Borja, without surnames and written in capital letters, is the stage name of this young promise from Barcelona who is nominated for the Best New Artist category at the Latin Grammy 2023. The recognition came just two months after releasing his first studio album, Rhymes of the verb to love, whose main single is the song of the same name released two years ago.
Borja likes to sing about the loves he has experienced firsthand: “I have always thought that you can't sing about something you don't believe in or that you haven't felt.” Just like in the disco he is not ashamed to admit that he is a sensitive guy. “I don't know if he breaks hearts or not, but I feel things a lot and sometimes I'm very vulnerable,” he tells us.
Your album is very empathetic. He sings about love from many points of view and artfully explores the evolution of this feeling through emotional melodies and meaningful lyrics that have earned him nearly 5 million views across multiple platforms.
The main theme of the album arises from a long-distance relationship that was not going through its best moment: “One day I got married and I said 'I only want to talk about things that rhyme with the verb to love'. The theme is a hug from a distance.”
He places his style within romantic pop with good lyrics, “but at the same time I want to bring new sounds, I want to surprise.” Borja's success is not the result of a fortuitous situation. It has been the result more of a continuous vital project than of a hit with a song.
“I have studied, I have been working in recording studios, I have composed for other artists… until I found the perfect moment to release my music and work on my project 100%.” On one occasion she even participated in a composition session for Lola Índigo while she was working in the United States after her time at the renowned Berklee College of Music.
At the moment he has not signed with any record label, which he acknowledges gives him freedom: “It took me a while to release this album because no one was expecting it.” Even so, he knows that when there is a record label behind it, it shows in other aspects. For example, he had to cut costs by “carrying the material in a backpack instead of someone else carrying it... But always without giving up the best sound.”
Among his current references are Alejandro Sanz, Pablo Alborán and Daniel Caesar. Next Thursday his fate will be decided at the gala against some of those role models, but he already feels lucky because “being nominated is already an award in itself.”
