A week after dropping his debut album Portales (Warner Music Latina/Grand Move Records), Tiago PZK is prepping for two back-to-back, sold-out concerts at the Movistar Arena in Argentina. “After manifesting it for so long, this is the show of my dreams,” he told Billboard during an Instagram Live on Thursday (July 28). “It’s an incredible show and I’m very proud of myself.”
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During his tour, which includes 35 dates in more than 10 countries, Tiago will perform songs from his freshman studio album, which took him roughly two years to create.
He named it Portales, or portals, because of how experimental the 15-track set is. “I wanted to get out of the artist’s pigeonholing of ‘you’re a reggaetonero,’ ‘you’re a trap artist,’ and break from that a bit,” he explains. “I wanted to do what I liked, and that’s why the album is very varied and each song’s a new portal.”
On the set, the Argentine singer-songwriter navigates from catchy reggaeton (“Salimo de Noche”), to head-bopping punk rock (“Noche de Soledad”), to soulful R&B (“Entre Nosotros”) and even Brazilian funk (“Electrica”), to name a few.
“It was challenging, but that’s the best part of doing an experimental album,” he says. “I wanted to play with something I’ve never done before. Each genre has its own essence and style.”
The focus single “Sex & Love” in collaboration with Jamaican producer RVSSIAN is proof of that. “It was difficult at first because I didn’t speak English. I felt pressured because I was meeting him for the first time and I’m shy,” he notes. “Nobody in the studio spoke Spanish, but he was a very cool guy in the end. This is one of my favorite songs of my career and I chose it as the focus track because I thought it was a hit.”
As for what he hopes to accomplish with his career and new album, he wants to motivate dreamers like himself.
“I will always push those dreamers who have no motivation or opportunities presented to them,” he said. “They have to encourage themselves and work a lot for themselves because they’re the ones who own their future.”
Listen to Portales and watch the complete IG Live with Billboard Latin below:
