It was a good summer for Sebastián Yatra. The Colombian pop star spent time in Madrid, visited the beach, witnessed his team’s defeat against Argentina in the Copa América final (“we should have won,” he says) and even had time to visit the Paris Games, where he watched the Olympic gold medal match between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic live. Still, autumn is even more promising for the 29-year-old artist from Medellín. From his farm in Antioquia, Yatra talks to EL PAÍS about the single Sundayswhich means his return to romantic songs after triumphing with more festive cuts like Tramp and Red Heels, the song that propelled him to win two Latin Grammys in 2022.
Yatra will become the first Colombian on Broadway in November when he debuts in Chicago, the longest-running musical. The artist and composer will have a short run, from November 25 to December 22, at the Ambassador Theater to play the lawyer Billy Flynn, the same character that Richard Gere played in the Oscar-winning 2002 film adaptation.
Ask: You presented your new song in a bucolic landscape and with only a guitar. What were you trying to convey?
Answer. Sundays That’s what it is for me. It’s a return to love songs and I wanted to start this new phase with this song. It’s a song that energetically feels like the beginning of something. It’s happy and sad at the same time. No matter what stage of your life you’re in, you can relate to it a little.
P. He says that he started singing with her again. Why?
R. I play a little bit with what my fans tell me. After the 2022 Grammys, when everything happened Red Heelswhich was Best Pop Vocal Album, a goal for me since I was little, that was like a climber who sets out to climb many mountains and finally reaches Everest. After nine years of career without stopping for a single second, I asked myself how I can stay five minutes at the top without running out of oxygen. I had to take time to come down from the mountain, rest a little and then think about which peak I want to climb next. I feel that one can fall in love with music many times and write something from another perspective. Sundays that’s it.
P. How demanding are your fans?
R. I get pressure from my fans, from my parents, who ask me when I’m going to release music. When I make party songs, they ask me what’s going on with ballads… When I make ballads, they ask me about party music. I try to listen to everyone, not take anything personally, keep my ears open to see what reactions there are, but go at a pace where you know you’ll be able to support something you’re doing.
P. Are you nervous about returning to romantic music?
R. If there is one thing I don’t want to lose in life, it is the ability to be amazed. Those nerves are also positive. It’s nice to get something and not know how it will be taken. Things are not given and it is special because you have to fight for something.
P. You are a defender of the ballad. Has your notion of it changed?
R. Not at all. I never want to stop fighting for this type of music and I don’t care what genres are in fashion. One can dabble in that a little, but it’s nice to preserve the essence of a person and I will always fight for these songs. Even though reggaeton was booming, like many other genres today, people are always eager to hear this.
P. These are songs that know how to decipher the code…
R. Yes, getting a ballad to reach this generation right now, where everything happens so fast… I write a lot of 15-second pieces because that’s how long a bar lasts, when you get past four or six chords… But every 15 seconds you have to surprise again with something in the lyrics, with an element of the production or with a new melody.
P. In a recent interview, you said that you learned the falsetto while locked in a car. How did you learn to dance?
R. Many people would tell you that I don’t know how to dance. I don’t know how to dance, but rather how to move. I have a very specific way of moving, it’s the only way I know how to move. Believe me, I’ve tried to do all the tropical rhythms. I’d rather do it really badly than do it halfway. I’m not a dancer, but I don’t limit myself on stage to try a different step.
P. She can’t dance, but she’s making her Broadway debut. Alarm bells must be ringing in New York…
R. (Laughs). For that Chicago I told them not to talk too much about my dancing yet… We haven’t even started, but we’re already starting the work sessions with the team, my singing teacher, Eric Vetro, who has trained a lot of people, also with Gregory Butler, an associate choreographer. It’s nice because when they have someone who comes from outside to do the work, they adapt a little to you and your way of being, of moving. I want to do everything that people like, whether they know who I am or not. There I have to try to be at the level of any Broadway actor who has done it.
P. Why did you choose Chicago to debut on Broadway?
R. Chicago He chose me. It’s one of those crazy things that happen. They sent me an email asking if I was interested in playing Billy Flynn. At first I thought it wasn’t the best time because I needed more time to prepare. In the end, dude, life is here and you have to grab opportunities when they come along.
P. Why do you think a musical that premiered almost a century ago is still relevant?
R. It’s addictive. It’s a lawyer who is defending women who kill their husbands for being unfaithful. It’s like a soap opera, with lots of black humor, cool. The choreographies are spectacular and the songs are tremendous. A few weeks ago we were at my house in Miami with Lele Pons and other friends. On my Spotify some songs from Chicago And I was really impressed by how they all went crazy and started singing. It has had a huge cultural impact.
P. Broadway is a natural stepping stone to Hollywood. Will we see him acting soon?
R. I don’t know. We’re taking it one step at a time. My biggest dream in acting was to do a musical. You’re alongside so many of the best actors in the world, choreographers, singers and dancers. And it’s at the right time. You can’t hide behind an audition or doing five takes. There’s that magic in theatre and that’s why so many Hollywood actors are coming back to Broadway.
