Red in the face and with sweat dripping from his brow, an excited middle schooler triumphantly holds a backpack over his head as he emerges from a frenzied crowd looking to get something — phone cases, uniform polos, acoustic guitars and even bags of Takis — autographed by one of música Mexicana‘s biggest stars.
On a late November afternoon, singer-songwriter Xavi was set to appear on Telemundo’s news program “Al Rojo Vivo” at Walnut Park’s Plaza La Alameda. A few hours before his scheduled interview, the 20-year-old heart throb shared the location with his 3.2 million Instagram followers, drawing hundreds of starstruck fans and their supportive parents to the southeast L.A. shopping center, turning a media appearance into a full-fledged Xavi meet and greet. The up-and-comer says being recognized on this level feels like a “crazy trip,” as he sees so much of himself in his younger listeners.
“I was once a kid too. I feel like I grew up with having a dream to be something and doing what I love the most. We all have that,” he said. “We all want to work hard and want to feed our families. And I think they can feel that.”
Before long, Xavi’s security team pulls him out of the clamorous crowd and walks him to the nearest restaurant, Don Chente, as lingering eyes and cheers follow the diamond-wearing singer. Coming off the October release of his debut album, “Next” (Interscope), and his latest single — a collaboration with Fuerza Regida called “SRT” — the artist born Joshua Xavier Gutiérrez outlines the whirlwind year he’s had.
It all started last December, when he broke into the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “La Victima” and “La Diabla” — two requinto-centered tracks about tumultuous teenage love. Before this mainstream introduction, Xavi — along with his brother Fabio Capri — was already a TikTok star, garnering millions of views with acoustic corrido covers of artists like Junior H, T3R Elemento and Natanael Cano. These videos caught the attention of Nir Seroussi, executive vice president of Interscope Capitol Labels Group.
“We first flew him out to our offices, and I remember he walked into the studio with his guitar. And as soon as he introduced himself, he just started singing and playing for an hour,” said Seroussi. “At that moment, I didn’t have any doubts. I knew that this kid was something special.”
Seroussi described Xavi, who was 16 at the time, as someone who could be a “Mexican Justin Bieber” — with his shaggy hairstyle and mouth full of braces, the singer could easily be a teen heartthrob who not only sings about young love and breaking hearts but could also stand out in the trap-focused world of contemporary música Mexicana.
Many of the genre’s biggest names typically deal with excessive partying, violence and drug use. Peso Pluma, Spotify’s seventh most streamed artist globally, has a history of glorifying cartel members through narcocorridos on tracks like “Siempre Pendientes” and “El Gavilán.” The members of the five-piece band Fuerza Regida almost exclusively sings about their accounts of partying, flashing their wealth and getting girls, which can be heard on songs like “Nel,” “Tu Name” and “Crazyz.” Judging by the flash mob that showed up at at Plaza La Alameda, Interscope appears to have accomplished its mission. Reminiscent of crowds that would gather for acts like One Direction, N’Sync or Olivia Rodrigo, Xavi’s fans proved to be relentless as they camped outside the restaurant for hours.
A few months after signing his record deal, Xavi used his label advance to buy a Dodge SRT. In 2022, he crashed the car in a nearly fatal accident — resulting in a cracked skull and facial reconstruction surgery. At one point, it was unclear whether Xavi would sing again. Mirroring Kanye West’s rise to fame, in which he too faced a life-threatening car accident after signing with Roc-a-Fella Records, Xavi used music as motivation toward recovery.
“I was a whole different person [before the crash]. I had to learn how to be me again, and music was the thing that made me realize I’m still me,” said Xavi. “Music healed me, and I want to heal people with music the same way it helped me.”
Seroussi says, in retrospect, he’s grateful the young singer wasn’t met with instant fame upon his first release.
“It’s like night and day from the kid that I first met to the young adult I know now. His range has always been extraordinary, but we waited until people were ready for something a little different,” he said. “And that’s when everything aligned for him. It was at the perfect time. Sometimes when you hit success too early, you’re not ready.”
Bringing glasses of water to the corner booth, our server waits for a pause in the conversation to congratulate the singer on “La Diabla,” adding that he loves the song and how excited he is for Xavi’s career. Describing a bad influence in his love life through a pop-infused corrido, “La Diabla” is ultimately what cemented him as a rising música Mexicana star. This past January, it climbed to the top of Spotify’s global chart, making Xavi the only artist of Mexican descent to hold the spot with a solo record. The song was also the most streamed música Mexicana song globally, the fourth most popular Latin song and the song most added globally to user-created playlists, according to Spotify 2024 Wrapped data.
“On ‘La Diabla,’ I fusionize with a little bit of this and a little bit of that,” said Xavi. “But in the end, we try not to cross the line. There’s always an eraser for when the track gets too far from música Mexicana. I have to get back on track. It’s what I need to do. I need to keep representing our culture and who we are.”
The success of the modern corrido set up the framework for his debut album, “Next.” The record was created in the span of a month while the performer was on the road for his Poco a Poco tour; the October release is a 15-track exploration of what he calls “música Mexicana fusions.” Throughout his first full-length project, he continues to walk the line between a traditional requinto-powered corrido and a contemporary pop production style with his heart on full display.
“It’s crazy that love never goes away. As much as we try to run from it, it’s always going to be there. Whether I’m having a chill day or on vacation or something, that special somebody is still gonna be in the back of my head,” said Xavi. “I just have to write about it because I don’t speak to anyone about it. I just tell the music.”
The album’s artwork depicts a cartoon version of the messy-haired singer with an angel and devil on each of his shoulders — demonstrating its division of impassioned feel-good love songs and down-tempo ballads of loss and defeat. On “Flores,” he sings about buying flowers for a love interest over buoyant lively horns and a resounding tololoche. A few tracks later, his signature rhythm guitar takes a backseat on the alternative-leaning “Filosofia” where he takes the blame for a breakup over a melancholic música Mexicana melody.
“I saw all ages in this crowd, like 5-year-old kids to people who were 60 or 70 years old. It’s what really caught my attention about him as a musician,” said Estevie, who opened for Xavi on his U.S. Poco a Poco North American tour. “This kid is connecting with people of all ages. And I think that’s what makes a true artist — when there’s no age limit to who listens to your music.”
Outside the restaurant, a flock of fans watches over Xavi’s every move. As we finish our conversation, he walks toward the back patio to take a few portraits. Through the tinted windows, the crowd sees where he’s headed and starts to circle the building’s perimeter, looking for every possible exit. They find him on the patio and begin to call through the bushes asking for pictures, announcing their love and even singing his own songs to him. Xavi smirks and sings back to them, creating an even bigger commotion.
When hearing his voice, some attempt to reach through the shrubbery while others make a run for the back stairs in hopes of seeing him. His security steps in, and his small entourage, including a photographer, have to quickly relocate to the restaurant’s entrance. After he squeezed in as many poses and angles as quickly as possible, it was only a matter of minutes before fans began to reconvene by the entryway. It was as if he were the Pied Piper playing a tune only his fans could hear. Before leaving that day, the young musician, who had spent the afternoon doing press, hung around for as long as he could — ensuring that each fan who came to see him went home with something to remember.
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