Sebastián Yatra

If there’s anything that is necessary for a singer of romantic ballads, it’s genuine thoughtfulness—and Sebastián Yatra has that in spades. Born Sebastián Obando Giraldo in 1994 in Medellín, Colombia, Yatra moved to the U.S. at age five and grew up in what may be the world’s most creatively fertile city for Latin pop: Miami. Yatra began singing and writing his own songs when he was 12, taking classes to improve his skills on guitar, piano, and voice. He had his first hit at age 19 with 2013’s “El Psicólogo”, a charming acoustic ballad that detailed hidden love and psychological complexity. It performed well in Colombia and Latin America, but to really ascend to Latin pop’s heights, the singer had to embrace the burgeoning pop-reggaetón scene. In 2017, he nailed it with the reggaetón- and EDM-brushed “Traicionera”, which retained the powerful sweetness of his vocal delivery but gave fans the tropical beats they craved. Partly on the strength of that single, his 2018 debut album, Mantra, topped charts in Colombia and the Latin Pop Albums chart in the U.S. Collaborators came knocking, including Colombian superstar Carlos Vives, who brought Yatra onto the vallenato-tinged “Robarte un Beso”. In 2019, Yatra followed up his successful first album with Fantasía, which spawned many singles and established him as an ongoing force in Latin pop.