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The Next Shakira - Sultry Sofia Sizzles Stage

Sofia Gonzalez is the hottest new singer out there in the music industry, swiftly becoming known as the new Shakira.

   We interviewed the star in the Mayfair hotel where she is staying while visiting London promoting her new single, which is already number one on itunes’ mid-week chart, set to be number one in the official chart on Sunday.

    Sultry and sophisticated are the words to describe Sofia Gonzalez as she struts into this interview, wearing black skinny jeans, a sultry red top and 5 inch Christian Louboutins.

     The sexy Latina newcomer known for her number one single ‘waiting’ talks to us about being known as the next Shakira, her childhood, getting into trouble at school, her struggle to get a record deal, her new single and album, collaborating with Cheryl Cole, fame and being a style icon.

     With her sexy sultry moves and powerful sultry voice and being a Latina people have deemed Sofia Gonzalez as the next Shakira. When we asked Sofia about how she felt about being known as the next Shakira, Sofia obviously does not think of this comparison as a bad thing as she had many great things to say about Shakira, as Shakira is a huge inspiration to her and has influenced her music greatly. Smiling, Sofia said about one of her idols ‘Honestly, just to even have my name put in the same sentence as Shakira is a huge honour in itself but to be known as the next Shakira is just surreal, it’s amazing yet ridiculous at the same time because no-one can replace Shakira she is such a wonderful person, who is absolutely incredible at what she does. I have never known someone to be so talented, so kind, so beautiful and so passionate. She really is an inspiration.’ Sofia met her idol at the American Music Awards recently, we wonder if they spoke of collaboration perhaps?

     Sofia’s polite and humble attitude comes from having lead a simple, tough life. Growing up in a small town in Mexico and her parents not being able to afford much Sofia lead a basic life. ‘ (as a child) life was simple, my parents couldn’t really afford much, we lived in a small house which had one bedroom and shared this with my parents and my three older brothers.’ 

    Sofia’s passion for singing and dancing overshadowed her school work and considered herself as bit of a liability to her parents and her teachers as she would get sent home a lot for singing and dancing in lessons. ‘ School was ok, but I didn’t really study as I was too busy singing and dancing in lessons, and would get sent home quite a lot because of that, I honestly just added to my parents stresses..’

    Even when Sofia is talking about the hardships she has faced in life, she still manages to laugh it off and see a funny side to it all, Sofia remained composed throughout the interview which is great quality for a 18 year old. Sofia really appreciates her parents support in wanting to perform as a career. Even through the most financial, and testing times Sofia’s parents did all they could to provide Sofia with singing and dancing lessons. Sofia’s love for music began at the age of 4, her wanting to perform as a career came from watching her mum sing in local restaurants, ‘ I would go with her and I loved watching her, my mum really geared my interest in singing.’ Sofia sees her mum as a huge influence,

    At the tender age of 15 Sofia entered herself in competition that was taking place in Mexico for a chance to win a scholarship and one of the worlds most credible music schools, the ********** school in New York. This was a great opportunity for Sofia as her family had financial problems. Sofia wanted to grasp this with both her hands. ‘I had always wanted to study there, and my parents could not afford so when this competition came I jumped at the chance.’ She was definitely jumping for joy when she had found out she had won. Sofia completed her scholarship recently and graduated, after so many years of hard work, Sofia dived straight into the music business with not much luck, ‘straight after graduating I made a demo CD which was compiled of many cover songs and sent them to many countless record companies, got rejected by all of them and obviously I was heartbroken.’ All the rejection did not deter Sofia, she did not give up on her hopes and dreams, this rejection made her more determined than ever. Sofia stayed in New York and never went back home to Mexico. Earning money as a waitress, Sofia could only afford a place in the rough areas of New York, which would have been really intimidating for a young girl. ‘It was an extremely dangerous place for a young girl, and I would just sit in my room writing my own material and kept working as a waitress so I had enough money to rent out a recording studio to record all these songs.’  With all this determination Sofia received many offers from many record labels and is now signed to Universal records, a major record label, who obviously liked her style. Sofia’s songs are mixture of Spanish and English speaking songs and was unsure about how they would go down with the record companies and was not sure about they felt about Latina, ‘I know how hard it is for Latin people, people like Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria Parker and Shakira have recently broken those barriers. In films Latinas are still stereotyped as the maid but we are definitely more accepted now.’

