February 22, 2018 • 24 mins
Latin GRAMMY® winner Erika Ender sits down with Scott Goldman to talk about her journey from humble beginnings in Panama City to 25 years in the music business, including the record-breaking success of "Despacito," co-written with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Required Listening. I'm Scott Goldman, the executive director
of the Grammy Museum. Each week in the Clive Davis Theater,
I have the privilege of talking to great artists about
their careers, their inspirations, what motivates them to make great music.
And that's what we're bringing you on Required Listening. On
(00:25):
today's show, if you happen to be anywhere near a
radio last summer, you could not avoid the song Desposito,
The Luis Fons Daddy Yankee Justin Bieber smash would top
the Billboard Hot one and ultimately secure a Grammy nomination
for Song of the Year. Now, what goes into making
a great song like Desposito? Now you probably know it
(00:49):
when you hear it, but what's the process? On today's show,
I'll talk to Erica Ender, a co writer on Desposito
and one of the most prolific songwriters composing in the
Latin market today. Born in Panama to a Panamanian American
father and Brazilian mother, she grew up in a multicultural
(01:09):
and get this trilingual home. Certainly an advantage when you're
writing songs in Spanish, Portuguese and English, and as a
singer in her own right. She's released five albums, and
her musical versatility, her ability to go between cultures and
languages has made it possible for such stars as Daddy Yankee,
Luis Fonsee, Gloria Trevi, Cheyenne, and many others to interpret
(01:34):
her songs. Now, this is a special episode in that
Erica and I sat down during Grammy Week, in fact,
just a couple of days before the Grammy telecast, so
you can imagine the excitement that she was experiencing being
a Song of the Year nominee. So let's listen to
my conversation with Erica Ender. Okay, well, we're here at
(01:58):
the YouTube Space in New York ahead of the sixtieth
Annual Grammy Awards, and I'm so pleased to be with
Song of the Year nominee. Er Thank you, thank you
so much for it's my pleasure. And um, what do
(02:18):
you what do you think when you hear someone say
song of the Year nominee? Amazing that dreams do come true.
You know, I came here twenty years ago from Panama.
I grew up in a very musical family and a
very a multicultural family. Let's say it like that, full
of music, and my dream was to be an artist,
an international artist, and it's a songwriter as well a composer,
(02:41):
and I came in with my dreams, you know, and
now being able to do this crossover as a songwriter
in Spanish is even more incredible that whatever I dreamt about.
So it's it's a confirmation that dreams do come true
and that you have to do your best throughout the
whole path in order to you know, have this rewardings
(03:02):
from from heaven because I see it like that well,
and it certainly didn't happen overnight. You know, this is
the result of lots of hard work years five years, Um,
tell me, because because I want to talk about the
song and then we'll talk about you know, your career
and the other things that you're doing. But tell me
when you first met Louise Fonsei. How long have you
(03:23):
known that? At least ten years. We've been friends for
a long time. He has recorded songs that we have
written together, and we have a great relationship. I love
him uh so much and his wife and the whole family.
He's a he's a gentleman, he's an amazing warrior, and
he's super talented. Tell me, tell me what that means
to you? What does warrior means you? He's a warrior
(03:44):
because he knows what he wants and he fights for it.
And he had been a long long time as well,
So this is a big reward for him too, for
his whole career. He has had, I mean a lot
of achievements throughout his career. But this song opened the
world to all of us. So deserved it and really
it's remarkable. And I want to ask you about this
(04:04):
that that you know here we have a song in Spanish,
huge smash on the radio, now nominated for a Grammy Award.
Isn't your sense that that Latin music is uh, there's
more acceptance of Latin music in the main, So I
think so, and I'm so happy to see that. Um,
(04:27):
I can't we can't get all the credit because before us,
there are several things that happened. Gloria Estefan, for example,
she's Latin and she did an amazing job with Latin
rhythms and everything. Ricky Martin as well Macarenna made it
throughout the world as well. But the difference between Gloria
and Ricky and Shakira is that usually we Latin people.
(04:48):
We were looking for the crossover, but always, you know,
writing in in English. That was the main goal, to
write in English, something that would work, And in this
case the song is in Spanish, and it broke every
single record. It's been the longest number one, tied up
with Maria Harris One Sweet Day on Billboard. Yeah, the
Hunt one hundred and everything that happened in Spanish. I
(05:10):
think that it has something special that did open a door.
We're now in a different world. We have everything in
the palm of our hands, and we can listen to
whatever we want in any language we want. So I
think it's amazing that finally the mainscreen opened with the
Spasito and now, for example, Louis once singing another song
in Spanish with them Milato. So I think it's amazing.
And I think that we're in a world that should
(05:32):
have less boundaries, you know, and that should share more
art and more love. And I am really happy to
be part of this moment. Well, it certainly, I mean,
it certainly speaks to making connections among people that I
that I don't think existed before. But I want to
talk about the writing of the song because I think
I think Fancy had an idea, the initial idea. Yeah, well, well,
(05:55):
tell tell me about that. I went to his house.
