WEBVTT - My Music Career 0:00:03.720 --> 0:00:07.680 My first memory of music is when I was three 0:00:07.760 --> 0:00:12.240 four years old. The truth is it was not ready. 0:00:12.320 --> 0:00:16.799 The song was not supposed to come out. The songs 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:19.919 that I write are about something that I've lived, something 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:23.720 that I'm feeling in the moment. It gets heavy to 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:25.880 be compared and to say, oh, yeah, you're never gonna 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:31.640 be Jenny Rivera. Hello, guys, and welcome to another episode 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:34.960 of Cheek Ease and Chill. I'm your host, Cheeks, and 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:37.320 today we're going to talk about something that's been a 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:38.880 huge part of my life for as long as I 0:00:38.880 --> 0:00:42.519 can remember. Oh sad, this chick, that music. We're going 0:00:42.560 --> 0:00:45.280 to be covering everything from how I got started to 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:48.199 where I think my career is headed. It's an episode 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:50.880 you won't want to miss. So let's do it. Grab 0:00:50.920 --> 0:00:58.560 your tequi la. This is Chick Ease and Chill. Alright, guys, 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:03.680 So music, musica a universal language, is what I like 0:01:03.760 --> 0:01:06.119 to call it. Not only is music a big part 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:08.760 of my life, it's also a big part of my identity. 0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:11.280 You guys, a lot of you probably know me best 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:14.319 for being a singer and a performer. My first memory 0:01:14.400 --> 0:01:18.320 of music is when I was three or four years old. 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:23.400 The first song I ever learned. I was sitting on 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:26.160 my grandpa's lap in his office and he had one 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:29.160 of those little recording devices and it was like those 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:32.000 little handheld ones. I had the little mini cassettes and 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.319 he had me on his lap, and the only song 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:37.280 that I knew that I had learned, my very first 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:42.119 song that I had ever learned, was by and I 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:43.880 sang it. And I don't know. I wish I could 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:45.600 find that recording. I don't know. He must have it 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:48.720 somewhere because he doesn't throw anything away. I've never asked him, 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:51.640 but that is my first memory. And from there it's 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:55.240 just I remember being at the swap meet every weekend 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:59.280 with my grandma and we would sell cassettes back then 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:02.400 and would listen to all types of music, to Selena, 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:09.480 to Bronco, to Los to Ganes, Los dire Norte, Melentine, 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:15.280 just so many people, Rivera, lup Rivera, everybody. I grew 0:02:15.360 --> 0:02:21.400 up with music, music letsie go ok jop in the larninglis. Yes, 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:26.839 because you know, I was raised by my grandparents, which 0:02:26.880 --> 0:02:29.079 meant there was always music playing in the kitchen. My 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:31.160 grandma was cooking and there was always music, some type 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:34.320 of radio station. We sold music, we sold cassettes. Then 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:37.520 from there we went to c these we had the Scotebo. 0:02:37.760 --> 0:02:40.000 There was one in Long Beach, one in Huntington Park. 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:43.880 So I was just always around music. I grew up 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:46.840 watching my grandpa saying, my grandma's a singer, all my 0:02:46.919 --> 0:02:50.520 uncle's saying, even the pastor things at church. The one 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:53.120 that didn't really get into it very much was Rosie. 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:55.679 But even then she I think saying at church of 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:57.800 a little bit, and she has staying here and there. 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:01.400 But in reality, I come from a musical background, which 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.360 is why I think it's always caught my eye. I 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:07.200 wanted to like sing. I wanted to try it. I 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:09.600 was afraid because of everything I had seen my mom 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:13.720 go through as a female. In regional Mexican music is 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:16.880 yes seven as soon. It's a it's very male dominated, 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:20.800 very very male dominated genre, so it's very difficult for women. 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:24.320 So I knew that I wanted to sing. I wasn't 0:03:24.320 --> 0:03:26.280 sure if I wanted to do Spanish or English. If 0:03:26.320 --> 0:03:28.679 I wanted to do I had thought about rock because 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:30.839 I really liked my not a point. I had thought 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:33.119 about so many things, but it was a topic that 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:37.400 my mom didn't really want to touch as much because 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:39.720 of what she had lived and what she had gone through. 