Raquel Sofía

Raquel Sofía stands out as a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter and recording artist whose reedy alto moves fluidly across eras and genres, reinterpreting vintage Latin doo wop and soul while incorporating roots rock, blues, jazz, Mexican regional, salsa, cumbia, and Latin pop. She performs in Spanish, English, and Portuguese. After years of road work as a backing vocalist alongside Juanes, Shakira, Jean Carlos Canela, and Prince Royce, a Target commercial campaign brought her a 2014 contract with Sony Music Latin and the opportunity to record her first official EP—an acclaimed NPR Tiny Desk Concert. The debut full-length Te Quiero Los Domingos and its companion EP Te Odio los Sábados arrived the next year; the album led the Latin streaming charts and secured her a Best New Artist nomination at the Latin Grammys, where she also took the stage. That same year Vevo chose her as the inaugural Latin participant in its Lift development program. Her 2018 release 2:00 AM produced three charting singles and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album.

Born and raised in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Sofía took up guitar and began composing and performing her own material while still a teenager. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in studio music and jazz from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. Her first major professional break came in 2012 when she sang backing vocals on Juanes’ Grammy-winning MTV Unplugged set. Refining her melodic Latin acoustic approach, she continued as a backing singer on 2013 tours with both Shakira and Prince Royce; her cover of Illya Kuryaki & the Valderramas’ “Ula Ula” became Target’s summer campaign track. The same year she contributed songs to an Ednita Nazario project and to Juanes, and she issued the single “No Me Importas.” In 2014 she signed simultaneously with Sony Music Latin and Warner/Chappell Latin, releasing the streaming-chart-topping Te Quiero Los Domingos and the Te Odio los Sábados EP. She also wrote and recorded material for the official HBO Game of Thrones Mixtape. Two years later she appeared as guest vocalist on a pair of tracks by the American supergroup Levee Walkers, whose lineup includes members of Pearl Jam, Guns N’ Roses, and Screaming Trees. Four charting singles followed: the salsa number “Rie y Llora,” the pop Caribbean cumbia ballad “Que Precio Tiene el Cielo,” the jazz-cumbia-mariachi fusion “Con Tu Nombre,” and the modern banda track “No Me Queda Mas.”

July 2017 brought the release of “Sonrisa Vertical” as the first taste of her sophomore album; August saw the doo-wop- and R&B-inflected single “La Persona Que No Eres,” followed in October by the nostalgic ballad “Déjalo Go.” November delivered the single and video for “Tengo Historia,” while Sofía toured and made a bilingual appearance on D-Rashid’s Latin Village 2017 anthem “Donde Vas,” which also featured Deadly Zoo. In 2018 she relocated to Mexico at the moment Sony issued 2:00 AM, her second album; it again topped Latin streaming charts and registered at radio and clubs across North and South America as well as Europe. August found her featured on Internacional Carro Show’s “Amor de Unas Horas,” and in December her rock & roll cut “Espiritu Libre” appeared on the Más de un Siglo compilation alongside selections by Bad Bunny, Prince Royce, and Charlie Aponte. Early the following year the album’s commercial and critical reception translated into a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album.