I was living in l A back in the time.
It was two years ago, September fifteen, two thousand fifteen.
We know the date, September fifteen, two fifteen. I remember
because we did as a Facebook life at that moment.
We were so happy while doing the song that I
was like, oh my god, we have to put something.
And then we did this Facebook life saying we got
(06:16):
a hit here. But we never thought that this would
become the snowball, the endless snowball that it became. So uh.
We started just you know, looking for ideas and things.
I brought him some tracks that I had and then
he goes like, you know what, none of this is,
you know, getting my attention as as much as this
(06:36):
idea that I had this morning. And he sings to
me this bas cito that he brought that and he
tells me almost in Puerto Rico, and I answered, you
don't know what that means. Strikans do. So the thing
is that we started laughing out of it, and he
had an idea of what he wanted for the chorus,
(06:58):
but we changed some notes as it was too low,
uh and a different phrasing, but at least I mean
it was the perfect material for us to write a
hit out of that, and I thought it was genius.
To this past seat. I thought it was genius. So
then out of that we started doing everything from scratch,
looking for the whole concept, trying to do something that
would take him out of his comfort zone. I mean, people,
(07:21):
how do you do from the audience from the audience angle,
because he used to be a pop singer, a ballad singer,
and this would take him out of that, looking for
some urban fusions, which is what's going on right now,
so but keeping his essence, you know. And he's such
a bristodile artist, so I think that it was perfect
(07:43):
for him. He dances, he thinks whatever you can give him,
whatever he wants to to express. And um, I think
it was an amazing job with it together with a
guitar at his home studio, in a very organic way, um,
not thinking of what what was the outcome, just thinking
of putting the best we could in something where we
(08:05):
were having fun and being as responsible as possible as well,
because this kind of genre could be very aggressive with women,
and he's a very smart guy. He usually writes with women,
so he can have that angle. Well, I want to
talk about that because, um, you know, the song is
(08:26):
an interesting mix of fancies, you know, sort of pop influence,
and then later we we bring daddy yankee and reggae
into it, and those are both And please don't take
this the wrong way there. These are male oriented perspectives
and I'm wondering, you know, how did you bring or
(08:47):
make sure that the female perspective was being careful with
the lyrics. There's poetry there, there's elegance, there's there's a
very classy way of saying things that could right away
with people. But at the same time, it has art.
It is a song that has art and that could
fit any genre. I sing it in a very acoustic
(09:09):
way as you saw me, and it's from the heart
and you can, you know, fall in love with it
or you can dance with it or whatever you want
to do with it, because it it has that the
whole thing that makes a song special to go throughout
the world. And we didn't know that the moment we
were doing it. We had no idea what happened there.
But grateful, Yeah, but you guys, you had a sense
(09:31):
you had written a hit. Yeah, because you feel it.
You feel it on your skin when you're doing but
normally when you get together, you feel like you're doing
it unless you know the music is not as it's
not flowing as you were respecting normally. I mean, when
you have this much time on this career, you know,
when you have a hint in your hands, but you
never know how how high it's gonna fly. I mean,
(09:54):
we did get a completely different perspective on the song
in your performance here today, A beautiful old Yeah, it
gives you know, kind of a different lens on the
emotion exactly of the song when you go out in
your own performances, is that how you'll perform the song normally?
I do it like that? Yeah, it doesn't like a
(10:14):
singer song writer you know perspective? Right? Does Does it
connect more for you singing it that way rather than
it's the way I felt it, you know? And I
didn't want to do the same thing. And I was
releasing a CD as well, Singer Songwriter CD that that
was recently nominated for the Letting Grammys, and this past
year two thousand and seventeen, and uh, I decided to
(10:36):
record the song because my fans were asking me too. Normally,
when I write for another artist, I just let them,
you know, have their space, and whenever time goes by,
I sing the songs that I wrote for them or
with them in my concerts or in in a CD.
But like two or three years after, you know, and
this time was different because everyone decided to record this pass.
(10:59):
And then my friends were like, are you gonna record
it or not? And and since I sang it, and
I uploaded a Facebook life as well, singing it life,
it became viral and they became like, okay, are you
gonna do it or not? So I decided to put
it as a bonus strike. But it's the way I
felt it, and with a very acoustic way of saying things,
because I really wanted people to focus on the message,
(11:21):
not on whatever it was going. You know, around there's
too much noise nowadays. So you've done all manner of
co writing with with all kinds of artists, not just
Louis Fonsi. And there's an art clearly as you've described it.
There's an art to working with another artist to achieve
an artistic goal. And I'm wondering, what is it. What
do you think it is about you that makes you
(11:44):
a good collaborator. I think that art is made for sharing,
not for competing. Whenever you sit down looking for the
best thing for the song, it's like having a marriage.
Whenever you get married, you're looking for the best thing
for your family, for your baby, you know. To me,
a song is a baby, and I have to take
care of it, and whomever I'm working with has to
(12:07):
have that same frequency, you know. So we're doing the
best thing we can in order for that baby to shine.