0:03:40.000 --> 0:03:44.200 So she knew my desires about wanting to become a singer, 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:46.160 and I would tell her, and the whole plan was, Okay, 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:48.320 we're gonna do because I loved Limit Them, you know, 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:52.240 Alicia a real she was a limit Them, and I 0:03:52.280 --> 0:03:54.280 loved her music, so I wanted to do something like that, 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:57.960 like North. I was going to be the singer. My 0:03:58.000 --> 0:03:59.720 mom was going to be the manager. That was like 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:03.320 the whole plan. And she says, Okay, I will help you, 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.000 I will support you, but just wait until I have 0:04:06.080 --> 0:04:07.840 the time to manage your career. You know, I'll do 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:09.360 my thing and then I'll take a little bit and 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:11.320 then we'll move on with your career. That was the 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:13.560 plan since I think I was like I think the 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:15.520 first time I ever mentioned it to her, like seriously 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:18.400 was when I was like twenty three, and thank goodness, 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:21.000 her career just kept getting better and better and better. 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:23.640 The thing is that my mom knew about it, and 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:25.640 she was just a little hesitant. She would always say, 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:27.120 you know what, I just don't know if I want 0:04:27.120 --> 0:04:29.360 this career for you. It's very, very hard for women 0:04:31.240 --> 0:04:36.080 a lot of early mornings, and they're mean. They're very mean, 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:39.440 especially to the women that seeing in general Mexican music. 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:42.320 So that was her. You know, she was just hesitant. 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:43.839 She's like, you don't have to do that, Like I 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:45.320 don't want you to go down the same road. It's 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:48.680 very difficult. Just be an actor more than anything. She 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.640 always said, get into acting. And she wanted me to 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:53.120 be a face model. She's like, I would live for 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:55.000 be a model, but you're just you know, you're a 0:04:55.040 --> 0:04:57.440 little bit round and not and very short. So just 0:04:57.480 --> 0:05:00.320 be a face model. That was my mama, you know, 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:03.880 she said. How it was so I realized that I 0:05:03.920 --> 0:05:06.840 wanted to sing for the first time when I was ten, 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:11.240 when I went to a contest to singing contest. My 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:14.359 grandpa was running it at a nightclub in l a 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:16.840 And he would do it every Thursday and he would 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:19.200 rent out this place to invite people to come sing 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:21.280 and he would find new artists for his record label 0:05:21.400 --> 0:05:23.520 like this. One of those nights, I said, I told 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:24.960 my mom, I want to go up there and I 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:27.200 want to sing. I was ten years old. You guys, 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:29.400 I'm pretty sure they were like, okay, it's cute, just 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:31.000 do it. But that's when I realized. I was like, oh, 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:33.680 I kind of like like like I like how I 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:37.480 feel up here and I one second place in that contest, 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:40.120 and that's when I realized, I'm like, dude, this this 0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:42.240 is probably something I want to do. I kept it 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:46.320 quiet for a long time, but that's when I realized, 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:48.039 I'm like, this is this is kind of cool, like 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:49.880 what you feel when you have a microphone in your hand. 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:52.320 So I was, yeah, ten years old, and that was 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:54.600 I think the first time that my mom ever saw 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:58.159 me sing in public. So in when I met Angel, 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:00.560 my ex boyfriend, he's in the end of Street, you know, 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:03.039 and I had told him. I had mentioned He's like, 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:04.880 have you ever wanted to sing? I'm like, yeah, I 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:06.839 actually have. Like I talked to my mom about it, 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:07.920 but I told him the whole story that I just 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:11.240 told you guys. That's when I decided, Like he said, 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:12.920 I'm gonna help you. I want to help you make 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.880 this dream come true. And he spoke to my mom 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:17.360 and told her that he was going to help me, 0:06:17.880 --> 0:06:20.360 and he just said that. My mom's face was like uh, 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:24.360 because again my mom was very like competitive in that sense. 