischa and Young Miko, came about, juggling odd jobs for a living (while also studying fashion) and all the details about album/14IBdTrbCCeHRZgTATdgRd” rel=”nofollow” target=”_blank”>new albumwhich was released on Friday (January 26).
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/bad-gyal-new-album-la-joia-interview-1235590698/
