Xavi Talks Debut Album, Karol G, and Iconic Troubadour Show

Photo by Luis Hernández

Breakout música mexicana star Xavi has just finished soundcheck before his performance at the iconic Troubadour in West Hollywood. The baby-faced 19-year-old is elated as we cruise around L.A. in the backseat of a van. He’s on his way to get a haircut right before the biggest gig of his career.

"John Lennon from the Beatles, the Eagles, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have performed here," Xavi says, looking at the venue in awe through the rearview mirror. "It's crazy! They were literally the ones that ruled the music world back then. I'm super grateful. La neta [honestly], it's a blessing to push our [Mexican] culture further."

This past year, música mexicana has gone global thanks to the success of acts like Peso Pluma, Eslabon Armado, and Grupo Frontera. While his contemporaries have scored a majority of their hits through collaborations, however, Xavi is connecting with millions of listeners without features. He has ruled Spotify's Top 50 Global chart with his fiery love song "La Diabla,” and soon after, the rest of Xavi's romantic corridos rose to the upper reaches of the chart. And so with chart-topping new music and a headlining U.S tour, Xavi is keeping the Mexican momentum going strong while bringing romance back to the genre.

Now, he is following in the footsteps of legends while proudly representing the music of his heritage. He was born Joshua Xavier Gutierrez Alonso in Phoenix, Arizona, and was also raised in Sonora, Mexico. That bicultural duality comes out in Xavi's speech as he switches between Spanish and English while talking with Teen Vogue. Back at the Troubadour, Xavi's parents were present for his soundcheck. With his family's history as musicians, music runs through his blood.

"They all sang and that helped me understand a bit the music world and how to be a singer," he says. "I saw that each person had their own style of music. My mom listened to Selena, my grandpa listened to Vicente Fernández, and my dad listened to Camila or corridos. I didn't know that slowly I would create a style with all of those styles. It was like creating a chain of fusions."

Música mexicana is a catch-all term for all the subgenres of music rooted in Mexico. Selena performed Tejano music, which was a mix of Mexican norteño or cumbia with influences of American pop, R&B, and country music. During his lifetime, Vicente Fernández was dubbed the king of ranchera music. Xavi also grew up listening to his peers like Natanael Cano, who is a pioneer of the corridos tumbados, a trap-infused take on the traditional corrido. Peso Pluma has since globalized that sound. No matter the type of music Xavi was going to do, he knew it would be Mexican. "I also like music in English, but for the music I want to put [out], I'm sticking with música mexicana because [it’s] where we can be ourselves and raise our flag up high," he says. "That's all I want to do."

Xavi first gained notoriety from his covers on TikTok, which later led to him signing with Interscope Records. Shortly after reaching that milestone in his career, he was involved in a near fatal car accident at the age of 17. Xavi woke up from a coma in the hospital with a fractured skull and facial injuries that required reconstructive surgeries.

"The accident was something that opened my eyes," he recalls. "I feel like things in life happen for a reason. Like that gave me a wake-up call. That was very impactful for me because I could find myself. Even though I went through that, I never gave up. God is there to help me through the good and the bad."

What scared Xavi the most about his accident wasn't his road to recovery, nor the surgeries. At first, his doctor told him there was a chance that he wouldn't be able to sing anymore. From his hospital bed, he defied the odds in a video that went viral on TikTok. While all bandaged up, Xavi played the guitar and sang. When he looks back on that moment, he sings a bit of "Un Mentado Ariel," a song Ariel Camacho's band Los Plebes wrote in Camacho’s memory after his death in 2015. At 22, Camacho laid the foundation for today's Gen Z música mexicana stars like Xavi.

"Mi jefa [my mom] gave me the guitar and I was afraid to take it," he admits. "I didn't want to know what was going to happen. I don’t want anything more in this life than to sing. It was a very special moment because that was when I realized that God gave me another opportunity. I said I won't take this in vain because esta vida solo se vive una vez [this is a life you only live once] like the Los Plebes song says."

With a renewed lease on life, Xavi poured his heart and soul into his songs that followed. Last November, he released "La Diabla," a sexy corrido where he sings about having the hots for a girl who likes bad boys. The song burned up the charts this year, including peaking at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart and 46 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart. Xavi later shattered a record set by Bad Bunny on Spotify with the longest-running no. 1 solo song by a Latin artist on the Top Global 50 chart.

"I had that melody in my head for a while," he says while humming the haunting bridge of "La Diabla." "Then the first verses came. From there, we started to connect the pieces and we didn't know that this song would become what it did. We made this with a lot of love thinking about everyone. I want everyone to be able to feel and connect to my songs, the young people, the older people, no matter their age."

Xavi now sits at over 28 million monthly listeners on Spotify. He continues to score hits without features like the heartbreaking "Sin Pagar Renta," where he sings about deleting the memories of an ex, and his breakup anthems "La Víctima" and "Corazón De Piedra." At the Troubadour, the sold-out crowd includes Mexican youths like Xavi, their parents, and drag queens, and they’re all singing their hearts out with Xavi. Since his rise, he's gained two unexpected fans: reggaeton stars Karol G and Bad Bunny. When Karol G's Mañana Será Bonito Tour visited Mexico City in February, she brought him out as a special guest.

"They are very big influences for me," he says. "I'm so grateful for their support. I admire them a lot. My respects to the big ones. That was my first time singing in my beloved Mexico and for that, I thank Karol so much. To be able to share that moment with all of my people and make it a night to remember is something that I’ll never forget."

When asked if he could record with reggaeton artists like them in the future, Xavi adds, "I would love that." For now, he is hard at work on his debut album in between the dates of his Poco a Poco Tour, which will wrap on May 12. "Poco a Poco" is also the name of his empowering song that resonates with the story of his journey so far.

"In English that means 'Little by Little,' but to me it means more than that," he says. "It's about how someone is little by little getting through life, going through things, and they never give up. They're slowly working through everything and little by little building their empire. I want my music to heal people like it did for me.”

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue

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