This is why Quevedo took a break from music and then returned with “Buenas Noches”

In early 2023, Kevento announced his retirement. Six months earlier, the Spanish artist had topped the Global 200 chart with 'Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52” alongside Bizarrap, making him and Bizarrap the first artists from Spain and Argentina, respectively, to reach No. 1 of the list.

By then, Bizarrap was already known for his provocation Music sessionsbut outside of Spain, Quevedo was relatively unknown — even though a few months earlier he had reached No. 145 on the same chart as “Cayo La Noche”, a collaboration with El Ima, Cruz Cafuné, Bejo, La Pantera, Juseph, and Abhir Hathi.

However, “Vol. 52” was his big ticket to a global audience that immediately connected with his deep voice and catchy mix of dance, pop and urban music. In a few months, Quevedo became a star — and in January 2023, he released his first album, Donde Quiero Estarwhich debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Latin Rhythm Albums chart.

Although everything looked rosy, privately, Cuvedo, who had just turned 21, felt tired and overwhelmed by the media, tours, pressure and releases.

“From when I started to when we did 'Cayo la Noche' and the session with Bizarrap, I really didn't have a chance to stop and decide: Do I like what I'm doing?” says today. So it stopped.

For a year he did not release music or give interviews. Until now.

On November 21, Quevedo returned with his second album, Buena Nocheswhich is distributed through Rimas Entertainment, the home of Bad Bunny's idol. The 18-track set is a mix of pop and urban, with collaborations from the likes of Sech and De LaGhetto, but also surprises like Aitana and Pitbull, on a journey that ranges from downright funky to more introspective.

All is not as it seems. Much of the album's aesthetic is based on red carpets and paparazzi, and the cover shows a smiling Kevento in dark glasses talking to the cameras. But the photo is inspired by one of Michael Jordan, who finally smiled when he decided to return to basketball after the death of his father. Now, after a year, Quevedo is also ready to return. Here is the story, in which he says Bulletin board below.

Tell me about Buenas Noches.

It's an eclectic album. Since I hadn't released music in a long time, what I wanted most was to flow in the studio and do things that I wanted to do. Make a fun album above all, not so introverted. There are songs that are more personal, but the majority are for people to enjoy. I made the album in very different stages. I released my first album in January 2023, but just before that, when I finished it in 2022, I started making this album. I made the first tracks in 2022. Then last year I did a lot of camps and this year I really got into the studio. But it took me over two years to make the album.

So, you really didn't take a break from music?

For me, the break is not not going to the studio. I love going to the studio. For me, it was not being in the public eye. What I didn't want was the media pressure, keep traveling every week. It was about stopping and saying, okay, where do I want to take my career. I wanted to disappear from public view for a bit.

Why?

Everything was so pressured by the next thing that there came a moment when I said: “This was my dream, but it's been too long to think about whether I'm happy with what I'm doing.” I started doing music because I like it. I don't like being famous. It's a consequence I'm willing to assume if it means I can make music and make a living from it. But I don't like being famous, I don't like people coming into my life. What I love is that moment of creation.

I had to stop and concentrate. Now I feel like I have the strength to take it all on again and I'm willing to deal with things I don't like so I can make my music.

Was there anything that made you take a break and come back?

In 2022 I wrote “Ahora Qué”, a song that said: “2021 to sow, 2022 to reap, 2023 to crown, 2024 to disappear.” When I wrote this, I thought I'd take things a little slower. But over time, in 2023, with the tour, the writing camps, there was a time when I was making music only in camps, but not in my everyday life. And at the same time, I moved to Madrid and I was away from my family and my friends and my partner and there was a time when I felt quite alone. There wasn't a specific moment, but there was a moment of, “I have, maybe I should take this song seriously.” At no point did I think about not coming back. What I specifically wanted was a moment to myself.

Can you describe the album?

It's a very eclectic album, but there's a sound with a lot of synths, drums, very 2008-2011—Jason Derulo, Timbaland—weird mixes with new sounds, and I think that's the most repetitive sound. The album is quite lively lyrically.

I listen to many songs with many stories. The lead track, 'Kassandra', is about a night out with a celebrity who is always accompanied but ends up alone. “Iguales” is about a ladies' man who sleeps with as many as he can, for example. Do all songs have this element of storytelling?

Almost everything. Ideas always flow more when I write [about] specific situations. There are a lot of stories that I haven't lived 100% but are inspired by things my friends tell me. That's where my songs come from. I try to imagine situations.

You have a song with Pitbull, “Mr. Moondial.” How did it happen?

We were always like, “Let's do something very pop… very Pitbull.” We made the track, I recorded my track, we called the song 'Mr. Global.” And we always said, we have to get Pitbull. But we didn't know him. I don't know him until today, because he recorded two and a half weeks ago! But I'm sure we'll meet him.

It's an album with a beginning and an end and a context, at a time when many albums are just collections of singles. What recent album inspires you?

Nowadays, since the last eight years, I would say Motomami from Rosalía, for the way she created a new concept afterwards El Mal Querer and all the images that this album had. And then on a more urban reggaetón level, [Bad Bunny’s] YHLQMDLG it's the album that changed the whole industry for me. Obviously, Latin music was already very popular, but this album confirmed that Latin music was dominant. It made people try to make things better. When I heard that, I was like, “That's it: From now on, people are going to start making real albums.”

Watch the video of “Kassandra” here.