Tini is one of Argentina’s top pop stars. In the past few years, she scored global hits like “Miénteme” and “La Triple T,” while giving Latine pop a fresh kick of cumbia music. With her latest album Cupido, which dropped last night (Feb. 16), Tini is capitalizing on her momentum and aiming for the stars. In an interview with Remezcla, she talks about her new LP, the fierce collaborations, and what’s next.
Like Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato, Tini’s career started with Disney in 2012 with her series Violetta. On the show, she found her footing as a singer, which led her to later translate that success into a full-time pop career. On her previous albums, Tini has worked with artists like Karol G, Sebastián Yatra, and Alejandro Sanz. Tini has helped pop from Argentina go global. Argentine singers like María Becerra and Emilia are following in her footsteps. “I’m happy,” Tini tells Remezcla. “It makes me so proud that there are a lot of Argentine women, and it’s incredible that each one of us has their own lane, their style, and their vision. We’re all leaving our mark. We all get along well, and apart from that, we’re representing our country with our music. It’s a huge honor.”
Tini’s Cupido album includes plenty of all-women collaborations. Becerra features on the fiery “Miénteme,” and La Joaqui, another Argentine act, joins Tini in the flirty “Muñecas.” Tini also teamed up with Mexican-American pop star Becky G and Brazil’s Anitta in the empowering “La Loto.” “It was beautiful,” Tini says about working with Becky G and Anitta. “They’ve inspired me so much in my career. To have a song with them is a very big honor. Beyond our friendship, on a professional level, they’re artists that I admire so much. Like with La Joaqui and María Becerra, there are a lot of collaborations with women that I admire and respect a lot. It’s a great honor to share music with these women.”
Outside of collaborations, Tini is also leaving her mark with her solo tracks. She scored one of the biggest Latine pop hits of last year with cumbia-infused banger “La Triple T.” The vibrant music video for the song has over 120 million views on YouTube. The song’s title is a reference to Tini’s tagline where she says her name three times. “Imagine, that song has my name in it,” Tini says with a smile about the success of “La Triple T.” “There’s a lot of messages in the song and video that mean so much to me about the person who I am, self-love, and freedom. ‘La Triple’ is one of my favorite songs.”
In Cupido, Tini blends cumbia with elements of reggaeton and pop in her biggest hits like “La Triple T,” “Miénteme,” and “Bar” with Argentine rapper L-Gante. It’s a genre that she enjoys playing with in her music. “One song that inspired me to do that was ’22,’ which I also love,” Tini says. “It has that fusion of reggaeton, pop, and cumbia. I identify a lot with that sound and reggaeton because that’s the music that I grew up with. To see people around the world dancing to ‘Miénteme,’ and to see cumbia there, it’s very sweet.”
Tini is aware that the messages in her songs are easy-to-follow yet effective in getting her point across. In her newest single, the dembow-influenced bop “Cupido,” she sings about a relationship that appeared to be Cupid-sent now going south. “Most of my songs have messages with very simple words, but they’re words that stick with you and that you can identify with, so that you don’t feel alone,” she shares.
“Most of my songs have messages with very simple words, but they’re words that stick with you and that you can identify with, so that you don’t feel alone.”
A moment that went viral from one of Tini’s concerts last year was where she danced with a fan who was wrapped in a rainbow flag. Tini is grateful for the support she receives from her fans in the LGBTQ+ community. “I’m happy to express a message of freedom, of love, of loving yourself, and being yourself,” she says. “It makes me so proud to be able to share that feeling with people around the world and to spread that message constantly in my shows and songs. To see a lot of people at shows embracing that message, it’s beautiful. It’s beautiful to be part of that movement.”
One collaboration her fans would love to see one day is a song with fellow Argentine pop star Lali. “We get along very well,” she shares about their friendship. “I think we’re waiting for the right moment, the right song. I’m sure it’s going to happen, and when it does, it’s going to be something very beautiful.”
As for what’s next, Tini is living life one day at a time. “I want life to surprise me and to let things flow,” she says. “That’s what I’ve learned in my career, to value and enjoy what life has to give you in the present.”
Listen to Cupido below.
