IN CONVERSATION WITH PRINCE ROYCE
interview by JANA LETONJA
Numéro Netherlands presents one of our latest 12th issue cover:
Numéro Netherlands is thrilled to present Prince Royce, captured by Petros Kouiouris, gracing the cover of our 12th issue Aurora. A true icon of Latin music, Prince Royce first skyrocketed to global fame 15 years ago with his breakout hit Stand By Me. Since then, he’s delivered 16 more Billboard Latin Airplay #1s and an impressive 24 Tropical #1s, including Carita de Inocente, which earned him a Guinness World Record. Over the years, he has received more than 80 awards and accolades, among them 22 Latin Billboard Awards, 19 Premio Lo Nuestro Awards, 19 Premios Juventud Awards, 6 Latin AMAs, and 12 Latin GRAMMY nominations. Now, with the release of his latest album ETERNO, Prince Royce continues to redefine the sound of modern Latin music.
leather jacket DSQ
leather trousers PHILLIP PLEIN
Your new album ETERNO is a conceptual, bilingual album that reimagines iconic pop songs as bachata renditions. What sparked the idea to take these timeless tracks and give them a modern, bachata twist?
I think this has been an idea that I had for a long time, ever since my debut song, which was STAND BY ME. Obviously that song was a 50-year-old song that had so many covers, but it was interesting that it never had a cover in Bachata or in Spanish or in Spanglish. And ever since then, a lot of people always asked me “Would you ever do that again?” And I was like “I don't know if I ever want to copy it”. But then I had a conversation with the president of Sony Latin, and he was like “Man, you were the pioneer. That's never been done”.
I've been calling it the 200%. I call it 100% American, 100% Latino. That's how I've always felt. I think and speak in Spanish. I dream in both languages. I went to school in both languages. When I write songs, I think in both. So I think this is an album that is a passion project. I think it's a way of showing love to so many artists that made legendary songs, that made iconic songs that are timeless, which is why I named it ETERNO. I think it's a way of bringing generations together, I think it's a way of bringing cultures together. And I hope people that do know these songs, like my mom, remember these songs and they transport them. And then for people that don't know these songs, I hope that they could create new memories and get educated on these songs that I feel were were great times.
full look FENDI
bracelet (left ) CARTIER
bracelet (right) and ring THE GREAT FROG
full look AMIRI
You’re bringing a nostalgic yet fresh perspective to songs from legends like the Bee Gees, Stevie Wonder, and The Beatles. How did you go about selecting which classics to reinterpret?
I think number one, the importance for me was keeping the essence of the original song. And number two, making songs that flowed in Spanish in the translation, and respecting the lyric of the original as well. And number three, songs that fit in Bachata. Bachata is in double tempo and not every song fits. I made a whole big playlist that I've been making for a long time, and just started turning all those songs in Bachata, doing a demo, seeing if it fit. If it didn't fit, I'd remove it. There's songs that are amazing to me and I wish that they would've been on the album, but I just felt I couldn't, at least in the moment, do a translation or a perfect fit where I felt I respected the original song. So, that's kind of how the process was.
How do you balance honoring the original classics while also infusing them with your signature style?
I tried to really like dissect what is the most memorable line and what was a line that was the hit. And I try not to mess with that line. If something was memorable, I'd keep it in English. If a certain melody or a certain thing that that artist did, that was like a legendary moment that I felt was key in the song, and I had to do it just like that because people are going to miss it. For example, RIGHT HERE WAITING was a piano song, so I wasn't going to go and make it a guitar. It needs to stay piano the way the original was. So that's really how I tried to do it.
full looks AMIRI
full look DG
necklace and bracelet DG
rings THE GREAT FROG
Which track from this album could you say is your favorite or dearest to you, and why?
I think one of my favorites, and I don't know why, has always been DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT. I just think the energy in the song for me, I could picture myself singing it in the concert. It's more uptempo. I changed the lyric a bit to make it like dancing Bachata. It's a song that I hope especially Bachata dancers can enjoy. And it was just always a song that I connected with. It was a song that I was listening to in so many different versions, so that's kind of like one of my favorites.
I love STUCK ON YOU as well, by Lionel Richie. I think it sounds really well in Bachata, it has almost like a country vibe. And just the tone and the key of the song to me fits really well with Bachata essence. So, that's another one of my favorites.
Looking back at your debut and now at ETERNO, how has your relationship with bachata, and also you as an artist, evolved?
When I first started, I think like with any artist, you're doing it not knowing if someone's going to hear it or if it's going to be good. When I did my first album, I didn't have a record label, I didn't have any plan. And obviously as you get more famous or as you get a bigger audience, it's more pressure. Now, when I'm recording an album, I know someone's going to hear it, or someone's going to judge it, so it's more pressure. And obviously, with great power comes great responsibility. It's like this responsibility of wanting to be able to represent Bachata. I want to be able to represent my culture.
