Ivan Cornejo wants to relive nostalgic summer nights — and collaborate with Billie Eilish

Ivan Cornejo didn't have a typical high school experience. When he was around 14, he started uploading videos of himself playing the guitar on social media and before he knew it, he had a huge following, eager to hear his songs. During his junior year, he dropped out and pursued music full-time, eventually signing a record deal and launching his career.

But now in his 20s, he finds himself missing some of those early days of high school. It was during this time that Cornejo began working on his latest album, Mirada, out Friday via Zaragoza Records/Interscope Records. “These songs take me back to high school and those summer nights,” he says Rolling rock on a recent Zoom call, “so the meaning of Mirada it's about reliving that nostalgic summer night with your friends.”

Mirada is one of Cornejo's most mature efforts, expanding his brand of melancholic corridos and mixing them with alt-rock sounds and amazing polyrhythms. Some of that is a result of how big Cornejo has gotten on the road: Last year, he completed the Browse Terapia, which saw him pack venues across the country. “This last tour has been such a rollercoaster for me in the best possible way,” he explains. “I feel like I got a lot of experience listening to my fans and seeing how they react to certain songs. It just gave me a new perspective on my music and what I wanted to do next on the new album.”

Mirada There are no collaborations or guest artists, although Cornejo is already thinking about who he wants to work with in the future: “Arctic Monkeys or Billie Eilish,” he says with a smile, Johnny Cash's black shirt showing. The country icon is one of Cornejo's biggest inspirations: “When I was a little kid, like seven or eight years old, I remember putting on an hour-long playlist of Johnny Cash to go to sleep.”

Below, Cornejo breaks down his favorite tracks Mirada and shares what he hopes listeners will take away from the album.

“Mirada”
This is the song that ties the whole album together. It was right to call it “Miranda”, which means “gaze”. This song is about how you can see it in someone's eyes when they are no longer invested or in love with you. It is written in my opinion in such a beautiful way, like telling a story. This was co-written with Arath Herce, who opened the tour for me.

I started it with the tunes. I remember being in my studio by myself and the tune ofMe quebraste el Corazon” came to me. Immediately, I was like, 'There's something so special about it.' Even though it's so simple, saying 'You broke my heart,' but the way I sang it almost felt happy. And then, as the tunes went on, we took the idea of ​​making this song feel very upbeat and happy, but keeping the lyrics quite dark and almost depressing. It's one of those songs where you might not think it's a sad song – it just has a sweet tone to it.

“Attention”
This is one of my favorites because I think it's one of my first songs that feels a bit danceable. I'm excited to see how the fans react to it. it feels dark-romantic, almost. It sounds very dense and a bit dirty, but the process has been quite a rollercoaster and has gone through many changes. What makes it more dance oriented is that it's in a 4/4 pocket and reggaeton is 4/4. Corridos are usually 3/4. That change happened naturally — I was singing my tunes and we played some guitars on it and it became what it is.

“Quiero Dormir Cansado”
The first time I heard this song I was about seven years old. I remember my mom and dad playing [Mexican singer] Emmanuel's music a lot. It was like those childhood songs that you hear and then kind of forget and then grow up and hear them again. I was like, “Wow, how did I not like this when I was a little kid?” People say that your parents' music grows on you as you get older because you start to understand it. And it is true.

I really wanted that cover on the album because I was just feeling so moody. Again, I want people to revisit those summer nights with this album, whether you're with your friends hanging out or you're alone in your room — and this is one of those songs that you play alone in your room.

“Herida Abierta”
This revolved around wanting to create an atmosphere that felt like you could play it on a beach during the summer. We incorporated those big reverbs and made it a romantic summer track. I wanted it to look like palm trees and a beach.

During the process of writing and recording these songs, I think I started from the idea of ​​having collaborators on this album. I had a few artists in mind, including this one, but as the songs progressed, I decided to keep them to myself. I won't say who I was thinking of just in case [a collaboration] is done later. [Laughs]

“baby please”
Usually, [when writing] I'll open my camera and record myself making tunes, and then if it gets stuck I'll save the video. If I don't like one, I delete it. Then I take what I saved and make an album and I'll put all the same moods or vibes together. If I don't, I know I'll forget them. So with that, whenever I'm looking for a tune that's dark and mysterious, I go to this folder.

For “Baby Please”, we released the video and the vibe we wanted to get from the video was that intimate feeling. We incorporated a violin into this very moody, dark red space. It was almost like a silhouette type shot. We wanted to keep it creative and simple: vibrant colors mixed with this dark void.

“Sale Para Ser Feliz”
I wanted to start the album with this because for my last tour, the Terapia tour, I had incorporated a concert intro which is the same tune as the song now. So I made it a song and I thought it was only right to start the album that way for my fans. Like, if they were at the concert, it's an easter egg for them. I liked the idea of ​​having that connection.