So I don't write with ego involved. I write with
my heart and I have no filters between my heart
and my hands. Whatever I'm writing a song, that's great,
that's great. So the song, you know, Desposito recorded kind
(12:28):
of had a little life of its own. And then
along comes Daddy Yankee. Well Daddy Yankee, yeah, well yeah,
Pony has that all that credit after we finished the
song with the guitar and everything. I mean, he's as
as I was telling you, he's a warrior, and he's
a guy that is very smart, very clever. He knows
what he likes and he knows what he wants and
he was the one who decided to work with the
(12:49):
producers the way he wanted the song. And then he
decided to call Daddy Yankee, which I mean his collaboration
was genius as well. He did the rap and the
pass the us, which is genius as well. And then um,
like three or four months went by and suddenly one
day he calls me Erica. Justin Bieber wants to record
a remix of the song. I don't nowhere, and we
(13:13):
already had the Portuguese version ready and the English version written.
We were looking for collaborations in the Anglo market. Universal
was looking for the collaborations. I think they had like
two artists in mine. And suddenly Justin Bieber pops in.
So he tells me what do you think. I'm like,
are you crazy? And go ahead? I mean, if you're
(13:33):
happy with it, and more than happy with it. And
when he tells me he's going to record it mainly
in Spanish, I was like, oh my god, that's such
a blessing because it's going to be a crossover where
letting music gets to be in the place it deserves.
That we felt that was a big, big moment to
make sure that that he sung it in Spanish, so
I'm wondering did he ask did he ask for your
(13:53):
advice on the spani Justin? No, no, no, I haven't
met him. Can you believe you haven't met him? No? No,
not yet right right, right now we're working together the
same song. We haven't met yet. So when you when
you finally heard the track with with Justin on it, Yeah,
I loved it first thought. I thought. I thought that
(14:16):
whatever they added was amazing because it was kind of
like a an intro for people to understand what was
going on with the rhythm and everything, and they took
him to the to the Latin part. I think his
pronunciation was pretty good. He did an amazing job. He
didn't have that our sound that normally the strong sound that. Yeah,
(14:38):
he did an amazing job, an amazing job, and I
think it was everything flowed, you know. I mean, the
results are remarkable, so worldwide radio smash, which makes me think,
and I'm interested in, when was the first time you
heard a song of yours on the radio? Oh? My god? Well,
in Panama when I was really young. I was like
(14:59):
sixty ten years old when I recorded my first CD,
so in Panama, but I mean in a bigger picture.
The first thing was an English version that I wrote
for a smash hit called a written by a mad
which is Pana Minion as well. So by four recorded
that and they sang it at the Crammys as well
and everything. So that was the first time, right when
(15:21):
I came to the US, like almost two years after
I got here. And then Candela, which was of my
own inspiration, collaborating with another composer. That was a song
that led me by house car everything. I live out
of music, you know, start living out of music, because
as I told you, I came from Panama where the
platform is pretty different. It was it was hard to
(15:42):
opportunity to find your foot international. Yeah, and you've talked
about the challenges of you know, being a young songwriter,
young female songwriter. Still still we'll talk about let's talk
about that and being and being taken seriously. Yeah, well
(16:05):
taken seriously. I think that that's a matter of your attitude.
And I always, um try to be as ry no
I am, as as responsible as possible, as professional as possible.
I try to, you know, be as a happy person
at the same time a very social person. But whenever
it's got to do with work. I deliver. I always deliver.
(16:26):
But when I came to the US at the beginning,
when I was knocking doors, I was twenty two years old,
so pretty young a girl. Uh, there were no women
in this industry and the Latin music. I mean there
have been several, but in certain moments of time, it's
not like, oh, we're the song the female song writers,
(16:48):
you wouldn't find that. Right after that came Claudia Brand
who's has made an amazing career as well. But we
were like two or three. I mean that we're, you know,
like knocking doors around. So I started sending songs for
male singers to the A and R departments of the
label record labels. Uh, they would call me to say,
(17:09):
you know it's beautiful, but it's too feminine. I was
singing the demos and I was sending Erica Ander and
the demos. So whenever you really know what your mission
is about, I mean I knew that I was made
for this, and I would look different ways of getting there.
So I just decided to go to a different record label,
(17:29):
asked for a male singer to sing the songs, and
I send it like the ender. Ah okay, suddenly the
song started to get a placement. So then I understood.
I didn't take it in a bad way, because I
do believe that anyway. I mean, it's a it's a
men market. But at the same time, I owe a
lot to a lot of men, you know. So I
(17:51):
didn't see it as a feminist. I saw it like
lack of vision. The industry wasn't ready for women to
take those places. And I said, you know what, I'm
going to deliver. I'm going to deliver, and my talent
and my work is the one that is going to
open the doors. And as you see, that's what happened
for sure. So you have a whole solo careers, as
(18:14):
you mentioned, released a record and the name of the
record tattoos. Yes, but we were mentioned just before we started,
you were talking about these are you know, kind of
the tattoo, the the the the internal tattoos, that one
that one acquires throughout over time. Um, as you look
(18:35):
back now and you're writing songs based on, you know,
kind of experience and wisdom to a certain degree, have
you have you changed as a songwriter. Well, I think
we all change as human, as humans and as professionals.