Especially these songs on ETERNO, it's a little trickier cause it's like “What would the original artist think of it? Would they like it? Would the people be a fan of this song? Would they think I messed up the version?” So in this specific album, I kind of felt that responsibility a bit, but it was fun. It was challenging to hear myself sing these songs. It was challenging and different to hear these songs in Bachata. I also feel responsibility now with the Bachata genre to really try to get it to different countries and keep reintroducing people to it. And I know there's so many places that don't know the genre yet. I definitely think that the relationship with Bachata has always grown a little more with each song.
After 15 years, billions of streams, and countless awards, what keeps you inspired and pushing creative boundaries?
I don't even know. Even with this album, it was fun for me cause it was a concept. It was different for me to do. I think it's just always trying to find a new inspiration, always trying to find a new envelope that you can push, always trying to find a way to keep the fans excited, to keep yourself excited because the more songs you write, the less concepts you can repeat. I kind of just take it one step at a time, and just go with the flow.
How do you feel about being considered a cultural ambassador of bachata on a global stage?
I think it's an honor, I think it's a blessing. Obviously you always want to be the best, you want to be the greatest, you want to reach as many people as possible, but I think when I started, I just wanted to do music. I hope to continue motivating the youth. I think there's lack of Bachata artists as well, so I hope to get more kids involved or somehow be able to inspire the kids to also sing Bachata.
full look VERSACE
necklace THE GREAT FROG
full look VERSACE
necklace THE GREAT FROG
You’ve broken records, filled stadiums, and even have a day named after you in NYC, for your contributions to society, as well as being a role model to youth in your hometown. How do you stay grounded through all that success?
I try to look at it as a job. I think when you're a young artist, like when I first started, you're singing, you're drinking, you're partying, you're hanging with girls. And as you get older, I think it becomes more of a clockwork. I remember when I first started, I would do late night studio sessions, and it was more of a hangout at the studio. Now, I'm recording at 11 AM or 12 PM, just getting the job done. And I think as you become more famous or whatever, it becomes more of a real job. At first, it was just like a hobby, pursuing your passion. I just take it a little more serious now than I did before. And that kind of keeps me a little more grounded. It's not just music, it's a business, so I got to keep grounded because of that.
When you’re not making music or on tour, what does your perfect day off look like?
My perfect day would be a lazy day. I usually wake up at nine, I go to the gym by 10:30. I like to play video games or go to the market on Sundays. I like a market Sunday, that's like a pretty cool day. And I like chilling by the pool. Sometimes, I'll get a cabana at a hotel by the pool, get a few drinks, and chill. That's a cool chill day for me.
Looking ahead, what do you have coming up next after the release of ETERNO?
After the album's out, I hope to do a tour. I also got to go and promote the album. I hope to take this album to many places that aren’t familiar with Bachata yet. Since I'm blending cultures and language, hopefully I can reach many other countries that I haven't been to before. I'll definitely do a lot of promoting, a lot of touring this year. I'm also going to Europe in the summer. And I know this has nothing to do with music, but I'm running my third marathon in Chicago this fall.
full look FENDI
bracelet (left ) CARTIER
bracelet (right) and ring THE GREAT FROG
leather jacket DSQ
leather trousers PHILLIP PLEIN
top and trousers DSQUARED
shoes FENDI
Do you have any particular goals or dreams that you’re excited to realize in the future?
When they ask me this question, I always say I'm happy to be doing what I love. I'm happy to have achieved so many things. And if I could just continue to achieve those things, continue to touch people, continue to have the opportunity to perform, I'm happy. I think that as an artist, you always want to go for more. And I obviously want to keep going for more, but I really have achieved so much and I just want to continue to achieve those things. I want to be able to continue to sing these songs and travel the world.
Maybe, I want to go sing in Japan. Maybe I want to do more Europe dates. There's so many places in Europe that I haven't been to. Obviously, I just want to just keep growing and keep touching places that I haven't been to before and still continue to visit the places that have shown love and supported me.
top and trousers DSQUARED
shoes FENDI
jewelleryTHE GREAT FROG
bracelet CARTIER
full look FENDI
bracelet (left ) CARTIER
bracelet (right) and ring THE GREAT FROG
TEAM CREDITS:
talent PRINCE ROYCE
photography PETROS KOUIOURIS
styling LUCA FALCION
executive producer JORGE ROSELL
production WE MADE IT AGENCY
grooming REALIZ ALCAIDE
photography assistant TEAGUE SHOUP
styling assistants SOPHIA YANEZ & DOTTIE DAVIS
casting TIMI LETONJA and JANA LETONJA
editor TIMI LETONJA
interview JANA LETONJA
pr FRAZES CREATIVE
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN
