Colombian singer-songwriter Ela Taubert is carving her own lane in Latin pop with sincerity and self-discovery at its core. In a candid interview with EL PAÍS, the 25-year-old Latin Grammy winner opened up about her creative process, her emotional depth, and the empowering message behind her 16 track debut album, Preguntas a las 11:11 (“Questions at 11:11”).
Raised in Bogotá by a family of strong women, Taubert won Best New Artist at the 25th annual Latin Grammy Awards (2024). She grew up understanding resilience and emotional honesty as strengths. “Being a woman isn’t a disadvantage — it’s a superpower,” she told EL PAÍS. Her songs radiate this energy, blending tenderness with confidence as she navigates a genre still dominated by men.
MUSIC AS CONFESSION
Preguntas a las 11:11 has surpassed 35 million Spotify streams but the project is not built for algorithms — it’s built for truth, unfolding like a diary, where self-love, heartbreak, and healing intertwine. “It’s been one of the most healing and creative experiences of my life,” Taubert said, reflecting on two years spent exploring who she is and why heartbreak became such a recurring theme in her writing. Each song, she explained, represents a chapter of her growth from age 15 to now.
Drawing influence from Adele, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Latin pop duo Jesse & Joy, Taubert has found balance between global inspiration and local authenticity. “I realized I was never going to write like any of them, because my thing is to write from who I am,” she shared. That realization led to her signature sound — emotional yet grounded, delicate yet powerful.
LIVING HER CHILDHOOD DREAM
One of Taubert’s most defining moments came when she collaborated with Joe Jonas on “¿Cómo Pasó?”. The story began with a childhood video of her singing Jonas’s part in This Is Me. She messaged him years later on Instagram — and, to her shock, he replied. The collaboration became a global hit. “It confirmed that dreams — no matter how crazy they seem — do come true,” she said.
Known for associating feelings with colors, Taubert explained that pink represents her awakening — the moment she learned to prioritize herself. “Pink symbolizes a gentle, firm strength, rooted in self-love,” she said. Once criticized for being “too sensitive,” she now embraces it as her power: “Now, when someone says, ‘You’re very sensitive,’ I reply, ‘Yeah, so what?’”
