Prince Royce Talks Embracing His Bachata Roots, Making History + New Single “Lao’ A Lao'”
Prince Royce is back with some extra pep in his step in the “Lao’ A Lao'” music video. The Dominican-American pop star is embracing his bachata roots in his new single. The bubbly song is coming on a high in career, from his recent Guinness World Record to capping off over a decade in the music industry. In an exclusive interview, Royce talked about inspiration behind “Lao’ A Lao,'” making history, and celebrating Romeo Santos’ 40th birthday with the Aventura frontman.
Prince Royce recently made history with his song “Carita De Inocente.”
In October, Prince Royce received the Guinness World Record for the most weeks at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Tropical Airplay among all artists. He topped the chart for a consecutive 29 weeks with “Carita De Inocente” from his Alter Ego album. The remix with Myke Towers helped buoy the song’s success.
“[That] was a pleasant surprise,” Royce tells mitú. “‘Carita De Inocente” is still my favorite song. That was my favorite song since the beginning. It just like reminded me to keep my gut feeling on certain things.”
Prince Royce pushed to have bachata music on his last album.
That gut feeling Prince Royce is referring to is staying true to his bachata roots. In previous interviews about Alter Ego, he said that his record label almost didn’t want to do any bachata music for the album. It was the bachata songs that proved to be the most successful from the LP. “Carita De Inocente” was one of five songs that went No. 1 on various Billboard charts.
“I’m all about trying new things,” Prince Royce says. “But at the same time, giving people what I know they want to hear. I know at the end of the day bachata’s what really gave me the opportunity, what got me famous. I’m here to continue to keep navigating, try new things, and still represent my culture, my roots in the genre.”
Prince Royce is living his best life in the “Lao’ A Lao'” music video.
“Lao’ A Lao'” is the lead single from Prince Royce’s next album. He’s gone bachata again while taking the genre to new places. The refreshing love song has a pop twist to it. Royce sings his heart out and hitting high notes in the chorus. He reveals that it was the first song he wrote over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year’s total lockdown was an inspiration for the song.
“It’s a feel good, positive vibe,” Prince Royce says. “The song is about spending time with that special girl or that special someone with not a lot of things. With like simple things. That’s what happened during COVID. The clubs were closed. The restaurants were closed. You had to figure out a way of doing things inside the house. That’s what it was about: Taking what you got and still having a good time.”
Prince Royce is proud of his 11 years in the music industry.
The song arrives as Prince Royce celebrates his 11th year in the music industry. His 2011 self-titled debut album was certified Diamond last year and he’s still going strong. Royce realizes that he’s been in the game long enough to now be inspiring a new generation of artists.
“People are like, ‘Yo, you’re like legendary and like an OG,'” Royce says with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘Damn, is that good? Is that bad?’ I think ultimately it’s a great thing. Looking back and seeing people saying I inspired them to do music, I think that’s what you do this for. I look at people like Marc Anthony, Shakira, and Ricky Martin, what they’ve done, and how I see them as iconic. That’s what you do this for. To try to leave that imprint. Try to leave your music and let people remember it forever.”
There could be a Prince Royce and Rihanna collaboration in the future.
In those 11 years, Prince Royce has collaborated with many artists in both the Latin and Anglo markets. His past collaborators include Selena Gomez, J Balvin, Shakira, Marc Anthony, Thalía, Bad Bunny, and countless others. There’s more he wants to work with, but he mentions one Barbadian superstar in particular.
“I would love to do something with Rihanna,” Prince Royce says. “I think she’s really talented. I’ve been a fan for such a long time. I can’t wait for her to drop music again.”
Prince Royce was recently spotted at Romeo Santos’ 40th birthday party.
Prince Royce was recently spotted with another icon. He helped Romeo Santos celebrate his 40th birthday alongside the other members of Aventura. Marc Anthony was also with them at the intimate gathering.
“[Romeo] is a really good friend,” Prince Royce says. “We all suited up for his party. It was like an award show. We had a good time. He’s a really great dude. Aventura, these are guys that have inspired me within my own music on a personal level. It was great to be there and just kick it.”
Prince Royce is hoping to tour next year pending the COVID-19 situation.
Prince Royce is plotting a tour for next year with the release of his new album. With the ongoing COVID-19 situation, he’s taking things day-by-day and not holding himself to hard deadlines.
“The concept for the album is going to be bachata flavor,” Prince Royce says. “I’m trying to have fun with it and do new things with it. We’re hoping that the pandemic ends soon, so we can get back to hugging everybody and having fun with the fans.”