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:26.000 That she felt like, who is this guy coming into 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:28.600 my daughter's life and now like she wanted to help me, 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:30.200 you know, So it's kind of like I think that 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:34.160 type of thing. So she didn't really like it, I 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:36.360 think at first, because she wanted to be the one 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:38.000 to help me. But she said, okay, fine, if that's 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:40.640 what she wants to do, help her. So then I 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:43.240 started taking vocal lessons. I started taking vocal lessons in 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:48.560 and then I stopped because was a very difficult year 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:51.359 for me because I had moved out in March of 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:53.359 my mom actually kicked me out, as you guys know, 0:06:53.400 --> 0:06:56.720 if you don't know, read my books. And then we 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:58.960 had a little bit of issues in September, and then 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:00.560 she passed away in December. So I kind of took 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:03.320 a break. And then I took a break as well 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:06.240 because I was focused on my siblings. So then I 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:10.000 started up my vocal lessons again. And I've had the 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.640 re vocal coaches. I've learned a little bit from all 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.120 of them, and it's been great. Right now, I don't 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:18.560 have a vocal coach because my vocal coach moved far away, 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:21.280 but I do have all my notes and I practice. 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:23.960 I think it's very important to take vocal lessons. It 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:26.080 doesn't matter how successful you are, if you are the 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:29.720 best singer ever, having also a vocal coach in your 0:07:29.760 --> 0:07:33.200 recording sessions help you a lot, like to play with 0:07:33.240 --> 0:07:37.520 your your voice. Sometimes we get stuck in doing and 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:39.920 finishing notes a certain way when in reality you don't 0:07:39.920 --> 0:07:42.600 know how powerful your vocal cords are. That's why I 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:45.840 think it's important. There's all types of videos on YouTube 0:07:45.840 --> 0:07:49.640 now that can guide you and help you there. It's amazing. 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.240 So if you can't necessarily afford a vocal coach right now, 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:55.680 because it can get expensive. I actually went to one lesson. 0:07:56.320 --> 0:07:59.080 It was Demi Lovato's vocal coach, and he was charging 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:01.720 me dollars an hour. Let me tell you he was 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:03.720 completely worth it, but I was like five dollar an hour. 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:05.960 That's a lot, you know what I mean. That was 0:08:06.000 --> 0:08:08.000 like three years ago, and I said, hold up, that's 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:12.040 when I started looking into YouTube. Anyways, Guys, I'm sure 0:08:12.080 --> 0:08:15.880 a lot of people think, Okay, well she decided to 0:08:15.920 --> 0:08:19.640 sing after her mom passed. Uh no. That's why I 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:21.400 was like, it's important for me to talk about this, 0:08:21.480 --> 0:08:23.560 have an episode on music because it's something that I 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:25.560 absolutely love. It's something that I've been wanting to do 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:28.240 for years, as you guys now know. And they may 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:31.280 also think, okay, well, it's been really easy for her 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:36.040 because she comes from a very famous musical family, and 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:40.040 in reality, it's been quite the opposite. I think it 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:43.360 would have been easier for me if I didn't have 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:46.560 a famous mother, if I didn't have a famous family. 0:08:46.640 --> 0:08:49.480 That's just the truth. So many people think, oh, yeah, 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:55.840 she she has it easy, you know, reality, I think 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:58.880 it kind of made it more difficult because then the 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:04.080 comparisons came and compared me to my mom, and that's 0:09:04.080 --> 0:09:07.000 where it was, like, guys, for so long, I was like, 0:09:07.080 --> 0:09:09.560 you guys need to give me the opportunity. Is my 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:13.800 first time recording in the studio, first of all, with 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:17.120 my first song. If you guys I have followed my career, 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:19.160 that was my first song, and I have to admit 0:09:20.200 --> 0:09:22.000 it was not the best. If it was not I, 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:25.920 if I could be quite frank, it was horrible, you know, 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:31.440 but that helped me learn and grow. But if you 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:33.240 guys listen now that we're talking about my mother, you know, 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:35.800 Jenny Rivera, If you guys listened to my mom's first albums. 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:40.600 You will see how different her voice was. When my 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:44.200 mom passed, she had twenty years on me of experience 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:50.160 of doing live concerts, of making adjustments vocally and as 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:53.120 a performer. So when I came in, it was kind 0:09:53.120 --> 0:09:56.040 of like they expected me to just be as amazing 0:09:56.080 --> 0:10:00.120 as my mom was. But we all start somewhere, and 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:02.520 I just felt like it was even harder. I was 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:04.760 always going against the current. I was like, there were 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:07.640 so many times that I was like, f this. My 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:12.320 mom was right, it is a very difficult career, and 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:17.960 