But the essence remains the same. I'm the same child,
the same little kiddo that is always you know, connected
(18:56):
with the universe and seeing wonders and everything. You know,
like the kids used to have a lot of imagination
and we the adults, are the other one that are
cutting them off. So I decided that I wanted to
always be that little girl. I mean, using every skill
that life's gives me, understanding from the experiences, and of
(19:17):
course getting you know, bigger in certain ways. But at
the same time, I just wanted to keep that girl.
So I forgot what you asked me changing as a song, Yeah,
well I've changed, for sure, But the essence is the same.
The essence is that in a child, the essence is
trying to understand and connect with other people's hearts, trying
(19:40):
to always find the way of writing my own soundtrack
but other people's soundtrack, and understanding the responsibility I have
in my hands. Because you don't get a talent to
get millionaire and or you know, to look for fame.
There's a purpose, a major purpose, and you have to
find it throughout your life. One day, through experiences, through
what ever happens, you get to understand that you're here
(20:02):
not for yourself but for others at the same time,
and that music is for everyone. You know. I had
what you're saying. It resonates in that I had a
fascinating conversation a couple of weeks ago with a guy
named Jimmy Ivene. Jimmy Ivene produced and engineered records with
John Lennon and Patti Smith Um and Bruce Springsteen and
went on to found Interscope Records. I mean, this guy
(20:25):
is one of the most successful people in music, and
we were talking about his career and he said the
one thing he kept in mind, and this blew me away,
The one thing he's kept in mind the entire time
is he wants to be of service. Of service to
the people that he was working within, the studio, of
service to the artists on his label, to his business partners. UM.
(20:47):
I found that just fascinating. You need that. The more
I always say to my people, the more I travel,
the more I meet people, the more I get to
write because you get to see more stories, more more
ways of thinking. Whenever you go from here to I
don't know, Asia or Europe, you get to understand that
the essence is just the same. We're all the same.
(21:08):
It just changes the angle, the way of saying things.
You have the same tongue speaking in another language, the
same body dancing another rhythm. You know, the same food
prepared in a different way. And at the end, we're
all the same, you know. So it's amazing to understand
how people being the same kind of think in a
different way. And whenever you get to understand that and
(21:30):
the codify, you know, the way of expressing whatever your art,
you get to connect with people. But whenever you get
to understand that, and besides that, beyond that you understand
that the essence is the same, then you get to
connect with the world. So tell me, speaking of the
little girl, who were your musical heroes growing up? Who
(21:50):
did you hear? So many people? You have no idea?
We could, you could, We could say names the whole
day here. Because my dad was half a man can
have Panamanian. So he used to listen to netting called
Richard Chamberlain. Francin Natra was his favorite, for example, And
then I used to listen to everything that had to
do with Mexico, per Rico, my ange salza jazz, smooth
(22:12):
jazz from my mom's side, She's Brazilian, so I imagine
both a nova, samba everything. So there was a big
mix that I am really grateful for because it all
stood right here in the back of my mind. And
that's why nowadays the professional you know, gets that benefit
because I get to go from Spanish to Portuguese to
(22:34):
English or from one genre to another without a problem.
And it has to do with my upbringing. So I
had a lot of people that I liked, like, for example,
on the on the Brazilian side, I used to listen
to Catanlozoo, you know, to Antonio Candlojo being and then
Francinata on my dad's side, and from Lofonos to whatever
(22:55):
with the Houston Michael Jackson. I think they were amazing.
There were one of my favorite artist ever. I admired
so much glory for what she did, you know, and
and all of that, and all of that finds I'm
not from one side. I'm like ipen To all the way,
(23:15):
all the way up to Song of the Year nominee
at the sixty Grammy Awards, Erica, thank you so much
for coming and talking with us. Songwriters must have a
sixth sense and I love the fact that she and
Fancy knew pretty quickly that they were writing a hit.
It's remarkable how when you speak to songwriters it seems
(23:38):
the best songs come so quickly. And I would encourage
you to check out Erica as an artist in her
own right. Her latest album is called and you'll find
her remarkable acoustic version of Desposito, which completely turns the
song on its head. I encourage you to find that
and give it a listen. And that's your required listening
(24:03):
for today. As always, let's keep the conversation going on
all the social platforms at Grammy Museum. If you plan
to be in Los Angeles, I hope you'll come visit us.
