The next indie act the major labels are trying to sign is a 15-year-old regional Mexican singer-songwriter from Yakima, Washington.
Even before Yahritza y Su Esencia made history this week with “Soy El Unico” as the youngest Latin performer to enter the Billboard Hot 100, major Latin and mainstream record labels had expressed interest in signing the Regional Mexican act
“All of them have approached us,” says Ramon Ruiz, CEO of Lumbre Music, which signed 15-year-old singer-songwriter Yahritza Martinez and her brothers Armando (guitar) and Jairo (bass) to the indie label in February. (The band is currently managed by their older sister, Adriana Martinez.) “We just want to do what’s best for her at the end of the day.”
Ruiz first discovered the Mexican-American siblings in January from a cover song performance they posted to TikTok. The following month, the Lumbre Music team flew to Yakima to meet with the family and sign them. While on that trip, David Cruz, Lumbre’s content creator, filmed a 15-second clip of Yahritza singing part of “Soy El Unico” for TikTok that put her strong vocals and deep lyrics on the radar, amassing over 28 million views and more than 150,000 video creations so far. The song was officially released on March 25 on Lumbre Music.
This week, the sad sierreño debuted at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart dated April 9 and earned its first Hot 100 entry at No. 20 — making the 15-year-old the youngest Latin performer to enter the all-genre tally.
Following Muni Long and Lauren Spencer-Smith, who respectively signed deals with Def Jam and Island/Republic earlier this year, Yahritza y Su Esencia is 2022’s latest indie breakout act to land at the center of a bidding war. And while the group is signed to Lumbre Music, the label’s not counting out bringing on a major partner — good news for A&R execs trying to close the deal.
“Our goal is to develop Yahritza’s career to its full potential and if it needs a label partner to make this happen, we’re not afraid of that,” says Lumbre Music president Alex Guerra. “The timing [to partner with a label] will come.”