It's hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the world first heard Sebastián Yatra (Colombia, 1994). His career didn't take off until a couple of years later when he released Traicionera, a song that has remained perpetually on the top music charts. The string of hits, such as Alguien Robó, Cristina, or Tacones Rojos, have earned him over 22 million listeners on Spotify. And now, he is gearing up for a new challenge in this early stage of his career: he will be part of the musical Chicago... on Broadway.
He has been chosen by the production to play the role of Billy Flynn, the lawyer in charge of the case of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly in the musical, from November 25 to December 22. "I feel very grateful for everything that is happening to me. Above all, I am happy to have not lost the capacity for amazement at this point," he comments on the terrace of the Emperador Hotel. "Being [part of a] Broadway [show] is a milestone for Colombia and really for all Latinos. I am very fortunate," he says.
One might think there is a certain unsettling difference between performing songs on stage and playing a role, but Yatra is more than accustomed to the dramatic environment: "I started out doing musicals when I was young. Although it does make me nervous because Broadway is very important, it doesn't give me imposter syndrome like other things do; for example, having a successful career, I increasingly feel like an imposter for not being as good at playing an instrument as many other musicians who know more than I do about these things. That's why I feel I need to focus more on that part of my career and grow more in that sense," says Yatra.
The Colombian artist has just achieved that goal: on August 30, he released his single Los Domingos, a ballad where the acoustic strummed strings take center stage. "I think I had distanced myself a bit from that part. Songs like Vagabundo, which is a merengue, or Tacones Rojos, which is very pop, had more success. Los Domingos takes us on a journey back in time to those songs I wrote for Fantasía, like Cristina or Un Año. I felt it was special to let the people who have been following me since then know that I will continue with this type of music," he says.
The new song once again delves into the most personal side of Sebastián Yatra, who had not released solo music for nearly a year: "I usually write for myself, but I feel there is something truly special, beautiful, and valuable in sharing songs with other people. It's a gift. Obviously, singers make money by making music, but in general, music is listened to for free. I wouldn't like a world where the only way to listen to music is by paying for it," he says.
Following the single, an album will follow, "in a few months," but Yatra is careful not to reveal any details in advance. "They will have to stay tuned," he says. However, the singer confesses that the new songs will reflect what he has experienced in the past year, during which he says he has experienced "all kinds of emotions." He does not elaborate on the specifics of each verse: "I don't like to put a name and surname to the songs: it would take away the possibility for others to make them their own," he comments.
After releasing Akureyri with Aitana, an artist he was dating, Los Domingos speaks of a new horizon, illuminated by a budding hope. Although Yatra makes it clear that he is "an expert in heartbreak": "I have always been a very sentimental person and not one to fall in love easily," he says.
- But... last February, on Vicky Martín Berrocal's podcast, you said you wouldn't be able to handle a relationship lasting more than a year because you would feel like being unfaithful...
- I am a very open person to love, very open to feeling, and I have experienced wonderful things. But I am also not someone who feels they should behave in a certain way just because of social norms. There are many people who try to live without being themselves because of 'what will people say.' But if you do things with respect and love, you are not harming anyone.