When 2016 started, Bad Gyal was dreaming of becoming a superstar, living what could feel like three lives, working two jobs while studying fashion design. She was recording herself in her apartment with a microphone and egg cartons as soundproofing while trying to make a living, but with her vision focused on which of her dreams were about to start.
Bad Gyal describes her new album, Más Cara, as a metaphor for the evolution of her career after 10 years dedicating herself to music and her rise from a very underground artist. “You can see videos of me recording in the first apartment I had. I came from a very street-like scene,” she told Billboard in our latest “Takes Us Out” sit-down. “From recording with whatever you could, and after 10 years, I feel so lucky for all the resources I have.”
Born in Barcelona, Spain, on March 7, 1997, Alba Farelo — better known as Bad Gyal—has seen many of her dreams come true with this album, which marks a significant chapter in her life since her career more than a decade ago. “I feel that many things died and were born. I started studying fashion design at a private school after saving up,” she said during her interview in Miami. “I would wake up, go to university, grab a container with food I had prepared, go to my job, eat it on a bench while waiting for my turn to start my next job, and on weekends, I would begin performing my first small shows. It was like living three lives at the same time.”
Drawing inspiration from the aesthetics of early 2000s R&B, Bad Gyal captures not only visuals but also sound, conveying her confident, flirtatious energy while paying tribute to the era that significantly influenced her.
In the lively atmosphere of Miami’s Michelin-starred Korean Steakhouse COTE, one of her favorite places, Bad Gyal opens up about Más Cara, which dropped on March 6th, just before her birthday. She reminisces about the memories this restaurant stirs, her Barcelona roots, and reveals the most Pisces sides of herself.
Watch the full interview above.
