“Mi jefa [my mom] gave me the guitar and I was afraid to take it,” he admits. “I didn’t want to know what was going to happen. I don’t want anything more in this life than to sing. It was a very special moment because that was when I realized that God gave me another opportunity. I said I won’t take this in vain because esta vida solo se vive una vez [this is a life you only live once] like the Los Plebes song says.”
With a renewed lease on life, Xavi poured his heart and soul into his songs that followed. Last November, he released “La Diabla,” a sexy corrido where he sings about having the hots for a girl who likes bad boys. The song burned up the charts this year, including peaking at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart and 46 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart. Xavi later shattered a record set by Bad Bunny on Spotify with the longest-running no. 1 solo song by a Latin artist on the Top Global 50 chart.
“I had that melody in my head for a while,” he says while humming the haunting bridge of “La Diabla.” “Then the first verses came. From there, we started to connect the pieces and we didn’t know that this song would become what it did. We made this with a lot of love thinking about everyone. I want everyone to be able to feel and connect to my songs, the young people, the older people, no matter their age.”
Xavi now sits at over 28 million monthly listeners on Spotify. He continues to score hits without features like the heartbreaking “Sin Pagar Renta,” where he sings about deleting the memories of an ex, and his breakup anthems “La Víctima” and “Corazón De Piedra.” At the Troubadour, the sold-out crowd includes Mexican youths like Xavi, their parents, and drag queens, and they’re all singing their hearts out with Xavi. Since his rise, he’s gained two unexpected fans: reggaeton stars Karol G and Bad Bunny. When Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito Tour visited Mexico City in February, she brought him out as a special guest.
“They are very big influences for me,” he says. “I’m so grateful for their support. I admire them a lot. My respects to the big ones. That was my first time singing in my beloved Mexico and for that, I thank Karol so much. To be able to share that moment with all of my people and make it a night to remember is something that I’ll never forget.”
When asked if he could record with reggaeton artists like them in the future, Xavi adds, “I would love that.” For now, he is hard at work on his debut album in between the dates of his Poco a Poco Tour, which will wrap on May 12. “Poco a Poco” is also the name of his empowering song that resonates with the story of his journey so far.