Gale doesn’t care how cliché or “woo-woo” it may sound, but she truly believes that music chose her.
Ever since childhood, the singer-songwriter, born Carolina Isabel Colón Juarbe in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, has done everything to make sure her pop star dreams come true. She started off by performing boleros for her family, then studied to become a classically trained singer. She broke into the industry by co-writing songs for artists like Shakira (“Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran”), Christina Aguilera (“Brujería,” “Santo”) and Anitta (“Loco,” “Me Gusta”), until she eventually scored a record deal with Sony Music Latin.
While performing at South by Southwest earlier this year, Gale was in the midst of creating her second album, “Lo Que Puede Pasar.” At the time, she had only shared two singles from the upcoming project — “Skittles,” an indie-pop tribute to her late first love, and “Ysilandia” a punky guitar ballad featuring fellow Puerto Rican singer Robi.
Since then, she’s completed her sophomore album and is eagerly awaiting its release. She says she set out to make something “energetic, straightforward and more big-sounding” and accomplished that goal through inventive writing exercises and living life wholeheartedly.
When she first introduced herself with her 2023 debut “Lo Que No Te Dije,” the singer blurred the lines between guitar-powered rock, reggaeton-inspired dance beats and radio-ready synth pop. Taking listeners through the complicated feelings of a breakup, Gale says she wasn’t thinking about genres or boundaries — she wanted to create something unique and personal.
“The first album is very nostalgic, vulnerable, personal, and overall a breakup album, that’s it. So for the second one, I want to have fun and be creative,” said Gale.
In March, Gale spoke with De Los about her new creative process, her calling toward music and why she has such an affinity for pop. We reconnected over Zoom to get the full story behind “Lo Que Puede Pasar,” her sophomore album that comes out Thursday.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
What was it like first getting into the studio after releasing your debut album, “Lo Que No Te Dije?” The answer to that is pure creativity. The first album is very nostalgic, vulnerable, personal, and overall a breakup album; that’s it. So for the second one, I want to have fun and be creative. The message behind “Lo Que Puede Pasar” is to get out of your head and stop overthinking things — try to live every experience with your heart. Maybe you’ll learn something from it. You could fall in love or even feel sad. But either way, you’ll grow.
I was able to tap into this by writing prompts for myself. They can be anything from themes or titles that I want to explore through writing. I would throw them in the bag, and then in the session, I pull out a prompt, and we go from there. It’s like traveling back in time or connecting to a feeling that I haven’t felt in a while.
It sounds like you’re putting on a writing workshop in the studio. How much of the new album came from these prompts? It’s how most of the songs were born. We all picked little papelitos and started talking about how I imagined each concept. For “Sería Cool,” I knew I wanted to write from the perspective of going through a heavy heartbreak. So, it was less about how I felt on the day I was actually writing.
With “Skittles,” the prompt was the title of the song. I wanted to write my love story with my first love. I feel like that is something so special — I mean, maybe not everyone. But, for a lot of people, it’s memorable, dramatic and intense. Sometimes, like in my case, it was very beautiful. So I wanted to honor that relationship in that song, and that’s what we did with “Skittles.”
Some songs, though, weren’t from a prompt — like “Ysilandia” and “Domingo.” “Ysilandia” came from a therapy session. I was talking to my therapist and coming up with all these worries — “What if I don’t make it to the show? But what if my manager can’t go?” She told me I lived in “Ysilandia,” which directly translates to “What if Land?” — and that none of those problems exist. And I thought, “Oh my God, I have a castle in ‘Ysilandia.’ I have a whole life there. I’m overthinking everything.”
“Domingo,” the last track on the album, was written on a Sunday. We were in the studio, and I was really missing family and home. The album overall is a mix of what was going on in real time with me and themes the universe picked out.
On “Domingo,” you open up about what it’s like to leave home in pursuit of your dreams. What made you want to memorialize that homesickness?I’m very close to my family. They’re very intense. They spend every Sunday together, they go on yearly trips together, they all have matching shirts — it’s like a constant party of over 20 people. I’m very connected to all of them, and having to leave them to chase my dreams was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. But that dream was so strong, and I had the blessing and encouragement from them. All the sacrifices that you have to make and accept when you choose this career is such a challenge.
Your music career seems to be marked with determination. You’ve been performing since you were a kid, you left home to study music and broke into the industry by writing for other artists. What do you think was pushing you?I have been very determined since I was little. I always knew that this was what I wanted to do, but I didn’t know the technicalities of it. I knew I could write a song, and I felt like I had a superpower. I always knew I was going to make it. I didn’t know how, but I knew music is what I’m here for. It’s been very rewarding.
You have so many chances to give up, but it’s too late to give up — that’s what I always tell myself. I try to enjoy the process and find myself in it. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer that way. But I also need to understand my path and respect that I went to college. I studied music and started writing with other artists, and I embrace it so much.
Were there any true moments of doubt or were you always dead-set on chasing music?I always knew I was going to do it no matter what. When I was 17, I graduated from this music school, La Libre de Musica in Puerto Rico, and I told my parents that I was ready to move to Miami and be a superstar. My dad told me I had to go to college, so I told him I would if I could study music.
So, I still did it. I moved to Miami, started writing, got a publishing deal and was able to focus on my artist career.
If you were to put yourself in the mindset of that 17-year-old, how did it feel to be so certain about knowing what you wanted? Music’s always been like my safe place. When I think of 17-year-old me, I think about me writing songs by myself in my bedroom. I felt safe and heard. It was like therapy. It chose me — if that sounds cliché, I don’t care. But I literally cannot think of anything else. I never felt like I chose music.
From the electronic dance break on “Pa’ Qué Te Quedas” to the piano-powered ballad “El Amor Y Sus Consecuencias,” this is a pop record at its core. Why do you think you’re drawn to pop? What about the genre resonates with you?Growing up, I always say, I’m a pop girlie. I was raised by Britney [Spears], Christina [Aguilera], Shakira, Avril Lavigne and Selena Quintanilla. So it was either that or boleros, because of my dad. I was performing and singing all these beautiful songs by Armando Manzanero and Pablo Milanes when I was 6 or 7 years old. Their lyrics have so much depth and are like beautiful poems. I feel like I am those two worlds — pop and the very dramatic, heartfelt lyrics. I just love that combination.
So because of that, pop music is never superficial to me.
A lot of the album is about learning from lived experiences. What was the biggest one or lesson you learned while making it? Not chasing perfection. I used to be a control freak where everything needed to be perfect. But with this album, I learned to let go of things, accept it and let things be. I also learned to really fall in love with the process. Before, when I would try to control everything, I was not having a good time. I realized I just needed to do my best and understand that I’m living the dream of Galesita who was 7 years old, writing her first song. I just need to be grateful and keep working hard.
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