All the information about our exhibits, our programs, and activities
are at our website Grammy Museum dot org. Finally, thanks
to the team that makes required listening happen, Jason James,
(24:23):
Jim Canella, Lynn Sheried and Justin Joseph, Callie Weissman, Miranda Moore,
Jason Hope, Kitchen Kerns Chandler Mays, Nick Stump, and everyone
at How Stuff Works. Until next time, I'm Scott Goldman
Welcome to Required Listening. I'm Scott Goldman, the executive director
of the Grammy Museum. Each week in the Clive Davis Theater,
I have the privilege of talking to great artists about
their careers, their inspirations, what motivates them to make great music.
And that's what we're bringing you on Required Listening. On
(00:25):
today's show, if you happen to be anywhere near a
radio last summer, you could not avoid the song Desposito,
The Luis Fons Daddy Yankee Justin Bieber smash would top
the Billboard Hot one and ultimately secure a Grammy nomination
for Song of the Year. Now, what goes into making
a great song like Desposito? Now you probably know it
(00:49):
when you hear it, but what's the process? On today's show,
I'll talk to Erica Ender, a co writer on Desposito
and one of the most prolific songwriters composing in the
Latin market today. Born in Panama to a Panamanian American
father and Brazilian mother, she grew up in a multicultural
(01:09):
and get this trilingual home. Certainly an advantage when you're
writing songs in Spanish, Portuguese and English, and as a
singer in her own right. She's released five albums, and
her musical versatility, her ability to go between cultures and
languages has made it possible for such stars as Daddy Yankee,
Luis Fonsee, Gloria Trevi, Cheyenne, and many others to interpret
(01:34):
her songs. Now, this is a special episode in that
Erica and I sat down during Grammy Week, in fact,
just a couple of days before the Grammy telecast, so
you can imagine the excitement that she was experiencing being
a Song of the Year nominee. So let's listen to
my conversation with Erica Ender. Okay, well, we're here at
(01:58):
the YouTube Space in New York ahead of the sixtieth
Annual Grammy Awards, and I'm so pleased to be with
Song of the Year nominee. Er Thank you, thank you
so much for it's my pleasure. And um, what do
(02:18):
you what do you think when you hear someone say
song of the Year nominee? Amazing that dreams do come true.
You know, I came here twenty years ago from Panama.
I grew up in a very musical family and a
very a multicultural family. Let's say it like that, full
of music, and my dream was to be an artist,
an international artist, and it's a songwriter as well a composer,
(02:41):
and I came in with my dreams, you know, and
now being able to do this crossover as a songwriter
in Spanish is even more incredible that whatever I dreamt about.
So it's it's a confirmation that dreams do come true
and that you have to do your best throughout the
whole path in order to you know, have this rewardings
(03:02):
from from heaven because I see it like that well,
and it certainly didn't happen overnight. You know, this is
the result of lots of hard work years five years, Um,
tell me, because because I want to talk about the
song and then we'll talk about you know, your career
and the other things that you're doing. But tell me
when you first met Louise Fonsei. How long have you
(03:23):
known that? At least ten years. We've been friends for
a long time. He has recorded songs that we have
written together, and we have a great relationship. I love
him uh so much and his wife and the whole family.
He's a he's a gentleman, he's an amazing warrior, and
he's super talented. Tell me, tell me what that means
to you? What does warrior means you? He's a warrior
(03:44):
because he knows what he wants and he fights for it.
And he had been a long long time as well,
So this is a big reward for him too, for
his whole career. He has had, I mean a lot
of achievements throughout his career. But this song opened the
world to all of us. So deserved it and really
it's remarkable. And I want to ask you about this
(04:04):
that that you know here we have a song in Spanish,
huge smash on the radio, now nominated for a Grammy Award.
Isn't your sense that that Latin music is uh, there's
more acceptance of Latin music in the main, So I
think so, and I'm so happy to see that. Um,
(04:27):
I can't we can't get all the credit because before us,
there are several things that happened. Gloria Estefan, for example,
she's Latin and she did an amazing job with Latin
rhythms and everything. Ricky Martin as well Macarenna made it
throughout the world as well. But the difference between Gloria
and Ricky and Shakira is that usually we Latin people.
(04:48):
We were looking for the crossover, but always, you know,
writing in in English. That was the main goal, to
write in English, something that would work, And in this
case the song is in Spanish, and it broke every
single record. It's been the longest number one, tied up
with Maria Harris One Sweet Day on Billboard. Yeah, the
Hunt one hundred and everything that happened in Spanish. I
(05:10):
think that it has something special that did open a door.
We're now in a different world. We have everything in
the palm of our hands, and we can listen to
whatever we want in any language we want. So I
think it's amazing that finally the mainscreen opened with the
Spasito and now, for example, Louis once singing another song
in Spanish with them Milato. So I think it's amazing.
And I think that we're in a world that should
(05:32):
have less boundaries, you know, and that should share more
art and more love. And I am really happy to
be part of this moment. Well, it certainly, I mean,
it certainly speaks to making connections among people that I
that I don't think existed before. But I want to
talk about the writing of the song because I think
I think Fancy had an idea, the initial idea. Yeah, well, well,
(05:55):
tell tell me about that. I went to his house.
I was living in l A back in the time.
It was two years ago, September fifteen, two thousand fifteen.
