Who’s Gale: The Puerto Rican who Conquered Juanes and Shakira Arrives at the Latin Grammys 2023
The young artist is nominated for her first golden gramophone as a breakthrough artist.
Everything is set to celebrate the 24th edition of the Latin Grammy Awards 2023 in Seville. The capital city has been dressing up for the occasion all week, welcoming some of the industry’s biggest stars and hosting the first events of a schedule loaded with excitement, surprises, and, of course, plenty of live music — with performances even on its streets.
In addition to honoring the lengthy career of artists like Laura Pausini, who has been recognized as Person of the Year this 2023, the work of emerging artists is also acknowledged in a world that is moving at an increasingly rapid pace. One of the breakthrough artists of the season is GALE, the Puerto Rican artist who has captivated music giants like Juanes, Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Anitta, and Pharrell Williams.
This young artist is vying for her first golden gramophone as a nominee for Best New Artist at the Latin Grammys 2023, a category she shares with Borja, Conexión Divina, Ana del Castillo, Natasha Falcão, Paola Guanche, Joaquina, Leon Leiden, Maréh, and Timo.
But… who is GALE? Here are some details for you to discover a singer with great potential and future projection
Full Name and Date of Birth
Her full and real name is Carolina Isabel Colón Juarbe. She was born on May 16, 1993, in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Her passion for music began at a young age, growing up in a family full of musicians: her grandfather played the cuatro (a four-stringed instrument of colonial origin, typical of Venezuelan folklore), and her father played the guitar.
She describes herself as «melodramatic, nostalgic, and a happy unicorn.» Being an only child, she enjoyed her own company during her childhood and let her writing flourish. At the age of 7, she wrote her first song, dedicated to «a boy she was in love with but didn’t pay much attention to.»
At the age of 12, in early adolescence, she focused her education on specializing in her great passion. She studied at the Escuela Libre de Música de San Juan, where she learned to play the guitar, classical singing, and was part of the school choir. Later, before starting her university studies — where she first studied Advertising in Puerto Rico, and later composition at Berklee College of Music — she became interested in musical theater, a discipline that helped develop her stage and artistic presence.
«Like if Bad Bunny, Dua Lipa, and Avril Lavigne had a baby»
In her previous interview with LOS40, Gale defined her musical concept and project as «if Bad Bunny, Dua Lipa, and Avril Lavigne had a baby. I’m from Puerto Rico, and I really like to do these verses with a melodic rap. That’s the Bad Bunny part. Pop is in the whole album; the sound of each song is very pop dance. I love it. And the element of Avril Lavigne… I love punk; the guitar is the punch, that element of the guitar is present in almost all the songs. And that’s the concept. But when it comes to lyrics, I’m a person who loves to write super honestly, as raw as I can. It always scares me a bit at that point and at that moment, but I always do it. I feel that, likewise, I overcome those fears I’m feeling, and it helps me grow as an artist, and these are lyrics that come from my heart,» she explained.
From YouTube to the Latin Grammys 2023
During her university years, the Puerto Rican artist started uploading covers on YouTube. Specifically, her cover of «Que no,» a song by Pedro Capó, caught the attention of the original artist to the point of receiving an invitation to sing with him at one of his concerts in the Caribbean island.
After self-financing some of her projects through crowdfunding and releasing her first songs online, Gale released her debut album in 2023: «Lo que no te dije,» which «represents the moment when she decided to choose herself.» The 12 songs on the album talk about everything that happened to her after the breakup of a relationship that was not good for her.
This year, she will present herself to the industry at what is considered the most prestigious musical awards ceremony in the world, the Latin Grammy Awards 2023. This producer, singer, and songwriter is part of the lineup of performances at the gala, along with other artists such as Rosalía, Maluma, Pablo Alborán, Ozuna, Sebastián Yatra, and many more.
