Mau Y Ricky Talk New Single “Mal Acostumbrao,” Performing With JP Saxe + Supporting Their Amigo Camilo
Mau y Ricky are nominated for Top Duo/Group at this week’s Billboard Latin Music Awards. The nomination comes on the success of the Venezuelan duo’s hit single “Mal Acostumbrao” with Maria Becerra. In an exclusive interview about their partnership with Toyota, Mau y Ricky also opened up about entering a new era in their career, supporting their friends like Camilo, and future collaborations with Danna Paola and Julia Michaels.
Mau y Ricky are performing at the Billboard Latin Music Awards.
Mau y Ricky is comprised of brothers Mau and Ricky Montaner. They’re the sons of Argentine legend Ricardo Montaner. The guys made a name for themselves in 2017 with the breakthrough single “Mi Mala” with Karol G. On the success of their second album, last year’s rifresh, Mau y Ricky are up for Top Duo/Group at the Billboard Latin Music Awards that airs this Thursday, Sept. 23 on Telemundo.
“[Mau] is my best friend,” Ricky tells mitú. “He’s the person that knows me the most in the world. To be able to share this dream with him is the most beautiful thing.”
“To be nominated as best duo or group is what Rick and I are,” Mau says. “Our biggest strength is our chemistry as a band.”
Mau y Ricky will also unveil their partnership with Toyota at the awards.
During the awards, Mau y Ricky will be taking fans along for the ride in Toyota’s 2021 RAV4 Hybrid. Over the weekend, they filmed segments driving around Miami that will air on TV and across social media at @ToyotaLatino. The partnership was a source of inspiration for them.
“Rick and I are always trying to find new sounds and new inspiration in general,” Mau says. “Something that I love is that we’ve been able to partner with Toyota to do so. Something Rick and I always do is drive around to find inspiration. We listen to the songs that we’re working on and dreaming and thinking about what we want the next step to be in our careers.”
Mau y Ricky are happy to see their friends, like Camilo, thriving.
When Mau y Ricky were first coming up in the industry as songwriters, they invited Camilo to write music with them before he became a Colombian pop star. In their close friend group of musicians, this year you can add Morelli and JonTheProducer as their next studio collaborators who are becoming artists.
“Part of why we’re here on this earth is to help our friends and help the people around us also achieve their dreams,” Mau says. “To see how well they’re doing and to see what’s happening in their careers makes us super proud. We feel like we’re also achieving something with their beautiful achievements. For example, I see Camilo and all the crazy, awesome things he’s living. That’s something I feel like I’m living it with him.”
“3 De La Mañana” marks a new era in Mau y Ricky’s career.
After releasing the rifresh album last year, Mau y Ricky kicked started a new era in their career with “3 De La Mañana” featuring Sebastián Yatra and Mora. It’s a full-circle moment for them because they collaborated Yatra on their 2018 hit “Ya No Tiene Novio.” Mora, who has written for the likes of Bad Bunny, also reminds the duo of when they wrote for artists like Ricky Martin, Maluma, and Thalía.
“[Mora] is such a talented guy,” Mau says. “He started in a very similar way like us. Apart from him having his artist career, the first way he was able to connect with people was through other peoples’ voices. It’s cool that we can relate in that sense with Mora.”
Mau y Ricky made their latest hit “Mal Acostumbrao” in three hours.
Earlier this month, Mau y Ricky released their latest single “Mal Acostumbrao” featuring Argentine singer Maria Becerra. The collaboration was a moment of luck with them writing and recording the song with her and Argentine producer Big One in between flights. They’ve a chance to perform the charming love song on their sold-out tour in Argentina.
“‘Mal Acostumbrao’ has been a beautiful process,” Ricky says. “Everything. From the conception and writing of the song. The way that happened with Big One and Maria, it was beautiful. We had three hours to write it and we did everything in three hours. The song is definitely becoming one of our favorites.”
Mau y Ricky have a song with Danna Paola coming soon.
Mau y Ricky have another song on the way with Mexican pop star Danna Paola. Ricky partied with Paola over the weekend at Bresh Miami while Mau was sleeping in.
“[Danna] is a really good friend,” Ricky says. “She’s so sweet. We do have a song together that should be coming out soon. We love the song. It’s a song that she sent over to us. We wrote our verse on it and added a couple of different little things to make the song even more Mau y Ricky. It’s both of our worlds coming together. She’s amazing! I can’t wait for that song to come out.”
Mau y Ricky are going to perform with JP Saxe at his concert in L.A. next month.
Earlier this year, Mau y Ricky posted a photo in the studio with Julia Michaels and her boyfriend JP Saxe. Last year, they jumped on a Spanglish version of “Hey Stupid, I Love You” with Saxe. It’s not yet known if Mau y Ricky co-wrote a song with Michaels and Saxe or if all three will appear on a song together. The duo did reveal that they’ll be a surprise guest at Saxe’s Fonda Theater concert in L.A. on Oct. 19.
“We’re very good friends with JP and Julia,” Mau says. “We love them so much. They’re our favorite songwriters in the world. We’ve been huge fans of them for a very long time, and the fact that we get to work with them is very awesome. And what we worked on, you’re going to love it! What we worked on is awesome!”
Mau y Ricky have love for their fans in the LGBTQ+ community.
From having collaborated with many superstar women like Thalía, TINI, Lali, and Becky G, Mau y Ricky have their fair share of fans in the LGBTQ+ community. The brothers are happy to be fostering an inclusive fanbase.
“Our message is: You’re welcome in this family exactly as you are,” Ricky says. “We’re promoters of love exactly as it comes. Everybody’s welcome.”
“Our album rifresh was a celebration and anthemic album about accepting who you are,” Mau adds. “That’s what the song ‘Fresh‘ is about. It’s about being true to yourself. You are awesome just the way you are. You don’t have to change anything. That’s we love and that’s what we’re about.”