We know the date, September fifteen, two fifteen. I remember
because we did as a Facebook life at that moment.
We were so happy while doing the song that I
was like, oh my god, we have to put something.
And then we did this Facebook life saying we got
(06:16):
a hit here. But we never thought that this would
become the snowball, the endless snowball that it became. So uh.
We started just you know, looking for ideas and things.
I brought him some tracks that I had and then
he goes like, you know what, none of this is,
you know, getting my attention as as much as this
(06:36):
idea that I had this morning. And he sings to
me this bas cito that he brought that and he
tells me almost in Puerto Rico, and I answered, you
don't know what that means. Strikans do. So the thing
is that we started laughing out of it, and he
had an idea of what he wanted for the chorus,
(06:58):
but we changed some notes as it was too low,
uh and a different phrasing, but at least I mean
it was the perfect material for us to write a
hit out of that, and I thought it was genius.
To this past seat. I thought it was genius. So
then out of that we started doing everything from scratch,
looking for the whole concept, trying to do something that
would take him out of his comfort zone. I mean, people,
(07:21):
how do you do from the audience from the audience angle,
because he used to be a pop singer, a ballad singer,
and this would take him out of that, looking for
some urban fusions, which is what's going on right now,
so but keeping his essence, you know. And he's such
a bristodile artist, so I think that it was perfect
(07:43):
for him. He dances, he thinks whatever you can give him,
whatever he wants to to express. And um, I think
it was an amazing job with it together with a
guitar at his home studio, in a very organic way, um,
not thinking of what what was the outcome, just thinking
of putting the best we could in something where we
(08:05):
were having fun and being as responsible as possible as well,
because this kind of genre could be very aggressive with women,
and he's a very smart guy. He usually writes with women,
so he can have that angle. Well, I want to
talk about that because, um, you know, the song is
(08:26):
an interesting mix of fancies, you know, sort of pop influence,
and then later we we bring daddy yankee and reggae
into it, and those are both And please don't take
this the wrong way there. These are male oriented perspectives
and I'm wondering, you know, how did you bring or
(08:47):
make sure that the female perspective was being careful with
the lyrics. There's poetry there, there's elegance, there's there's a
very classy way of saying things that could right away
with people. But at the same time, it has art.
It is a song that has art and that could
fit any genre. I sing it in a very acoustic
(09:09):
way as you saw me, and it's from the heart
and you can, you know, fall in love with it
or you can dance with it or whatever you want
to do with it, because it it has that the
whole thing that makes a song special to go throughout
the world. And we didn't know that the moment we
were doing it. We had no idea what happened there.
But grateful, Yeah, but you guys, you had a sense
(09:31):
you had written a hit. Yeah, because you feel it.
You feel it on your skin when you're doing but
normally when you get together, you feel like you're doing
it unless you know the music is not as it's
not flowing as you were respecting normally. I mean, when
you have this much time on this career, you know,
when you have a hint in your hands, but you
never know how how high it's gonna fly. I mean,
(09:54):
we did get a completely different perspective on the song
in your performance here today, A beautiful old Yeah, it
gives you know, kind of a different lens on the
emotion exactly of the song when you go out in
your own performances, is that how you'll perform the song normally?
I do it like that? Yeah, it doesn't like a
(10:14):
singer song writer you know perspective? Right? Does Does it
connect more for you singing it that way rather than
it's the way I felt it, you know? And I
didn't want to do the same thing. And I was
releasing a CD as well, Singer Songwriter CD that that
was recently nominated for the Letting Grammys, and this past
year two thousand and seventeen, and uh, I decided to
(10:36):
record the song because my fans were asking me too. Normally,
when I write for another artist, I just let them,
you know, have their space, and whenever time goes by,
I sing the songs that I wrote for them or
with them in my concerts or in in a CD.
But like two or three years after, you know, and
this time was different because everyone decided to record this pass.
(10:59):
And then my friends were like, are you gonna record
it or not? And and since I sang it, and
I uploaded a Facebook life as well, singing it life,
it became viral and they became like, okay, are you
gonna do it or not? So I decided to put
it as a bonus strike. But it's the way I
felt it, and with a very acoustic way of saying things,
because I really wanted people to focus on the message,
(11:21):
not on whatever it was going. You know, around there's
too much noise nowadays. So you've done all manner of
co writing with with all kinds of artists, not just
Louis Fonsi. And there's an art clearly as you've described it.
There's an art to working with another artist to achieve
an artistic goal. And I'm wondering, what is it. What
do you think it is about you that makes you
(11:44):
a good collaborator. I think that art is made for sharing,
not for competing. Whenever you sit down looking for the
best thing for the song, it's like having a marriage.
Whenever you get married, you're looking for the best thing
for your family, for your baby, you know. To me,
a song is a baby, and I have to take
care of it, and whomever I'm working with has to
(12:07):
have that same frequency, you know. So we're doing the
best thing we can in order for that baby to shine.
