In April, “Gata Only,” a sly reggaetón number about online dating, gave Chilean newcomers FloyyMenor and Cris MJ their first No. 1 on a Bulletin board chart. It dominated Hot Latin Songs for 14 straight weeks — but even beyond that impressive feat, “Gata Only” was historic. The last time a Chilean artist reached No. 1 on the chart was in 1991, when singer-songwriter Myriam Hernández's “Te Pareces Tanto a Él” ruled for four weeks.
“Gata Only” also charted on the Billboard Hot 100, Latin Airplay and Billboard Global — and, in the process, put Chile's burgeoning urban movement on the map. “The song touched different corners,” says Adrian Mainou, director of Latin/US artist marketing at UnitedMasters, which released the song. “It had a really good impact on the culture where the lyrics talk about something relatable to the younger generation and it was catchy on TikTok. For us from the marketing side, it was to get the record outside of Chile.”
Taking advantage of the song's organic local growth, Mainou began working with a Chilean press group and enlisting influencers in countries like Argentina, Ecuador, and Mexico to use the song in lip-syncing and dance challenges on TikTok. It worked: “Gata Only” was used in more than 4 million videos on the platform, and that prompted superstars Ozuna and Anitta to launch a remix. “Chile felt proud,” says Mainou. “From a great song it was translated into a cultural representation.”
In the 90s and early 00s, the Chilean music scene leaned more alternative, as artists such as Mon Laferte, La Ley, Álex Anwandter and rapper Ana Tijoux all had appearances in Bulletin board diagrams. Then, in 2004, Puerto Rico's burgeoning reggaetón scene infiltrated the South American country — but even though local artists began creating their own reggaetón music, it took more than a decade for Chile's urban movement to really gain momentum .
“Everything changed in 2019,” explains Josue Ibañez, who with his brother Oscar is co-CEO of Chile-based Wild Company. (Both are also A&R executives at Rimas Publishing.) “There are several artists who made the change, like Marcianeke, who made Chilean music start to be heard in the clubs, but in a huge way. It made Chileans start dancing to the music of their own artists, because before we were consuming a lot of music from outside, like Puerto Rico and Colombia.”
Oscar Ibañez (who also produces under the name David Wild) adds, “If you ask any Chilean artist, they'll tell you that Daddy Yankee, our OG, is Pablo Chill-E. At the same time, we had Paloma Mami and we started to take big steps outside. That's when the big record labels started wanting to invest in Chile.”
Pablo and Paloma both charted on Billboard, the former on Hot Latin Songs with their 2020 collaboration with Bad Bunny and Duki, “Hablamos Mañana,” the latter on Top Latin Albums with Sueños de Dalí and Latin Pop Airplay with the Ricky Martin-assisted “Que Rico Fuera,” both released in 2021.
Since then, Chilean reggaetón tracks have increasingly charted, such as Cris MJ's “Una Noche en Medellín” (2022), Polimá Westcoast & Pailita's “Ultra Solo” (2022) and Jere Klein's “Ando” (2024).
“I feel like we created our own sound,” says Oscar Ibañez. “We gave our reggaetón an identity that we didn't have before. What we did in the beginning was reproduce a sound that was playing elsewhere. it was very neutral. Our “Hellenism” did not apply to it. We gave reggaetón music a more Chilean twist with our idioms, our phrases, and it often happens that almost no one understands what we say, but this same rhythm became the DNA of Chilean music. Just by the accent, you know when he's a Chilean artist.”
And although the movement has grown beyond Chile, it has done so largely because of the faithful and loyal audience for its music within the country itself. “The key for Chile today is self-consumption,” explains Josue Ibañez. “We have a lot of fans. I think it was the fandom that got us out on stage and out into the world. That was the most beautiful thing of all, that our culture through music was able to expand internationally.”
“It used to be very difficult for that to happen,” says Cris MJ. “So now the fact that the Chileans themselves support us is good for the movement. They trust us, the talent. It was difficult, but it was achieved. Personally, I dedicate myself to creating music that can be heard outside of Chile.”
Now, with the global success of 'Gata Only', Chile is on the radar of the wider music industry. Earlier this year, Rimas Publishing expanded its services in the country where through a strategic agreement with Wild Company it will provide A&R services, artist development, music composition creation and more.
“Chile is a market that has impressed us a lot. Growth has been exponential,” says Rimas Publishing CEO Emilio Morales. “It's a phenomenon like what happens in Brazil, where they are very proud of their national artists. In Chile, supporting their artists has a lot to do with education and culture. It's a market where numbers and consumption are very important.”
“One of our dreams is for Chile to become a musical power,” says Oscar Ibañez. “We want to educate the industry in Chile so that music is a blessing and not a problem. I believe in giving the culture of Chile a healthy and educated music industry.”
Chile's new urban leaders
Meet some of the artists leading the country's rising music movement.
Cris MJ and FloyyMenor
Although they both started out as solo acts, Cris MJ and FloyyMenor scored their biggest chart hit yet by collaborating on “Gata Only,” which reached No. 1 Bulletin board's Hot Latin Songs chart, spending 14 consecutive weeks there.
Jer Klein
Known for his distinctive, high-pitched voice, Klein made his debut Bulletin board chart appearance in January with “Ando” on Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. US charts; His second entry came on the Global Excl. US in February, “Princesita De…” starring Chilean actors Nickoog CLK, Lucky Brown and El Bai.
Pablo Chile-E
Another Chilean pioneer in town, the trap artist born Pablo Acevedo has his own record label, Shishigang Records. In March 2020, he secured his first entry on Hot Latin Songs, joining Bad Bunny and Duki on “Hablamos Mañana”, which debuted at No. 22.
Marcianek
Although he has no US chart history, the trap and reggaetón artist revolutionized the urban movement in Chile. Known for his raspy vocals, he was the first Chilean urban act to play local nightclubs in 2019 — which encouraged the country's listeners to start embracing their own urban artists.
Polimá Westcoast
The artist with a trap-meets-rock-star attitude reached No. 9 on the Billboard Global Excl. US chart in 2022 with “Ultra Solo” featuring Chilean act Pailita. That same year, Feid, De la Ghetto and Paloma Mami jumped on the remix bandwagon. He has now collaborated with J Balvin and Quevedo and in 2023 signed a worldwide deal with Sony Music US Latin.
This story appears on Bulletin boardThe special issue of Rumbazo, dated September 14, 2024.
Billboard Latin Music Week returns to Miami Beach October 14-18, with confirmed superstars such as Gloria Estefan, Alejandro Sanz and Peso Pluma, among many others. For tickets and more details, visit Billboardlatinmusicweek.com.
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