SINGER OF NOTE
Becky G’s pop star rising
You know you’re a concern and you’ve made it when the paparazzi snap and the interwebs click.
It’s something that Becky G ( a. k. a. Rebecca Gomez) has discovered at the tender age of 18. The young, up ’ n’ coming American pop singer is climbing toward superstar status, and her Google imprint is growing with every day.
It’s fitting considering that, like another teen sensation who shall go unnamed, she was discovered, signed and sent into the music world on the basis of her performing and uploading covers of songs by Kanye West and ( cough, cough) Justin Bieber to YouTube.
Her talents have already been acknowledged and utilized by other established artists wanting to collaborate with her such as Pitbull, will. i. am, Jennifer Lopez and, most notably Dr. Luke, who signed her to his imprint on Sony, and she’s also toured with other acts such as Katy Perry and Demi Lovato.
And songs such as Shower, Can’t Stop Dancin’, Play It Again and We Are Mexico, which was written as a sort- of response to bloviating Chia Pet/ presidential candidate Donald Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric, have found a home on radio and in iTunes libraries.
But, more tellingly, her youth, appeal and relatability have tapped into a generation that lives online and wants to know everything about her ( rabid fans are called Beasters), including what she wears and, of course, who she is dating.
Prior to her headlining set as part of the Family Channel’s Big Ticket Summer Concert and just after the July 4 American holiday which she spent frolicking on the beach with then boyfriend and fellow teen pop star Austin Mahone ( they broke up this past week), Becky G chatted with the Calgary Herald.
Q Happy belated Independence Day. I’d ask you how you spent it but the photos are everywhere.
A ( Laughs) Yeah, it was a lot of fun.
Q It looked like it. But I do have to ask you, you’re celebrating, trying to have a good time, and people are snapping photos of you. Isn’t that annoying?
A It’s new. It’s very new to me. I had no idea, so … it’s really awkward and weird when you find out, like, “Oh, look pictures are being taken.” But after seeing how happy I was in all of those pictures, to be honest, I was really happy that those moments were captured.
Q That’s nice. That’s a good way to look at it. Because it’s one of those things that you don’t know you’re signing up for, I’m guessing, when you decide to pursue music — it just happens all of a sudden.
A I think at the end of the day what I’m learning is that your personal life and your business life kind of just all mushes together, because everybody just wants to know what’s going on … It can be a tough thing to expect but I feel like I’m dealing with it pretty well. I’m surrounded by a lot of really great people. And the truth is that I’m happy and I don’t see why I should hide that. So if some people caught some pictures of me laughing and giggling and having a great time, then I don’t mind it.
Q Obviously people want those pictures and people want to see those pictures because things are going incredibly well for you.
A As Katy Perry says, “I’m living the teenage dream,” for sure. ( Laughs) … I’m very lucky, I’m very blessed. I feel like there’s a lot of polished people out there who are passionate about a lot of things, especially music, and for me to be able to have a great supportive fan base that keeps growing every single day, and knowing its on my side, I feel really lucky.
Q Tell me about — I don’t know, would you even call him your mentor? — Dr. Luke who took you under his wing and has helped propel you a little further.
A Yeah, I would. I always put it like the Karate Kid, he’s like my Mr. Miyagi, honestly … He’s definitely taught me so much and I’m very thankful for him and just everybody at the record label for being so patient with me. And not only that, but I think one thing that can be really scary about signing with a record label, is that you hear all of horror stories of your voice isn’t heard and you’re told what to do, but on my end, with my team, I’m a very creative person ( and) my ideas are listened to and I get to be the driver of my career. And I think that’s what so special about the relationship I have with Luke and with everybody else. So, yeah, he’s been such a huge help and he’s just almost like a dad to me, honestly.
Q As you said, not many people get that control — they take you, they take your voice and what they do with it is up to them. But it sounds like it’s been the opposite for you.
A I don’t know if it’s because Latin or something but I’m very opinionated and very vocal about my opinions and a little feisty. ( Laughs) So I think it’s been a huge benefit to my career, because I do not go without being heard.
Q The one comment that Dr. Luke had said about you was that there was so much personality in your voice, and I’d agree with that. Pop stars come and pop stars go, and half the time you could interchange one voice for the next, but it really seems as if you want your personality to come out in your voice.
A That means a lot. I just need to be me through my music. When I hear “voice” I think of lyrics as well, what I’m singing in my music. I’m a writer on all of my songs and I feel like that’s really important because at the end of the day, I feel like that’s why fans connect to people, like Taylor Swift, who is also very hands ( on) with the creative process, because they’re sharing their stories of what they’ve gone through or people that they know have gone through things. They take life and use that as their inspiration and that’s kind of what I’ve done with my songs and I feel like that’s why people connect to it. I’m just being myself and talking about things that I want to talk about.
Q And here we can take it back to your proud Latin heritage. I applaud you for fighting back against the giant windbag, idiot Donald Trump. Not a lot of people would do that because he is such a big mouth who will attack anyone who takes him on, but congratulations on standing up to him with that song.
A Thank you very much. We Are Mexico is a very special song for me. And it wasn’t necessarily something where I was speaking of him, I was speaking of my story and acknowledging the fact that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for my grandparents being brave enough to come to another country and start their version of their American dream. It’s not just my story; everybody has their version of the American dream. This place is built on immigration and energy from people coming here to start a better life and I feel like the song speaks for itself … I just feel like I’m on a platform where I can either be famous just to be famous or I can use the platform to speak up for people who aren’t being heard.
Q I’ll congratulate you, again, because you seem incredibly grounded. This a lot for someone of your age to take in and it seems like you’re doing it the right way. The stories are too many to mention of people who’ve gone the wrong way.
A Thank you so much for acknowledging that. You know, I try my best, nobody’s perfect. But I’m the oldest of four kids and the last thing I want to do is let down my parents and my siblings and so every decision I make I make, not just to make everybody else happy but to make me happy as well. And know that at the same time there is a lot of people watching every single step that I take, and just to be aware of that is going to be the best thing for me.