So I don't write with ego involved. I write with
my heart and I have no filters between my heart
and my hands. Whatever I'm writing a song, that's great,
that's great. So the song, you know, Desposito recorded kind
(12:28):
of had a little life of its own. And then
along comes Daddy Yankee. Well Daddy Yankee, yeah, well yeah,
Pony has that all that credit after we finished the
song with the guitar and everything. I mean, he's as
as I was telling you, he's a warrior, and he's
a guy that is very smart, very clever. He knows
what he likes and he knows what he wants and
he was the one who decided to work with the
(12:49):
producers the way he wanted the song. And then he
decided to call Daddy Yankee, which I mean his collaboration
was genius as well. He did the rap and the
pass the us, which is genius as well. And then um,
like three or four months went by and suddenly one
day he calls me Erica. Justin Bieber wants to record
a remix of the song. I don't nowhere, and we
(13:13):
already had the Portuguese version ready and the English version written.
We were looking for collaborations in the Anglo market. Universal
was looking for the collaborations. I think they had like
two artists in mine. And suddenly Justin Bieber pops in.
So he tells me what do you think. I'm like,
are you crazy? And go ahead? I mean, if you're
(13:33):
happy with it, and more than happy with it. And
when he tells me he's going to record it mainly
in Spanish, I was like, oh my god, that's such
a blessing because it's going to be a crossover where
letting music gets to be in the place it deserves.
That we felt that was a big, big moment to
make sure that that he sung it in Spanish, so
I'm wondering did he ask did he ask for your
(13:53):
advice on the spani Justin? No, no, no, I haven't
met him. Can you believe you haven't met him? No? No,
not yet right right, right now we're working together the
same song. We haven't met yet. So when you when
you finally heard the track with with Justin on it, Yeah,
I loved it first thought. I thought. I thought that
(14:16):
whatever they added was amazing because it was kind of
like a an intro for people to understand what was
going on with the rhythm and everything, and they took
him to the to the Latin part. I think his
pronunciation was pretty good. He did an amazing job. He
didn't have that our sound that normally the strong sound that. Yeah,
(14:38):
he did an amazing job, an amazing job, and I
think it was everything flowed, you know. I mean, the
results are remarkable, so worldwide radio smash, which makes me think,
and I'm interested in, when was the first time you
heard a song of yours on the radio? Oh? My god? Well,
in Panama when I was really young. I was like
(14:59):
sixty ten years old when I recorded my first CD,
so in Panama, but I mean in a bigger picture.
The first thing was an English version that I wrote
for a smash hit called a written by a mad
which is Pana Minion as well. So by four recorded
that and they sang it at the Crammys as well
and everything. So that was the first time, right when
(15:21):
I came to the US, like almost two years after
I got here. And then Candela, which was of my
own inspiration, collaborating with another composer. That was a song
that led me by house car everything. I live out
of music, you know, start living out of music, because
as I told you, I came from Panama where the
platform is pretty different. It was it was hard to
(15:42):
opportunity to find your foot international. Yeah, and you've talked
about the challenges of you know, being a young songwriter,
young female songwriter. Still still we'll talk about let's talk
about that and being and being taken seriously. Yeah, well
(16:05):
taken seriously. I think that that's a matter of your attitude.
And I always, um try to be as ry no
I am, as as responsible as possible, as professional as possible.
I try to, you know, be as a happy person
at the same time a very social person. But whenever
it's got to do with work. I deliver. I always deliver.
(16:26):
But when I came to the US at the beginning,
when I was knocking doors, I was twenty two years old,
so pretty young a girl. Uh, there were no women
in this industry and the Latin music. I mean there
have been several, but in certain moments of time, it's
not like, oh, we're the song the female song writers,
(16:48):
you wouldn't find that. Right after that came Claudia Brand
who's has made an amazing career as well. But we
were like two or three. I mean that we're, you know,
like knocking doors around. So I started sending songs for
male singers to the A and R departments of the
label record labels. Uh, they would call me to say,
(17:09):
you know it's beautiful, but it's too feminine. I was
singing the demos and I was sending Erica Ander and
the demos. So whenever you really know what your mission
is about, I mean I knew that I was made
for this, and I would look different ways of getting there.
So I just decided to go to a different record label,
(17:29):
asked for a male singer to sing the songs, and
I send it like the ender. Ah okay, suddenly the
song started to get a placement. So then I understood.
I didn't take it in a bad way, because I
do believe that anyway. I mean, it's a it's a
men market. But at the same time, I owe a
lot to a lot of men, you know. So I
(17:51):
didn't see it as a feminist. I saw it like
lack of vision. The industry wasn't ready for women to
take those places. And I said, you know what, I'm
going to deliver. I'm going to deliver, and my talent
and my work is the one that is going to
open the doors. And as you see, that's what happened
for sure. So you have a whole solo careers, as
(18:14):
you mentioned, released a record and the name of the
record tattoos. Yes, but we were mentioned just before we started,
you were talking about these are you know, kind of
the tattoo, the the the the internal tattoos, that one
that one acquires throughout over time. Um, as you look
(18:35):
back now and you're writing songs based on, you know,
kind of experience and wisdom to a certain degree, have
you have you changed as a songwriter. Well, I think
we all change as human, as humans and as professionals.
