Oscar 2022: Sebastián Yatra, the successful Colombian who could surprise by winning an Academy Award

A great opportunity. Sebastian Yatra He is excited about the possibility that “Dos oruguitas”, a song from the Disney movie “Encanto” to which he gave his voice, will take home a Oscar award for Best Original Song. The song was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the acclaimed play “Hamilton.”

The news generated immense joy in the 27-year-old interpreter. But it is not the first important recognition of his career. Here we leave you a review of the events that have marked his artistic life.

The beginning of the dream

Sebastián Obando Giraldo, better known as Sebastián Yatra, was born in Medellín, Colombia. But, at the age of 5, he had to move to Miami (United States) with his parents and siblings to get away from the conflictive situation in his native country. His father, Aníbal Obando Agudelo, was a well-known transportation businessman, which put the entire family in danger. “Medellín was a place that at that time was very difficult. My dad, there was a point in which he walked around with a gun to defend himself for anything “Yatra told in an interview with Caracol Television.

His passion for music was born from a young age. He wanted to be a singer ever since he starred in the musical “High School Musical” at his high school. From there, he began taking singing and stage presence classes. Faced with the success of his family in his native country, Sebastian chose to change his last name to Yatra, which means “sacred path to the divine” in Hindu. This, in order to distinguish himself from his family and make his own way to success.

In 2013, he released his first single “El Psicología”, a pop ballad whose video clip was recorded in Malibu, California and directed by Simón Brand, the renowned filmmaker behind the videos of other international artists Carlos Vives, Fanny Lu, Shakira and Ricky Martin. . The song ranked number three on the national Latin chart in Colombia.

Later, came the single “Para Olvidar”, composed by him and Mauricio Rengifo “Dandee” by the Colombian duo Cali y El Dandee. By 2015, he achieved greater recognition after the premiere of “Don’t call me”, along with Mike Bahía.

stardom

Sebastián reached a milestone in his career after signing with Universal Music Latino and premiered “Traicionera” in 2016. The debut of the song was forceful and it quickly took over the first positions of the playlists in various Latin American countries.

From there he has achieved good positions on the charts with singles such as “Devuélveme el Corazón”, “Suena el Dembow” with Joey Montana, “Sutra” with Dálmata, “Runaway” with Daddy Yankee, Jonas Brothers and Natti Natasha, “Falta amor” with Ricky Martin and “Couple of the Year” with Myke Towers.

During his path in music, he has earned a nomination for the 2019 Grammy Awards in the category of Best Latin Pop Album for his album “Fantasia”. While in the Latin Grammys he has achieved nine nominations. At the Latin American Music Awards he won four trophies, including New Artist of the Year in 2018.

Among the most successful collaborations he has made is the single “Chica Ideal” with Guaynaa, which has exceeded 712 million global views. Likewise, she has managed to share the recording studio with the Spanish Aitana, her compatriot Carlos Vives, the Puerto Rican Yandel and the Argentine Tini, who was her partner from mid-2019 to May 2020.

The Colombian artist has achieved at least 20 platinum singles and two gold records in Latin America, including countries such as Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The first album he released was “Mantra” in 2018, which was followed by “Fantasia” in 2019 and the last “Dharma” in 2022.

This year, Sebastián Yatra also made his debut as an actor in the Spanish series “Érase una vez… pero ya no”, which was produced, written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Manolo Caro. In the first musical fiction in Spain, some of the classic themes of Spanish and Latin pop will be reviewed. Along with Yatra, the cast is made up of Rossy de Palma, Asier Etxeandia, Mariola Fuentes, Itziar Castro, Daniela Vega and Mariana Treviño, among others.

The possibility of a golden statuette

The first song completely in Spanish that managed to win the Oscar in 2005 was “Al otro lado del río”, performed and composed by Jorge Drexler for the film “Motorcycle Diaries”. More than 15 years later, Sebastián Yatra could be the second singer to win the Oscar for a song in Spanish.

News of his nomination came on February 8 during a live broadcast on the Academy’s website. Sebastián, along with his team, were attentive to the announcement of the contenders for the golden statuette. The moment for Best Original Song arrived and, moments later, we saw how the Colombian celebrated.

“Colombia, we are nominated for an Oscar”, is what is read in the description of the video published by Sebastián Yatra on Instagram. A jump of emotion and a cry when listening to “Dos Oruguitas” from the voice of renowned actor Leslie Jordan.

Since then, the singer has been commenting on the euphoria experienced by the entire team at the immense opportunity. “It is a film that is representing Latinos and Colombians around the world. Everything in ´Dos Oruguitas´ and ´Encanto´ has been a dream come true”Yatra highlighted to CNN.

Faced with the dilemma of what he would do if the song wins the award, Yatra confessed to the Good Morning America program that “I would probably go hug (Leonardo) DiCaprio or something, even though he doesn’t know who I am. He’ll just be like, ‘What just happened?’ That’s probably what I’ll do.”

In addition, he will have the opportunity to sing the song live during the main gala, being the first Colombian to achieve this feat. “I couldn’t even imagine being able to sing there one day. I’m still processing it. So, now I really live it from the joy, I enjoy these nerves that I feel “he told the newspaper El Tiempo.

The answer as to whether Sebastián Yatra, along with Lin-Manuel Miranda, won the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Dos oruguitas”, we will have it tonight at the 94th edition of the Academy Awards that will take place at the Dolby Theater of Los Angeles (United States). Will the Colombian add one more achievement to his career?