When Kali Uchis chose the orchid as the title and theme of her new album Orchids, who arrived on Friday (January 12), didn't know it was the fertility flower. And then, later in her release, she found out she was pregnant with her first child, saying Billboard News“Everything came together perfectly.”
“The flower, for me, has always symbolized timelessness, femininity, luxury,” says the Colombian artist. “It also has an eerie, mystical quality to it. It's also the national flower of Colombia, so for me it all tied together.”
Orchids is Uchis' fourth album and her second full Spanish-language album (she usually switches between English and Spanish on each project). Features include boyfriend Karol G (“Labios Mordidos”), plus Peso Pluma (“Igual Que Un Ángel”), Rauw Alejandro (“No Hay Ley Parte 2”) and the “unpredictable” couple of City Girls' JT with El Alfa ('Muñekita').
The Grammy winner debuted in 2018 with Isolationfollowed by Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) in 2020 and last year Red Moon on Venus. He believes it Orchidsdefined by its uptempo, high-energy productions, complements these previous albums perfectly.
“I'm not a new artist anymore, I'm looking at my discography as a whole,” she says. “My next album that I've been working on that will also be released this year is all downtempo music. So because I can have to contradict myself, there's so much inside of me that needs to be expressed and I never want to be limited to anything.”
She confirms that the upcoming fifth album was written and recorded while she was pregnant, which may be where the inspiration for a more soothing, lower-energy release came from. And while she says there's “so much to be excited about” about motherhood (she's due to welcome her first child with longtime partner Don Toliver soon), she also admits how hard it's been to keep her pregnancy private, saying she's had a few more shows. and a red carpet appearance in her diary — both of which made it harder to hide her growing baby bump.
Balancing her professional and personal life has always been a priority for Uchis, who says she looks up to Sade most for how she walks that line. “It's such a fine line between trying to figure out how much of ourselves we're really meant to share or are really comfortable sharing. And at the end of the day, I really thought it was strange that there's such an expectation for an artist to share their personal life,” says Uchis. “I try to remember that my music is supposed to be at the forefront, my private life and my personal issues, I really don't want it to be something that consumes or overshadows my work.”
And as someone who puts her art first — and who has always embraced her bicultural upbringing along the way, having been born and raised in Virginia — Uchis has become a safe space for others hoping to do the same. “There are a lot of artists who sing in Spanish and are mostly English speakers and they said to me, 'You really make me want to make music in English too.' I've always wanted to, but my label doesn't want me to do that because this or that is what sells for me,” he says. “I think as an artist, what's always important is to have no restrictions… I feel like everyone should be as free and creative as possible.”
Watch the full interview above.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/kali-uchis-pregnancy-new-album-orquideas-billboard-news-interview-1235581022/
