What is between them? What brought you together being so far away, without knowing each other and singing such different genres? A few days before the singer-songwriter announced that he was divorcing Emeraude Toubia, exclusively Prince Royce and María Becerra confess why they chose each other and fell in love with their connection.
“There is good chemistry… We are passionate ”, both agree between smiles and complicit looks. What follows is an exclusive interview that you cannot stop reading and watching in the video at the end of the article, and draw your own conclusions.
-Congratulations on this ‘I Hope You’ that has the plus a surprise at the beginning of the song and at the end of the song.
María Becerra: Thank you very much, the truth is that we are super happy, it is an incredible song, I am in love with this song, and I think that the same thing happens to Prince, I feel that the video clip is really tremendous, it is something incredible.
Prince Royce: For me it is a pleasure to share this song with María, it brings a very different flow to bachata, with her voice that is unique and the reason for this song was that, to do different things within bachata, merging different genres and sounds. The video is a movie, my audience is going to enjoy it a lot, I hope they love it, just as I loved recording the song, collaborating with María, making the video and ready to break with this theme, God willing.
-How does this duo get to ‘I wait for you’?
María Becerra: Prince spoke to me , all his team, to be part of this song, and the first time I heard it, I fell in love, I loved it, and it didn’t take long to write and go to record… I was very excited about this song, I sent it to Prince , she also really liked what I did, and that’s where it all started.
Prince Royce: María broke, she broke with her verse, with her parts, I this song has a theme of the 80′, a rock song (‘Died in Your Arms) , and that intro makes me nostalgic for those times… In my opinion, Maria’s voice has something of a mystery and I visualized that, kind of sexy, kind of mysterious and that’s where the idea came from, “wow, I want to record a girl c How can I bring something different to this topic”, and there came the idea of inviting María… Happy that she could too, that’s exactly, no, I think it was more than I expected.
Prince Royce and Maria Becerra. Photo: Neiman Group-The song has your seal of bachata Royce, but as you say, María makes a contribution that suddenly you listen to it and say: “it’s Royce, but what happened?”
María Becerra: Yes, I really feel that we merged very well, both in the song , like in the video, I really feel that there is good chemistry, and that is super important when making a song, and more than what the song talks about, we really had a great time.
-How do you decide to make this video clip that is actually a movie?
Prince Royce: I didn’t want to do the same thing, like me singing to the camera all sad, so why not give it like a story. We work with Maria’s director in Buenos Aires. For me it was also like, I don’t want to record in Miami, where I always record, I want to try something different and that’s what we did. Like, come on, I’m going to Argentina, he recorded there to see what flow he has, and for me it was like the reason for doing it there.
María Becerra: Yes, yes, yes, it was totally like that, it was just a change of scenery, and you proposed the idea.
Prince Royce: Yes, I play a lot of video games and the concept came from a game that I love, and I said like I want to do something like that.
-How was Royce, María as a hostess in Argentina?
Prince Royce: It was a pleasure for me to go there, for her to record with me, for me to meet her too… I hadn’t been to Argentina in years, take advantage of go out and meet… See how much Maria had grown and continues to grow and will continue to grow. I hope it breaks, I am sure it will break, and I am happy that María, as I said, brought her touch, her different touch to my music, I think it is very nice, when I can collaborate with different artists, from different parts of the world, of different genres, and to see that they also support bachata, the important thing for me is to see the support of María, of her practice in Argentina, within a genre that is Dominican.
Prince Royce. Photo: Neiman Group-They are young but they started very small, and suddenly they had an explosion and conquered the public. How do two artists feel, from such different places, from different cultures, but who have so much in common?
María Becerra: Hunger It has led to where we are today, as you say, I feel that we are really very passionate about what we do, I feel that we have worked very hard… Everything that is happening to us is more than deserved, really, we have worked a lot for this, we love what we do, and I think it shows. When an artist makes music with his heart, when he does what he feels, the videos are noticeable, the songs are noticeable, everything is noticeable, and I think this is something that happens a lot with this song.
Really I fell in love with this song when I heard it, I mean I can’t believe it, I’m super happy with what we did, and it’s something that goes beyond the screen, and I feel that’s why it’s done, maybe that’s why what you say is a bit like of conquering the public, that the public loves us, I feel that it is because we are really passionate and we do it with our hearts, and it shows.
Prince Royce: The important thing, no matter the gender, no matter the country, no matter the culture, it is perseverance. I, for example, see Maria who has 22, young lady, I imagine that she is motivated from a very young age, I think perseverance is important… It is very beautiful when an artist starts from a very young age. Me at 03 I released ‘Stand By Me’, I was on the radio, traveling, and I think it’s really something that a lot of people don’t see, they don’t see how difficult it is for someone so young, that at 16, 17 is already like maturing faster than a normal person , and traveling, maybe seeing money, maybe seeing success, which requires a lot of work, 24/7, that is what María is experiencing.
I experienced it ago 03 years at 20, 19, and it really makes me very proud to see that youth continue to triumph for their dreams, that they continue also motivated, you have to have your feet on the ground, you have to have a good mind, be well aware to have that kind of success, and continue as firm c with the vision. Today more and more we see youth being more successful, I think today, I don’t know if I’m making that up, but we see more young millionaires, more than ever, and I think youth has been very motivated lately, have found ways to find success, perhaps because of technology, it’s very nice.
Prince Royce and Maria Becerra. Photo: Neiman Group-We are in a very difficult moment in the world, and you are an example that when one works with passion as María says, and has one’s feet on the ground as Royce says, good things can be achieved, what is the message to the public that sees all the disaster in the world, but do you have hope for you?
Prince Royce: I feel like there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, as they say, I think you have to always stay positive, and it’s hard to stay positive sometimes, when there are many things around you that bring you a lot of negativity, but it is important to stay strong, firm that everything is going to be okay… Find a way to navigate and get away from negative things and stay positive and focused on what what do you want, and I think that nowadays there are many things happening, not only war and diseases and COVID, but also Instagram and friendships, and that if someone is doing well and not me, many comparisons nes, I think you have to start with yourself, focus on yourself, on what you want, that would be the message I would give to youth, everything starts with yourself, before believing in another person, believe in yourself.
María Becerra: Yes, I think exactly the same thing, more than anything, focus on yourself, on also becoming a friend of adversity, that when bad things happen, that when there are obstacles, as he says, we we are very young and I think that both he and I know what it feels like to go to a casting and not be taken, upload covers to YouTube and have 2 visits, and go on and on, but that’s when you express confidence in you yourself and you say: “I know I’m going to get there, I know I have it, I know I can”… And then go on and on and on, and perseverance and trust in oneself, and what he says is also super important, this focus on you and not looking to the side, and that envy does not start to eat away at you, because you have to understand that the processes of each person are different before.
Prince Royce: They are different.
María Becerra: And over there you see the one next to you, who is your same age, and is achieving a lots of things, “why am I not doing it?… Because it’s someone else, and the other person is different, and their processes are different, and they got lucky at different times. Not lamenting because that is not happening to me, because everything comes in due time too.
I feel that perhaps life expects us to be prepared to receive those things, as it is not easy to be prepared for everything that comes with all this, and be positive, persevere and take refuge in what is good for us, in what gives us happiness, like music, I must say that there are also people who find a lot of hope in our music, because that’s what it’s also about, music is more than just entertainment, it’s passions, it’s feelings, it’s connecting with the public, and there are many people who really take refuge in music and that’s something super nice.
WATCH THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW WITH PRINCE ROYCE AND MARÍA BECERRA ON VIDEO:
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