Pitizion Named a Latin Artist on the Rise by Billboard

Pitizion isn’t letting the coronavirus pandemic slow her momentum…

The 28-year-old Colombian singer, whose real name is María del Pilar Pérez, started 2020 with a lot of promise, including a music video with Greeicy and touring with Alejandro Sanz as his opening act. 

Pitizion

Despite the pause caused by the global pandemic, Pitizion has kept creating music and getting her name out there, recently being named a Latin Artist of the Rise by Billboard.

Born in the Llanos Region, Pitizion got on the radar with her acting career, making her debut on the popular Nickelodeon Latinoamérica show Grachi. About three years ago, she decided to share her musical talent on social media because her “music never left her room.”

“My passion for music derives from my father’s passing when I was a child,” the now Miami-based artist tells Billboard. “I didn’t know how to express my feelings and my way of doing so was writing lyrics and singing for him.”

Pitizion was ultimately discovered by record producer Andres Saavedra, who not only believed in her project, but also took her music to Universal Music Latin, where she officially signed in early 2019.

“I’ll be honest: I never saw this dream come true. I never imagined myself signing with a record label. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I didn’t have a lot of vision back then,” she admits. “It’s incredibly and completely changed my life. The most beautiful part is saying that Universal and Andres have taught me to dream and believe in myself.”

Since joining the Universal family, Pitizion has released her debut single “Ella” on July 5, 2019, dropped an eight-track EP dubbed La Piti, and nabbed collaborations with artists like Greeicy (“No Pasa Nada”) and Rafa Pabon and Big Soto for the remix of “Ella.”

Though she does not like to be boxed in a genre, Piti describes herself as a modern singer-songwriter with pop-urban melodies and hints of rap. Her empowering, witty lyrics and bohemian, global fusions are primarily influenced by artists like Cuban rappers Los Aldeanos, Puerto Rican rapper Rene “Residente” Perez, Spanish artist Bebe and Colombian vallenato stars. 

“I grabbed a little bit of what I heard in life and created my own version,” she concludes.

She’s currently making the rounds with her single “,” which sends a powerful message about self-love and diversity. 

Fox to Premiere “Empire,” Featuring de la Fuente, in January

Rafael de la Fuente is expanding his Hollywood empire

Fox has announced plans to unveil its new drama series Empire, starring the 28-year-old Venezuelan actor and singer, on January 7, with limited commercial interruption, following the season premiere of American Idol.

Rafael de la Fuente

Empire centers on Lucious Lyon (portrayed by Terrence Howard), a charismatic music superstar who is about to take his company Empire Entertainment public. Taraij P. Henson stars as Lucious’ ex-wife Cookie, and she’s still looking for a share of his success.

de la Fuente portrays Michael Sanchez on the series, which also stars Gabourey Sidibe and guest stars Courtney Love. Timbaland will serve as the song producer and songwriter, creating new tunes for the show and curating old ones.

Idol will air Wednesday, January 7 from 8:00 – 9:00 pm ET and Thursday, January 8 from 8:00 -10:00 pm ET.

Empire will debut that Wednesday from 9:00 – 10:00 pm ET.

The drama hails from Lee Daniels, Danny Strong and Brian Grazer. Empire is from Imagine Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

de la Fuente’s other television credits include Every With Way, Grachi, Aurora and Mas sabe el diablo.

de Faría to Make Feature Film Debut in “El Paseo 2”

She’s already experienced international acclaim on television… And now María Gabriela de Faría is setting her sights on the big screen.

The 19-year-old Venezuelan actress/singer will portray John Leguizamo and Karen Martinez’s rebellious daughter in the Spanish-language comedy film El Paseo 2, which just finished filming in Colombia.

María Gabriela de Faría

“I always loved acting,” says de Faría, who became famous as Isabela “Isa” Pasquali on hit Nickelodeon Spanish-language series Isa TKM.  “It’s really interesting work because you have to understand everything about human nature, both in its bright side and its dark side.”

de Faría—who was recently nominated for a Kid’s Choice Awards (Mexico) award for Favorite Villain for playing the evil witch Mia in the popular Nickelodeon teen series Grachi—couldn’t be more excited about her big screen debut.

“I never did movies, and this has been a wonderful chance with two great actors. I’m so excited!” said the Caracas native who began her career at the age of 5 in television commercials and telenovelas like Ser Bonita No Basta and the children’s series Tukiti, Creci de Una.

But de Faría isn’t solely concentrating on acting… She’s hoping to continue recording and performing music, especially with the success of her Isa TKM-related sold-out live tour and two #1 albums.

“Right now I’m working on my album, but I can’t say much about it yet in the way of details. I can only say that my disc will be very youthful and very much like me,” said de Faría, who admits to being a huge Pink and Beyonce fan.

No word yet on when El Paseo 2 will hit theaters.