After his departure from CNCO, Joel DELEŌN had more hurdles to overcome on his way to a solo career. Over two years later, the Mexican-American singer finally dropped his debut EP AHORA ME ESCUCHAN??? DELEŌN wears his heart on his sleeve in the sexy “NO TE VEO” music video, premiering exclusively on Remezcla today (Dec. 1).
“It’s been a rollercoaster of different things that I’ve been wanting to show, especially since there was a delay in the music that I’ve been releasing,” DELEŌN tells Remezcla about the journey to his EP. “I’ve been having this music ready for a long time. It’s an amazing process, but everything behind the scenes is a whole different story.”
As a part of CNCO, he was known as Joel Pimentel. After leaving the group in May 2021 to pursue a solo career, he changed his stage name to Joel DELEŌN in honor of his late grandfather. Though DELEŌN was constantly creating music, his output was stifled by his previous management team. While signed with Sony, he released three singles over two years, including “Coco.” In order to take control of his career, DELEŌN went independent with his own label, House Meraki.
“I’m really loving the freedom to release music at the times that I want,” he says. “This music is basically showing the first part of who I was as a solo artist after leaving the band.”
DELEŌN released his debut project AHORA ME ESCUCHAN??? on Nov. 30. The EP is full of perreo that was on hold under his previous team. DELEŌN samples Wisin y Yandel’s “Llamé Pa’ Verte” in the sultry romp “REGGAETÓN VIEJO.” He then lets loose in the freaky reggaeton banger “YO-SHI,” which is named after the popular Super Mario Bros. character.
“I was always listening to reggaeton and I was just feeling inspired by that during the first year and a half of creating,” he says. “I was in that mood of partying or going out a lot.”
DELEŌN masterfully melds pop and reggaeton in the otherworldly “NO TE VEO.” His voice soars as he sings about longing for a past lover after coming across her photo on Instagram. At 24-years-old, DELEŌN has also grown lyrically, as he remembers their hot-and-heavy times together. The music video captures a few of those steamy memories in a phone booth and on a bus. The bus stop includes a shout-out to his fan base, District D.
“If you hear it closely, there’s a whole bunch of different adlibs,” DELEŌN says. “There’s a whole bunch of things that have a lot of musicality. A lot of times in reggaeton, that’s not necessary. In this song, it’s cool and different.”
DELEŌN later goes full pop while singing in Spanglish in the EP’s closer “BLUE.” It’s a taste of his music that’s coming next.
“Even after this EP, there’s no limit to the things that I’ve been creating,” he says. “Eventually there’s going to be more of the things that I’ve been working on recently.”
Check out the premiere of “NO TE VEO” below.