But the essence remains the same. I'm the same child,
the same little kiddo that is always you know, connected
(18:56):
with the universe and seeing wonders and everything. You know,
like the kids used to have a lot of imagination
and we the adults, are the other one that are
cutting them off. So I decided that I wanted to
always be that little girl. I mean, using every skill
that life's gives me, understanding from the experiences, and of
(19:17):
course getting you know, bigger in certain ways. But at
the same time, I just wanted to keep that girl.
So I forgot what you asked me changing as a song, Yeah,
well I've changed, for sure, But the essence is the same.
The essence is that in a child, the essence is
trying to understand and connect with other people's hearts, trying
(19:40):
to always find the way of writing my own soundtrack
but other people's soundtrack, and understanding the responsibility I have
in my hands. Because you don't get a talent to
get millionaire and or you know, to look for fame.
There's a purpose, a major purpose, and you have to
find it throughout your life. One day, through experiences, through
what ever happens, you get to understand that you're here
(20:02):
not for yourself but for others at the same time,
and that music is for everyone. You know. I had
what you're saying. It resonates in that I had a
fascinating conversation a couple of weeks ago with a guy
named Jimmy Ivene. Jimmy Ivene produced and engineered records with
John Lennon and Patti Smith Um and Bruce Springsteen and
went on to found Interscope Records. I mean, this guy
(20:25):
is one of the most successful people in music, and
we were talking about his career and he said the
one thing he kept in mind, and this blew me away,
The one thing he's kept in mind the entire time
is he wants to be of service. Of service to
the people that he was working within, the studio, of
service to the artists on his label, to his business partners. UM.
(20:47):
I found that just fascinating. You need that. The more
I always say to my people, the more I travel,
the more I meet people, the more I get to
write because you get to see more stories, more more
ways of thinking. Whenever you go from here to I
don't know, Asia or Europe, you get to understand that
the essence is just the same. We're all the same.
(21:08):
It just changes the angle, the way of saying things.
You have the same tongue speaking in another language, the
same body dancing another rhythm. You know, the same food
prepared in a different way. And at the end, we're
all the same, you know. So it's amazing to understand
how people being the same kind of think in a
different way. And whenever you get to understand that and
(21:30):
the codify, you know, the way of expressing whatever your art,
you get to connect with people. But whenever you get
to understand that, and besides that, beyond that you understand
that the essence is the same, then you get to
connect with the world. So tell me, speaking of the
little girl, who were your musical heroes growing up? Who
(21:50):
did you hear? So many people? You have no idea?
We could, you could, We could say names the whole
day here. Because my dad was half a man can
have Panamanian. So he used to listen to netting called
Richard Chamberlain. Francin Natra was his favorite, for example, And
then I used to listen to everything that had to
do with Mexico, per Rico, my ange salza jazz, smooth
(22:12):
jazz from my mom's side, She's Brazilian, so I imagine
both a nova, samba everything. So there was a big
mix that I am really grateful for because it all
stood right here in the back of my mind. And
that's why nowadays the professional you know, gets that benefit
because I get to go from Spanish to Portuguese to
(22:34):
English or from one genre to another without a problem.
And it has to do with my upbringing. So I
had a lot of people that I liked, like, for example,
on the on the Brazilian side, I used to listen
to Catanlozoo, you know, to Antonio Candlojo being and then
Francinata on my dad's side, and from Lofonos to whatever
(22:55):
with the Houston Michael Jackson. I think they were amazing.
There were one of my favorite artist ever. I admired
so much glory for what she did, you know, and
and all of that, and all of that finds I'm
not from one side. I'm like ipen To all the way,
(23:15):
all the way up to Song of the Year nominee
at the sixty Grammy Awards, Erica, thank you so much
for coming and talking with us. Songwriters must have a
sixth sense and I love the fact that she and
Fancy knew pretty quickly that they were writing a hit.
It's remarkable how when you speak to songwriters it seems
(23:38):
the best songs come so quickly. And I would encourage
you to check out Erica as an artist in her
own right. Her latest album is called and you'll find
her remarkable acoustic version of Desposito, which completely turns the
song on its head. I encourage you to find that
and give it a listen. And that's your required listening
(24:03):
for today. As always, let's keep the conversation going on
all the social platforms at Grammy Museum. If you plan
to be in Los Angeles, I hope you'll come visit us.
All the information about our exhibits, our programs, and activities
are at our website Grammy Museum dot org. Finally, thanks
to the team that makes required listening happen, Jason James,
(24:23):
Jim Canella, Lynn Sheried and Justin Joseph, Callie Weissman, Miranda Moore,
Jason Hope, Kitchen Kerns Chandler Mays, Nick Stump, and everyone
at How Stuff Works. Until next time, I'm Scott Goldman
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