   Sofia’s new single ‘Waiting’ has a Latin pop rock techno feel to it which is quite a combination. ‘Well I love all those genres, and I really wanted to incorporate all of them into my album so there is one song that will be completely Latin, one being completely pop/rock, another being dance and techno and there are some that are R&B and Hip Hop. I think it’s safe to say I love all kinds of music.’ Sofia is an artist who is not fixed on one genre, Sofia is young, fresh and different, the songs on her album caters to different people, there is something for everyone. ‘On my first single I wanted to incorporate many different genres into my first single so people know what I’m about, what kind of artist I am and get a feel of my album at the same time.’ Sofia got the end result she wanted by having many meetings with some of the music industries top producers and ended up working with ************** who knew exactly where Sofia was coming from. ‘Thanks to him I got exactly what I wanted for my first single.’

    We have heard Sofia’s new single and think it is absolutely fantastic, it has been number 1 in the states for over 3 weeks and has just released her album there which has gone straight in at number 1, we can see or rather hear why ‘waiting’ is already number 1 over here in the UK in the mid-week chart set to be number 1 on Sunday in the official UK singles chart. Even with all of this success Sofia keeps her feet firmly on the ground, remaining humble and is most definitely not taking her success for granted, when we asked her about how she felt about all this success. ‘Wow, I can’t believe it, I mean words cannot describe how I feel, it’s just (sighs) I don’t know, I honestly do not know how to describe it.’  Sofia’s single ‘waiting’ is what it is, waiting. ‘It’s just about waiting for everything really, which sums up my life so far you know just been waiting, waiting for something to happen, and waiting for that special person.’ 

     Saying this Sofia led herself into being asked an awkward question ‘Have you found that special someone?’  When asked this Sofia blushed and claimed that she has not found the right person yet. ‘No, not yet still waiting, still single but I am having fun at the moment, I don’t really need a guy right now, I’m just focusing on me.’ Sofia clearly has her eye on a certain celebrity but would not tell us who her crush was because if she met him and he saw this interview she would be very embarrassed.

      Sofia’s collaborations consists of strong a independent woman that clearly is what Sofia is all about. Her dream collaborations are Shakira obviously, Beyonce, Rihanna, Pink who are all fierce performers and Cheryl Cole, ‘She is so beautiful and graceful and I love her songs I heard some of them yesterday.’ Sofia has only heard of Cheryl Cole through her stay in England, as Cheryl is not known in the States.

      All this success has thrusted Sofia into the music industry making her the most popular female singer around right now, which had obviously attracted the attention of the paparazzi. ‘I am from a little town in Mexico and even though I have always dreamed of this lifestyle ever since I was a little girl, and wanting to do what I love doing as a job which is singing and performing is amazing but there are times I just want to go back home and get away from it all as it does get too much sometimes.’ Sofia described the paparazzi as bittersweet as they are great for when she is promoting her music and at awards shows and other events but in her personal life they annoy her, ‘but they can bug me sometimes like when I am going to the grocery store with no make up on, they completely surround me.’ When Sofia manages to get away from her hectic lifestyle she just chills in her pyjamas sitting on the sofa with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream with her girlfriends watching chick flicks, even though she is a huge star Sofia likes to lead a normal, ordinary life like the rest of us.

    Sofia is becoming a style icon among young girls. Sofia describes her style as comfortable, worn with confidence. Sofia believes the key to great style is confidence. ‘If you are confident in what you are wearing you will feel great and look great.’ Sofia’s style varies from laid-back to all-out glam depending on her mood, from bohemian chic to dressing like Victoria Beckham.

    This was where the interview had to be drawn to a close, as Sofia was performing at the Hammersmith Apollo that night. Sofia Gonzalez is most definitely our star if the week and star of 2010, Sofia Gonzalez is most definitely the next big thing.