{"id":6653,"date":"2025-11-06T19:30:03","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T20:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/?p=6653"},"modified":"2025-11-10T12:27:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T12:27:23","slug":"getting-cfda-ready-with-bad-gyal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/06\/getting-cfda-ready-with-bad-gyal\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting CFDA Ready with Bad Gyal"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bad Gyal<\/u><\/a> is in a new era. \u201cI\u2019m at a point where I really know who I am, and I have the resources to express that fully,\u201d she tells PAPER. <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

The Spanish-Catalan artist just hit her first CFDA Fashion Awards in New York, wearing a custom black sequined Luar<\/u><\/a> look that was pure<\/em><\/em> Bad Gyal. \u201cI have a really good relationship with Raul,\u201d she says of designer Raul Lopez. \u201cI felt really taken care of. I felt beautiful.\u201d It\u2019s easy to see why; between the flashbulbs and the energy of the night, she looked completely in her element.<\/p>\n

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Even with a flight later in the evening, she tells me how she\u2019s been making the most of her time in the city, playing new songs for friends and teasing what\u2019s next. \u201cThe music really feels like me,\u201d she says. \u201cEverything from the visuals to the photography aligns perfectly with this era.\u201d The still-untitled album, hinted at with \u201cDa Me<\/u><\/a>\u201d and \u201c\u00daltima Noche<\/u><\/a>,\u201d feels like a natural next step: bigger, bolder, but still undeniably hers.<\/p>\n

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Fans who\u2019ve been around since Worldwide Angel <\/em><\/em>or Slow Wine Mixtape<\/em><\/em> will clock the evolution immediately. The new stuff is more polished but just as fun, a mix of all the sounds that shaped her \u2014 from 2000s R&B to merengue to whatever genre she\u2019s feeling that day. \u201cIt\u2019s like my playlist,\u201d she says. \u201cAll the genres I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fashion has been a big part of that growth too. Between videos, editorials, and collabs with designers like Lopez, she\u2019s carved out a look that\u2019s instantly recognizable but never predictable. \u201cI\u2019ve had so many opportunities in fashion,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s made me more mature and more sure of what I want.\u201d As for the new music? Expect confidence, energy, and plenty of hits. \u201cThere are going to be a lot of hits,\u201d she laughs. \u201cIt\u2019s music to dance to, to feel sexy, to feel yourself in the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

We caught up with Bad Gyal after her big night out at the CFDA Awards to discuss all things fashion, her \u201cchameleon-like\u201d eras and keeping things fresh. <\/p>\n

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How are you feeling? How were the awards last night?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m feeling great. It\u2019s always good to be in New York. I love it here. Especially coming for the CFDA Awards, since it was my first time, and it went amazing. I have a really good relationship with Raul [Luar], so I felt really taken care of. I felt beautiful and comfortable in my look. It\u2019s also nice to have a little time here to go around and show some of the new music I\u2019ve been working on. I\u2019m finishing my album right now, so that\u2019s what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s so exciting. How has that been? You\u2019re teasing new music and showing it to people?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been showing like four or five songs, not the whole project, just little previews so people can get a feel for the vibe. The music really feels like me. It\u2019s my identity. Everything we\u2019re doing visually, from the image and videos to the photography, aligns perfectly with this sound and this era. I feel much more mature and established. The music feels more solid, and I\u2019ve had more resources to record and collaborate with producers I\u2019ve always admired. I\u2019m in a really good place right now.<\/p>\n

I feel like you can really sense that growth in your music and visuals. \u201cDa Me\u201d is just so good. It\u2019s definitely on rotation at gay guy music video night. I feel like you\u2019ve evolved so much; it feels more refined, more polished, and just more you, if that makes sense.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Totally. It has a lot to do with what I was saying before: now I have more resources to create my vision. And at the same time, I\u2019ve learned a lot. I\u2019ve had so many opportunities in fashion too; I\u2019ve been really lucky to work with amazing photographers and go to runway shows. All of that taught me so much and gave me so much inspiration to create my own vision \u2014 to make it more mature and elevated. I\u2019ve been doing music for nine years now, and I feel like I\u2019m at a really good place. I\u2019m lucky to have so much to play with creatively.<\/p>\n

I think that\u2019s true for a lot of artists who came up around the same time. Even someone like Charli XCX who was more underground for years, but now she\u2019s having this massive <\/strong>Brat<\/em><\/strong><\/em> moment. It\u2019s funny how the \u201cBest New Artist\u201d nominees at the Grammys are always people who\u2019ve actually been around for, like, a decade.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly. Especially when you come from a more underground path, it takes longer. But it\u2019s worth it. You have time to build your own language for the world to understand your identity. Coming from that scene often means being a little more different, a little outside what\u2019s trending or expected. For me, I\u2019ve always had to be 100% myself in everything I do. Even now that I\u2019m more mainstream and integrated into the industry, I\u2019ve never felt like I gave up on being me.<\/p>\n

