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How Beéle’s Caribbean Aura Turned Him Into Colombia’s Breakout Star
Colombian artist Beéle is Billboard's Latin Artist on the Rise for the month of May.
His native Barranquilla — located on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia, and which is also home to Shakira and Joe Arroyo — has also influenced the Latin Afrobeat and pop-dancehall sound he’s known for today. At 16, the artist born Brandon de Jesús López Orozco (Beéle is the pronunciation of his initials BL), released his debut single “Loco” under Hear This Music — a feel-good, suave Afrobeats groove backed by his deep, melodic vocals. Its remix, featuring Farruko, Natti Natasha, and Manuel Turizo — and released in the midst of the 2020 pandemic — earned the emerging act his first Billboard chart entry, reaching No.
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