yess the early mornings, it's a lot, and how people 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:21.520 and how women should I say, are treated in this 0:10:21.559 --> 0:10:25.520 industry or should I say mainly in our in our genre, 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:30.040 in my genre? It sucks, guys, it does. So my 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:32.480 mom was completely right. That's when I went from like, 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:35.240 oh my god, like I totally understand her. I totally 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:37.079 get it. I would even talk to her out loud 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:40.360 and be like, Mom, you were right, but I'm in 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:43.920 it already. And I was also taught to always finish 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:46.959 what I start, so I said, I'm still haven't gotten 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:49.240 to where I want to get to. I want to 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:53.200 grab me and I caught the Grammy, and I'm not 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:57.079 gonna lie being that it's still so difficult. Guys. Sometimes 0:10:57.120 --> 0:10:59.040 I'm like, you know what, there's so many other things 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:02.280 that I could be doing, And I thought about it, like, Okay, 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:05.880 I already got my Grammy, thank God, do I need 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:08.319 to continue? But there are still things that I want 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:11.320 to accomplish. So anyways, we'll get more into that in 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:16.000 a little bit. Coming from a family of musicians, again, 0:11:16.480 --> 0:11:19.400 I think it's been harder for me. Did I get 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:25.960 the support that I expected that I wanted from my family? Yes, 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:30.080 and no, it came in bits and pieces. To be honest, 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:34.720 it has never been something that was all the way through. 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:39.840 Not only was I getting a hard time from the 0:11:39.880 --> 0:11:43.640 world when I first started my career, but also internally 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:47.520 in my family, it felt like in some way they 0:11:47.520 --> 0:11:51.640 thought I was my mom's competition, or that I wanted musbian, 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:53.800 wanted to be my mom's competition, that I wanted to 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:56.840 fill my mom's shoes, and that is has not ever 0:11:56.920 --> 0:12:00.440 been the case. Because I always say this, those shoes 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:04.480 are so massive that not me, not another woman, not 0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:10.079 anyone can ever fill those shoes. Jennie Rivera's Jenny Rivera Selena, Selena. 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:16.040 Those people are icons and idols and legends that no 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:19.520 matter who comes, there will never be another Jenny Rivera. 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:21.440 There will never be another Selena, there will never be 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:25.959 another there will never be another Michael Jackson. People want 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:28.120 to compare Michael Jackson with Bruno Mars and I'm like, dude, 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:31.199 they're so different. Yeah, they have little similarities, but Okadakian 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:34.200 and and it gets heavy to be compared and to say, oh, yeah, 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:36.560 you're never gonna be Jenny Rivera. I don't want to 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:38.319 be Jenny river I want to be cheek ease. I 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:39.760 want to be cheekies. I want you to listen to 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:42.760 my music. I have a whole other story to tell 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:46.000 and my old experiences through my music. That that's where like, 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:48.240 for a long time, it was heavy, and I think 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:51.920 certain members of my family, my extended family, thought that, 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:54.640 and I'm like, no, like, I just want to try it. 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:56.160 I want to do it. This is something that I've 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:59.200 wanted to do and I'm not I refused to go 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:01.880 on with my life and say I didn't do it 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:05.760 because it was going to upset other people, or because 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:09.520 I shouldn't have done it, or because I was scared. 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:12.040 I said I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna try it, 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:15.080 and thank goodness, I did, because I'm very proud of 0:13:15.080 --> 0:13:17.000 how far we've come. You know, it's not where I 0:13:17.080 --> 0:13:20.000 want to be. I feel like every album, every song 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.160 is better and better, and I'm my own competition. I 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:24.320 don't see anyone else's competition. I don't look at what 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:27.120 anyone else is doing. I praise other women. I support 0:13:27.120 --> 0:13:28.880 other women in the genre because that's what we need 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:32.319 more of. There hasn't been enough of that, I think. 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:36.040 So I'm trying to whatever it is that I've accomplished, 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:39.200 bring other women along with me, other very talented women, 0:13:39.320 --> 0:13:42.280 especially in my genre, so that they can also show 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:47.760 through my platform, their voice, their talent. You know, it 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.720 is a very very difficult genre for women. It just is. 