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For the new project, can you tell us anything about the inspiration behind it? You don\u2019t have to share track names, but is there a concept or guiding theme?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not really a conceptual album. I didn\u2019t pick one specific idea to create a \u201cnew Bad Gyal\u201d or a new persona. It\u2019s more musical, like a playlist of all the genres I love and listen to. That\u2019s the biggest inspiration. I worked with some incredible producers, and most of the album \u2014 like 80 to 90 percent \u2014 was made from scratch. I\u2019d go into the studio and say, \u201cToday I feel like doing something compa,\u201d or \u201cLet\u2019s make something with 2000s R&B energy,\u201d or \u201cLet\u2019s try merengue.\u201d We\u2019d start from there. I\u2019d play, like, 5 to 10 songs for inspiration, and the producers would build the melody or drums around that. It\u2019s my favorite way to work.<\/p>\n

Basically, the album feels like my personal playlist \u2014 a mix of everything I love, but more elevated and solid. I\u2019m at a point where I really know who I am, and I have the resources to express that fully.<\/p>\n

The visuals this era are so strong \u2014 from the styling to the set design. I loved your <\/strong>performance<\/strong><\/u><\/a> of \u201cDa Me\u201d at the <\/strong>Premios Juventud<\/em><\/strong><\/em>, when you started hanging from that rig. It felt so fresh. And I don\u2019t know if you saw, but there was a whole TikTok trend of people hanging like that. I was like, wait, did you start that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, I didn\u2019t plan the actual TikTok trend. I think people just got inspired by the music video. But yeah, I saw everyone doing it, which was really fun to see.<\/p>\n

How do you keep your ideas feeling fresh? Is it through collaboration or the people you surround yourself with?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course. I\u2019m really lucky to be surrounded by people on my team who are so informed. They know everything about photographers and eras, from the \u201970s to now. They\u2019re like walking libraries. I don\u2019t always know the names or references, but I know what I like, and communication is everything. They know me really well \u2014 my looks, my fashion, what I buy, what I have in my closet. I\u2019m very clear and decisive about what I like and what I don\u2019t like.<\/p>\n

If I had to pick a color, I wouldn\u2019t be grey. I\u2019m black or white. I\u2019m very sure of my taste. So when I surround myself with the right creatives, it\u2019s easy for them to build from that. It\u2019s a real teamwork thing.<\/p>\n

Also, music itself inspires me visually. The music I listen to often shapes how I want things to look. I\u2019m European, from Barcelona, but Caribbean culture has always been my number one inspiration. My trips to Jamaica and Puerto Rico, and even watching early reggaeton videos as a teenager, all of that has stayed with me. The internet also inspires me a lot. You can always find something new you didn\u2019t know existed.<\/p>\n

Were you a Tumblr girl back in the day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not really. Not actively. I didn\u2019t have a profile, but I had an account just to look. I guess I was a lowkey Tumblr girl \u2014 super hippie, smoking my weed, going through phases. I wore one dreadlock at one point. I\u2019ve always been really interested in fashion, visuals, and photography, so even if I wasn\u2019t posting, I was absorbing it all.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the best kind of artist though \u2014 a chameleon.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly. And nowadays, I feel like artists have to have so many different skills. It\u2019s not just about making good songs. You have to know how to perform, how to build a brand, surround yourself with the right team, understand your image \u2014 everything. With social media, you have to be versatile, and I really enjoy that part of it.<\/p>\n

If you think about someone like Madonna, she really invented the idea of having eras \u2014 shapeshifting and taking on a new identity for each album.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly. And I feel like that\u2019s what keeps your fanbase connected \u2014 they\u2019re always excited to see what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re almost out of time, but any last words you want to share with your fans or <\/strong>PAPER<\/em><\/strong><\/em> readers about your new album? Any teasers for what\u2019s coming next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Honestly, if there\u2019s one thing I know for sure, it\u2019s that I\u2019m a hitmaker. There are going to be a lot of hits. I\u2019m not trying to make it super serious or conceptual. It\u2019s music to dance to, to enjoy yourself in the club. I want people to feel sexy, to embrace their femininity \u2014 or their masculinity, or whatever makes them feel good. It\u2019s about confidence, energy, and just having fun. Whether you\u2019re a woman, a gay man, whoever. It\u2019s for everyone who wants to feel hot, empowered, and pretty in the club.<\/p>\n

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Bad Gyal is in a new era. \u201cI\u2019m at a point where I really know who I am, and I have the resources to express that fully,\u201d she tells PAPER. The Spanish-Catalan artist just hit her first CFDA Fashion Awards in New York, wearing a custom black sequined Luar look that was pure Bad Gyal. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6654,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6653\/revisions\/6654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.unlockingsite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}