Continuing his rise to the forefront of Latin music with the release of his sophomore album, cuando coincidimos, Spanish singer-songwriter BORJA talks working with his peers, his romantic side, and what’s to come.

For BORJA, the most important moments in life are making connections with people. Following a Latin Grammy nomination for Best New Artist in 2023 and opening for one of Karol G’s concerts, the Spanish singer-songwriter has since placed emphasis on human connection. BORJA is channeling that whirlwind of emotions and experiences into his exhilarating second album, cuando coincidimos.

“This album is definitely inspired by my last year and a half of running around and realising that connecting with people is what keeps me alive in a way,” he says. “Without that, life kind of has no meaning. I’m reflecting on how I feel when I coincide with people I want to see and how I feel when I don’t coincide with them.”

BORJA first burst onto the scene with his debut album Rimas Del Verbo Amar in 2023. As an independent artist, he largely funded the LP by writing songs for Latin acts like Reik, Lasso, Marco Mares, and Nicole Zignago. After getting his first Latin Grammy nomination, BORJA was further thrust into the spotlight when Karol G had him open for her stadium tour in Madrid. Since then, the Barcelona-based troubadour has stepped into his power as a pop star. BORJA’s romantic music is packing more of a pop-rock punch that’s built for stadiums. At the same time, he is also getting more personal with his songs, which talk about love, heartbreak, and sex. 

BORJA opens up about fleeting romance at an afterparty hosted by Karol G’s boyfriend, Feid, in a thrilling song named after him. He then lets his lover know his feelings in the sultry “Se Busca” and sweeps her off her feet in the summery “Mallorca.” Alongside Colombian singer Greeicy, BORJA also explores the heartache of dreaming about what could’ve been with an old flame in “Macarrones Con Queso.” He’s a breath of fresh air in Latin pop while pushing the genre to new emotional depths. Following the release of his nostalgic album on May 29, BORJA spoke exclusively with Wonderland about life after his breakthrough, celebrity run-ins, and what’s next. 

Listen to the new album…

Read the exclusive interview…

What was the experience like to meet Karol G when you opened for her and did that show influence the direction of your new album?

Well, that was a dream because I’m a big Karol G fan. For her to lend me her stage and be like, “Here you go. Do your music,” that was a big deal. I had a chance to meet with her before and after the show. When you get to meet her, you understand why she’s as big an artist as she is. She is a beautiful person. That’s the biggest thing that translates so much into her music and the way she treats people. It’s with much love. 

Before playing at Karol’s show, I also did a few shows of my own. The fact that I could feel when people were connecting with the live music and my songs live made me realize that I want to drive this album more towards a live sound with a band and real instruments. That show inspired me to do more of a live sound for sure. 

How are you trying to reshape Latin pop with cuando coincidimos?

Some things are not meant to last a long time. I just want to make songs that have a long life. I want to create songs that stay with people and that have deep meaning in the lyrics. Lyrics are so important to me. I grew up listening to Alejandro Sanz and Elton John. Both of them are storytellers and they focus a lot on what they’re saying, so that’s what I want to do in my songs.

You’re known for your romantic music and I feel like with this album, you’re also showing a more sensual side to yourself in your songs like “Mallorca” and “Dime.”

That’s 100 percent true. You know, maybe I hadn’t picked up on it because it wasn’t something that I did on purpose. My focus while making this album has been to make music that I want to make regardless of what it is. The story of “Mallorca” is about me wanting to take this person somewhere and to just have fun and be together. Essentially, it leads to that. That’s also true of “Dime.” I guess because I’ve been so free creating music, it’s maybe touched on those sensual moments as well. 

How did “Macarrones Con Queso” come together with Greeicy and what was the experience like to collaborate with her?

Greeicy is amazing! She’s obviously a really big artist, but she’s such a nice human being. She’s so easy to work with. We sent her the song through people that we have in common. As soon as she heard it, she sent me a long voice note saying, “I love this song! I’ve heard it 1,000 times this week. We need to meet up and record it.” I give her a lot of credit for jumping onto that song. She connected with it and told me, “This song speaks to me, so I’m really happy to be a part of it.” The music video was so fun. We rented a house in Miami and we cooked macaroni and cheese. We spent the whole day in that house. We genuinely connected and it was just a really good experience.  

Who would you love to collaborate with next?

So many people! I would love to do something with Feid because I do think his lyrics have a lot of meaning. I would like to do something with my friend Nicole Zignago and Alejandro Sanz. I would love to work with a lot of people that I admire.

Speaking of Feid, what’s the story behind your song that you named after him?

I wanted to write as literally as possible with that song. The song talks about love at first sight in a way. It’s a true story. I was in Miami. I think it was a party in 2021 with Feid and a bunch of other people. I met a person and love happened in a way. The fun fact is that Feid was there and in the song I say, “Feid was at the party, but when I saw you coming in, I was like, ‘Wow! I don’t care who else is here.'” That was before Feid had any of his viral moments. 

Have you had a chance to play the song “Feid” for Feid?

I was thinking I need to get the song to him. I at least need to get him to listen to it because he’ll probably laugh. I’ll remind him of what party it was. I even have a picture from that party when we’re all in the elevator. It was really fun. He’s such a nice guy and I think he’s worked so hard to get where he’s at. He was working as a songwriter and now he’s a huge artist. He was one of my most streamed artists last year. I really like him.  

Your album is coming out right before Pride month in June. I was wondering if you had a message for your fans that belong to the LGBTQ+ community?

Some of my best friends belong to the LGBTQ+ community. From the Karol show, a lot of people that belong to that community started following me. They have the rainbow flag on their Instagram profiles. I started to realize that many people from that community feel connected with my songs or the way that I express those songs. I love it! I just talk about love in all shapes and forms in my music. Love is everything and love is love. I feel very connected with them.

You were recently spotted in the studio with Latin pop hit-maker JonTheProducer. What can you tell us about what was happening there?

I love him! It’s funny because that was me, Jon, and Nicole, who I mentioned earlier. I’ve known Jon since 2018, but we had never sat down to do music. We just had a blast. That was like a month ago. We were making a lot of cool music with Nicole. Jon is a great guy.

What can we expect from you next?

There’s going to be a lot of shows. There’s going to be more new music coming. There’s going to be collaborations. There’s a few other things for the end of the year that I’m excited about. Music is therapy for me. Music is the thing that makes me feel the most things in life. I just want to make music that heals people and connects with them. I feel this second album is the second part of my first one. I want the third album to feel like it comes from space. I’m excited.

Words – Lucas Villa

Photography – Paula Vázquez Guisande