Fresh off the success of his latest release “California,” Brit-pop artist Alexander James Rodriguez is tapping into his Spanish roots with his latest single “Bella Loquita.”
The vibrant and infectious pop record marks Rodriguez’s first Spanglish song and is guaranteed to be stuck in your head after one listen.
“I wanted the song to be fun and have a Mediterranean infused samba to it,” Rodriguez tells Celeb Secrets of “Bella Loquita. “It’s the first song I wrote with record producer Gemini Musiq (Justin Bieber, Purpose) and I wanted the lyrics to be authentically Spanish, so we roped in my mom, who is fluent, and my 88-year-old grandad, who is a Madrid-native. The lyric, ‘La sirenita de mi corazon’ was all him. He wanted the love interest to be a Mediterranean mermaid – and so she was!”
Celeb Secrets caught up with the talented singer/songwriter to learn more about “Bella Loquita” and his recent merch drop that supports No Kid Hungry.
Keep scrolling to read the full Q&A below and don’t forget to let us know what you think of “Bella Loquita” by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
You can keep up with Alexander by giving him a follow on Instagram at @amajrodriguez.
Celeb Secrets: Hi Alexander, thanks for chatting with us again! Congrats on the release of ‘Bella Loquita.’ What inspired this song and what do you hope listeners take away from it?
Alexander James Rodriguez: “Hey guys, firstly, thank you for being so supportive and following my journey. So, since the first day I set foot in the recording studio at age 12 I wanted to create a Spanish-English hybrid song. I was born in Marbella in Spain and have a strong Spanish heritage / background so singing in Spanish for my family was always a priority. I wanted the song to be fun and have a Mediterranean infused samba to it. It’s the first song I wrote with record producer Gemini Musiq (Justin Bieber: Purpose). I wanted the lyrics to be authentically Spanish, so wrote roped in my mom, who is fluent, and my 88-year-old grandad, who is a Madrid-native. The lyric, ‘La sirenita de mi corazon’ was all him. He wanted the love interest to be a Mediterranean mermaid – and so she was!”
CS: The video looks so fun! What was your favorite part from filming it, and do you have any funny memories from filming?
AJR: “I loved filming ‘Bella Loquita’ – I have the most amazing videographer, Brian. When he heard the song, he immediately suggested the Pirate Tower at Laguna Beach. It was perfect. I asked my friend from first grade, Mishella Vishnevskiy to be my dancing “bella loquita”, as she is a National and International dance champ. I was so happy she said yes and had the time to film. We had fun learning some dance moves before the shoot date and selecting wardrobe, which mine changed about ten times to what we ended up with.
We had lots of funny moments – the first take (literally) the first run through of the song, I was saturated by a big wave, and all I could hear was my mom yelling – keep going! Mishella and I filmed a sequence together barefoot on a rock formation, which was tough to look cool when we had spikey rock digging into our feet! The playback speaker was on the shore, so it would not be seen when Brian 360 us, so I had my phone in my back pocket playing the song. That was a bit frustrating. I was so worried it would fall out into the ocean. That whole sequence was my least favorite. By the end of the shoot, which took us 4 hours, the tide had fully come up, we were soaked, and we were struggling to finish strong. A huge wave came up and all the towels and clothes were washed up. The waves in that bay are unpredictable!
Brian pulled out the drone for the opening sequence, and I honestly think that is my favorite part visually. California has some fantastic beaches, and I am grateful to be able to film music videos here using its stunning coastline as my backdrop.”
CS: We saw you recently filmed with Piper Rockelle. What was that experience like?
AJR: “Piper is super sweet. I met her for the first time that very day at Starbucks in the mall. She was with her friend Emily ordering drinks. They were in a rush, so I let them go ahead of me. Then I guess they didn’t have any money on them, or something happened, so I offered to pay. No big deal. I ended up giving both her and Emily one of my California Limited Edition cropped hoodies.”
CS: You also just dropped your merch line and proceeds from those sales are going to No Kid Hungry. Can you tell us about the process of designing the shirt, and also what inspired you to give back?
“I am extremely proud to be supporting No Kid Hungry with my Limited Edition ‘California’ clothing line. I have seen first-hand kids at my own school waiting in line for breakfast, lunch and dinner provided by the school system. Did you know that 1 in 6 kids in America go to school hungry? It’s impossible to stay focused with your belly rumbling, and during summer, when school is not in session, kids often do go hungry.
So, to support kids in California who need our help with basic food needs, I created a limited-edition long sleeve T-shirt and cropped hoodie. The designs are fully inspired from my music video for ‘California’ which released on May 7th. The long sleeve T-shirt has the yellow VW camper van on the front with the same surf board, and the cropped hoodie also has a surfboard, but we added flowers. The font for my name and the word California on the front and sleeve are the same as the cover art for the song. The clothing and the song are fully connected and only available on my website – www.iamajrodriguez.com/shop
All profits go to No Kid Hungry, because as a kid myself, I believe that no child should go hungry, we should be outside always having fun with full bellies.”
CS: Lastly, since we are Celeb Secrets, can you share any secret or upcoming projects that we can be looking forward to from you this year?
“Absolutely, as it’s you 😊. For my music, I dropped a huge hint at The Day of the Child event on Sunday July 18th when I performed ‘Bella Loquita’ and ‘California’. I wore an outfit from the 1980’s and that was a big clue for the audience as to what was coming up next…. this week I am recording ‘Freedom’ by Wham! I have only recorded one cover song to date, and that was ‘Holiday in LA’ for UNICEF last year, so I am looking forward to having some throwback fun and channeling my inner George Michael.
I also just finished up a song called ‘Alright!’, and I have another called ‘Cherry Bomb’ up on deck. I had a plan for seven songs in 2021 to go with the four from 2020. I am on target!
Something completely new is, I have been invited to go on tour with a group, but I can’t say too much about that yet. And I am filming a movie in August. Plus, somewhere along the way I will start 9th grade! Phew!”