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:53.520 It is what it is. It is male dominated. I've 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:59.040 even heard stories about women having to or have been 0:13:59.160 --> 0:14:03.560 offered to say, Okay, I'll put you on radio if 0:14:03.640 --> 0:14:07.480 you if you sleep with me. Some women have done it, 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:12.480 some women haven't. That's none of my business, that's just 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:18.080 the truth. Whatever. Thank god, thank goodness, I've never had 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:20.080 to do that. I know my mom was offered a 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:23.360 couple of times she told me herself, and of course, 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:25.400 you guys know my mother. She's like, f you, I'm 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:26.680 going to sleep with you if I want to sleep 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:28.320 with you, but my vagina doesn't want you, so I'm 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:33.240 not going to. So she got to where she got, 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:37.560 and me too. I started my relationship with Angel, who 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:40.840 was who's very known and has accomplished a lot in 0:14:40.920 --> 0:14:46.880 regional Mexican music before him and I met organically and 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:50.040 throughout our relationship then you know, it just happened that 0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:52.520 he wanted to help me. But it's not like I 0:14:52.520 --> 0:14:53.760 had to sleep with him for him to help me. 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.440 There was. It was an actual relationship of almost five years. 0:14:57.160 --> 0:14:59.960 But um no, thank goodness, no one has ever off 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.880 for me to say, hey, you know, stuck my penis 0:15:02.920 --> 0:15:05.120 and I'll put you on the charts, and I wouldn't. 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:07.960 I've heard of stories, and I obviously heard of my mom's, 0:15:07.960 --> 0:15:11.400 but I have not been offered, thank the Lord. So 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:16.520 going back to it being harder for me, I think 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:19.240 to start my career, I felt like I was for 0:15:19.320 --> 0:15:22.720 a long time going against the current. But obviously, being 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:25.880 born and raised in a family of musicians, it did 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:29.280 have its perks. I know a lot about music because 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:31.640 of my family. I did get a lot of a 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:34.880 lot of advice from my uncle's. I asked a lot 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:37.320 of questions, I saw a lot of things. Then when 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:41.800 we like I I can find my Donal's right away, 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:45.200 like I'm it's something that I think, it's just in me, 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:47.840 you know what I mean. And I'm very grateful because 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:50.520 they did, they did help pave the way, like my mother, 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.840 my uncle's, my grandpa, my grandpa was huge in this. 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:56.160 Like if it wasn't for my grandpa, none of us, 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:59.360 I think would be or have this opportunity because he 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.160 did start the Rivera dynasty. So I'm very grateful. And 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:05.560 he's a very very smart businessman. So I learned a 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:09.120 lot about the business through my grandpa and just kind 0:16:09.120 --> 0:16:11.920 of they did help pave the way. And in a way, 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.760 I guess, yeah, like more people because of the Rivera 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:17.560 last name, it was kind of like Okay, well I'll 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:20.280 take a chance to listen to this girl, but not 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:23.040 I think when it came to listening to especially the 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:25.880 first song, you guys, the truth is it was not ready. 0:16:26.000 --> 0:16:32.880 The song was not supposed to come out. So I'm like, 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:35.040 you know what, yeah, you guys are right. The song 0:16:35.280 --> 0:16:37.600 was not ready and it was not good. I think 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:41.080 the song itself is good, but but I was not 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:43.880 ready vocally at all. It was just a surprise. A 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:45.960 lot of you guys may know this story, but Angel 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:49.560 at that time wanted to surprise me with the song 0:16:49.600 --> 0:16:51.760 on the radio and he just brought it out without 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:57.680 it being ready. So that started the whole thing. I 0:16:57.960 --> 0:17:00.640 thank him because he wanted to surprise me. But then 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.040 my team, my management was just like, what the heck. 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.960 It just kind of I feel like we started asked backwards. 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:09.040 So anyways, if you guys want to know a little 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:12.880 bit about that, I just mentioned it in my first book, Forgiveness, 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:14.400 so you guys can go ahead and read the details 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:17.600 as to how I started my career and what happened. Anyways, 0:17:17.600 --> 0:17:19.480 I'm grateful for him. Everything happened the way it was 0:17:19.480 --> 0:17:23.200 supposed to happen. And yes, I just feel like, yeah, 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:27.920 because I come from a family of musicians, people expected 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.520 me to sing this certain way or seeing like some 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:32.879 of my family members are seeing like my mother, and 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:34.480 that's why it was a little harder. It was. There 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:37.919 was a via and they had I guess something to 0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:40.160 compare it with, which is why it was more difficult. 