Under the intense lights of the 2024 Latin Grammys stage, Luis Fonsi was as nervous as he had ever been.
“I’ve received Latin Grammys earlier than, but it surely would not occur each day,” the 46-year-old musician stated through Zoom. “I’m making an attempt to match it to earlier occasions I’ve been nominated. But for some cause… I do not need to say it meant greater than the opposite awards. Something particular was taking place.”
That November evening in Miami, Fonsi’s twelfth studio album, “El Viaje,” beat out the efforts of Mexican indie artist Caloncho, Colombian American diva Kali Uchis and others to take dwelling the golden gramophone for l pop vocal album.
He pauses for a second and continues: “You know, I’ve had success with singles. But now getting recognition for all the shabam is one thing I’ve by no means received earlier than. This album wasn’t my try to make a radio-friendly single after which write an album round that tune. There was a narrative to inform from day one.”
“El Viaje” focuses on the mundane journey of his profession, naming every observe after a distinct metropolis. Fueled by his twenty fifth anniversary as a recording artist and newfound inventive freedom, the “Despacito” singer got down to make 2024 as memorable as doable. Analyzing his collections of previous pictures from the early 2000s, bodily cassettes of his early albums, and awards he has obtained, he says this milestone has pressured him to mirror on what he desires his legacy to appear to be.
“Things have utterly modified from once I began. Before, solely me and the climb to success counted,” stated Fonsi. “Now it is about my household, my songwriting, connecting with folks and doing the issues I’ve at all times wished to do. The world has opened up and it is not about needing a success tune or being on the radio.”
In addition to his sixth Latin Grammy win, the discharge of “El Viaje and his 25 Años Tour” world tour, the Puerto Rico-born, Orlando, Florida-raised entertainer is trying to develop his legacy by increasing his expertise past the boundaries of Latin music. In the final calendar 12 months, he launched “UnFROGettable Friends,” a youngsters’s e book he co-authored, appeared on Telemundo’s “La Voz” as a coach and made his movie debut within the indie romantic comedy “Say a Little Prayer” . .”
The movie allowed Fonsi to take a break from music and hone his performing expertise, one thing he says he is wished to do for a very long time. The self-proclaimed musical theater child — in highschool he was choir president and theater vice chairman — says he is at all times been drawn to the stage. But as he was extra assured in his musical skills, he determined to give attention to music. Even as he established himself as a key participant within the Latin style, he concurrently immersed himself in skilled performing. He beforehand appeared in “Forever Tango” on Broadway and visitor starred on telenovelas such because the Mexican one “Corazones al límite.”
While Fonsi waited for the precise movie, “Say a Little Prayer” director Patrick Perez Vidauri started casting. The singer’s identify got here up for the function of Rafael, a romantic artwork curator and the movie’s essential love curiosity, and Perez Vidauri despatched him a script. Reading it on a flight between Miami and Madrid, Fonsi remembers the precise second he knew this is able to be the precise second.
“I instantly noticed quite a lot of myself in Rafael. All of his traces felt pure to me as I learn them,” Fonsi stated. “Even on set, I felt like I did not actually need to put myself in another person’s footwear. I felt snug with who he was.
Set in San Antonio, the movie follows a trio of finest buddies, performed by Vannessa Vasquez, Jackie Cruz and Vivian Lamolli, as they seek for romance. After praying to Saint Anthony (the patron saint of misplaced gadgets) within the hope that their true loves can be discovered, Rafael seems and unknowingly enters a love triangle with two buddies. Produced by New Cadence and Migrant Filmworks, the movie premiered on the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) and has been picked up for distribution by AMC Theatres.
Vasquez, who performs Adela, has fond reminiscences of improvising with the Latin musician. In one scene, Fonsi unintentionally drops a card he was supposed to provide her and as a substitute they got here up with the thought of doing a magic trick to additional attraction her character.
“We had unintentionally had a Julia Roberts ‘Pretty Woman’ second (the place the jewellery field closes on her hand) and it caught so nicely along with her as a result of it match completely along with her subsequent line about magic. It was all serendipitous,” Vasquez stated. “You can see why he is such a star. He understands inventive vitality, artwork and collaboration.”
In the love story between Adela and Rafael, there’s a scene the place Fonsi shines as himself: a pop star. One evening, the couple goes on a date on the native ice home and Rafael known as on stage to sing. Guitar in hand, he begins singing “Prayer in Your Eyes,” an unique ballad that Fonsi wrote from his character’s viewpoint.
“There have been tears flowing whereas we have been filming that scene. It actually tugs on the heartstrings,” Perez Vidauri stated. “It’s humorous as a result of we needed to reshoot the scene so many occasions as a result of everybody saved paying an excessive amount of consideration to it. I needed to remind everybody that they should not know who he’s.
Fonsi’s aptitude for love characterised his profession and can certainly play a key function in his legacy. From his debut album “Comenzaré” in 1998 to his newest enterprise into romantic comedy, he has developed a sure talent with regards to capturing emotions of affection.
“I at all times search for that second that brings folks collectively, whether or not it is a kiss on display or perhaps a sure settlement. As a creator, you need to discover them in a scene or a melody. It’s actually like a treasure hunt. I simply search for that excellent second – it may very well be a giant observe or just a little element in a verse – that conjures up us.”
