Crimson within the face and with sweat dripping from his forehead, an excited center schooler triumphantly holds a backpack over his head as he emerges from a frenzied crowd trying to get one thing — cellphone circumstances, uniform polos, acoustic guitars and even baggage of Takis — autographed by one in all música Mexicana‘s biggest stars.
“I was once a kid too. I feel like I grew up with having a dream to be something and doing what I love the most. We all have that,” he said. “We all want to work hard and want to feed our families. And I think they can feel that.”
Before long, Xavi’s safety group pulls him out of the clamorous crowd and walks him to the closest restaurant, Don Chente, as lingering eyes and cheers observe the diamond-wearing singer. Coming off the October launch of his debut album, “Next” (Interscope), and his newest single — a collaboration with Fuerza Regida referred to as “SRT” — the artist born Joshua Xavier Gutiérrez outlines the whirlwind 12 months he’s had.
It began final December, when he broke into the Billboard Sizzling 100 chart with “La Victima” and “La Diabla” — two requinto-centered tracks about tumultuous teenage love. Earlier than this mainstream introduction, Xavi — alongside along with his brother Fabio Capri — was already a TikTok star, garnering hundreds of thousands of views with acoustic corrido covers of artists like Junior H, T3R Elemento and Natanael Cano. These movies caught the eye of Nir Seroussi, government vice chairman of Interscope Capitol Labels Group.
“We first flew him out to our offices, and I remember he walked into the studio with his guitar. And as soon as he introduced himself, he just started singing and playing for an hour,” mentioned Seroussi. “At that moment, I didn’t have any doubts. I knew that this kid was something special.”
As Xavi sits in Don Chente’s outside patio, followers yell his identify by way of the bushes in hopes of getting his consideration.
(Sarahi Apaez / For De Los)
Seroussi described Xavi, who was 16 on the time, as somebody who might be a “Mexican Justin Bieber” — along with his shaggy coiffure and mouth filled with braces, the singer might simply be a teen heartthrob who not solely sings about younger love and breaking hearts however might additionally stand out within the trap-focused world of latest música Mexicana.
Most of the style’s largest names usually take care of extreme partying, violence and drug use. Peso Pluma, Spotify’s seventh most streamed artist globally, has a historical past of glorifying cartel members by way of narcocorridos on tracks like “Siempre Pendientes” and “El Gavilán.” The members of the five-piece band Fuerza Regida nearly completely sings about their accounts of partying, flashing their wealth and getting women, which will be heard on songs like “Nel,” “Tu Name” and “Crazyz.” Judging by the flash mob that confirmed up at at Plaza La Alameda, Interscope seems to have achieved its mission. Paying homage to crowds that might collect for acts like One Path, N’Sync or Olivia Rodrigo, Xavi’s followers proved to be relentless as they camped exterior the restaurant for hours.
A number of months after signing his file deal, Xavi used his label advance to purchase a Dodge SRT. In 2022, he crashed the automobile in an almost deadly accident — leading to a cracked cranium and facial reconstruction surgical procedure. At one level, it was unclear whether or not Xavi would sing once more. Mirroring Kanye West’s rise to fame, wherein he too confronted a life-threatening automobile accident after signing with Roc-a-Fella Information, Xavi used music as motivation towards restoration.
“I was a whole different person [before the crash]. I had to learn how to be me again, and music was the thing that made me realize I’m still me,” mentioned Xavi. “Music healed me, and I want to heal people with music the same way it helped me.”
Xavi.
(Sarahi Apaez / For De Los)
Seroussi says, looking back, he’s grateful the younger singer wasn’t met with immediate fame upon his first launch.
“It’s like night and day from the kid that I first met to the young adult I know now. His range has always been extraordinary, but we waited until people were ready for something a little different,” he mentioned. “And that’s when everything aligned for him. It was at the perfect time. Sometimes when you hit success too early, you’re not ready.”
Bringing glasses of water to the nook sales space, our server waits for a pause within the dialog to congratulate the singer on “La Diabla,” including that he loves the tune and the way excited he’s for Xavi’s profession. Describing a foul affect in his love life by way of a pop-infused corrido, “La Diabla” is in the end what cemented him as a rising música Mexicana star. This previous January, it climbed to the highest of Spotify’s international chart, making Xavi the one artist of Mexican descent to carry the spot with a solo file. The tune was additionally probably the most streamed música Mexicana tune globally, the fourth hottest Latin tune and the tune most added globally to user-created playlists, in line with Spotify 2024 Wrapped information.
“On ‘La Diabla,’ I fusionize with a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” mentioned Xavi. “But in the end, we try not to cross the line. There’s always an eraser for when the track gets too far from música Mexicana. I have to get back on track. It’s what I need to do. I need to keep representing our culture and who we are.”
The success of the fashionable corrido arrange the framework for his debut album, “Next.” The file was created within the span of a month whereas the performer was on the highway for his Poco a Poco tour; the October launch is a 15-track exploration of what he calls “música Mexicana fusions.” All through his first full-length venture, he continues to stroll the road between a standard requinto-powered corrido and a recent pop manufacturing fashion along with his coronary heart on full show.
Xavi contained in the restaurant Don Chente at Plaza La Alameda in Huntington Park on Nov. 19.
(Sarahi Apaez / For De Los)
“It’s crazy that love never goes away. As much as we try to run from it, it’s always going to be there. Whether I’m having a chill day or on vacation or something, that special somebody is still gonna be in the back of my head,” mentioned Xavi. “I just have to write about it because I don’t speak to anyone about it. I just tell the music.”
The album’s paintings depicts a cartoon model of the messy-haired singer with an angel and satan on every of his shoulders — demonstrating its division of impassioned feel-good love songs and down-tempo ballads of loss and defeat. On “Flores,” he sings about shopping for flowers for a love curiosity over buoyant vigorous horns and a convincing tololoche. A number of tracks later, his signature rhythm guitar takes a backseat on the alternative-leaning “Filosofia” the place he takes the blame for a breakup over a melancholic música Mexicana melody.
“I saw all ages in this crowd, like 5-year-old kids to people who were 60 or 70 years old. It’s what really caught my attention about him as a musician,” mentioned Estevie, who opened for Xavi on his U.S. Poco a Poco North American tour. “This kid is connecting with people of all ages. And I think that’s what makes a true artist — when there’s no age limit to who listens to your music.”
Outdoors the restaurant, a flock of followers watches over Xavi’s each transfer. As we end our dialog, he walks towards the again patio to take a number of portraits. By means of the tinted home windows, the group sees the place he’s headed and begins to circle the constructing’s perimeter, on the lookout for each doable exit. They discover him on the patio and start to name by way of the bushes asking for photos, asserting their love and even singing his personal songs to him. Xavi smirks and sings again to them, creating a good larger commotion.
When listening to his voice, some try to achieve by way of the shrubbery whereas others make a run for the again stairs in hopes of seeing him. His safety steps in, and his small entourage, together with a photographer, must rapidly relocate to the restaurant’s entrance. After he squeezed in as many poses and angles as rapidly as doable, it was solely a matter of minutes earlier than followers started to reconvene by the entryway. It was as if he have been the Pied Piper taking part in a tune solely his followers might hear. Earlier than leaving that day, the younger musician, who had spent the afternoon doing press, hung round for so long as he might — guaranteeing that every fan who got here to see him went dwelling with one thing to recollect.