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:42.920 But I like to take the positive out of things, 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:44.720 and the truth is that I did learn a lot 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:48.840 that I am very grateful that I had almost all 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:53.560 my family to see everything that they did, to learn 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:56.120 from everything that they did, to learn from their mistakes 0:17:56.119 --> 0:18:00.760 as well. And you know, no, so I'm I'm grateful 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:09.640 for that for sure. I'm asked this question all the time, 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:12.320 like why do I think that it's harder for women 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:17.080 in in regional Mexican music? And I thought about it 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:21.800 a lot, and first of all, I think the women 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:24.760 for a long time in this industry, they felt like 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:28.920 there was only one spot, only one woman. Why it's 0:18:28.960 --> 0:18:31.120 like that, I have no idea, but for years it's 0:18:31.160 --> 0:18:34.040 like everyone, all women are fighting for that one spot. 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.080 And that's something that I've wanted to change since I 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:40.159 started singing, and I stepped into this into this genre 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:43.240 because I felt like, why is it that we can't 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:49.560 be like the urbano side of things, those genres that 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:53.240 women collaborate together. And that's what I did it for 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:56.520 the first time in my in my playlist album, I 0:18:56.560 --> 0:19:00.720 said I want three women that I admire that I 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:04.920 love on one song. It's never happened. Why. I don't 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:07.800 understand why it hasn't happened in so many years. And 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:11.280 there's so much talent, so many talented women. A lot 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:14.080 of them are my friends. And at first it was 0:19:14.160 --> 0:19:16.600 kind of like it was just like this tension when 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:20.359 I first started singing. But then I gone tempo. I 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:23.080 started reaching out and I'm like, hey, peace and love guys, 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:25.760 like let's be cool. A lot of them have been awesome. 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:27.439 There have been a few that have been bitches, to 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:31.720 be honest, but whatever, I've tried, and I just wanted 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:33.439 to do that something for the first time. And I 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:35.280 think for a long time, one of the main things 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:38.520 is not enough women in the genre support each other 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:42.000 and empower each other. I think that's been a thing, 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:46.320 and this whole idea of their just being one spot 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:48.880 for women because it is a male dominated, like especially 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:52.200 music banda Artho, it's like that's for men, like women 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:56.320 shouldn't be singing, that women should be singing and mariachi 0:19:56.400 --> 0:19:58.440 and stuff like that, because that's more of an elegant 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:01.560 type of of music, you could say, but that's a 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:03.639 little bit more rugged. It's it's if you want to 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:05.600 call it ghetto, call it ghetto, whatever you want to 0:20:05.640 --> 0:20:08.240 call it. But I think for a long time, especially Bond, 0:20:08.280 --> 0:20:10.879 that women that's singing band that specifically, it's kind of 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:13.240 like it's like you're competing against all these men, and 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:15.960 there are a lot of men. I mean, also the 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:20.640 women that are in high positions in radio or high 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:24.919 positions and now digital platforms. I feel like those women, 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:28.160 I don't know what it is, but support men more 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:30.639 than women. And that's just the truth. And that's what 0:20:30.680 --> 0:20:34.360 I've noticed, and it sucks. And the men that are 0:20:34.359 --> 0:20:37.080 in those positions. Even if there are women that want 0:20:37.080 --> 0:20:39.159 to support our music and want to play our music 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:43.480 or add us two playlists, there are men that stop it. Why. 0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:47.520 I don't know. I think it's just very sexist. It's 0:20:47.560 --> 0:20:50.000 kind of like this is a man's world. Is music. 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:54.600 For a long time, they criticize my mom for singing carrillos. 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:58.680 Thank goodness for for her hard work. She made it possible, 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:00.760 She made it possible for it to be a little 0:21:00.800 --> 0:21:03.600 bit more okay, But it has been a struggle, and 0:21:03.640 --> 0:21:06.200