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It’s rare for musicians to release double albums these days because it’s 2020 and let’s be honest, the world wants a quick fix. Still, there are artists today that dream and dare to create a piece of work that demands more than five minutes of our attention. Enter Prince Royce , the Bachata king who danced his way to our hearts ten years ago and his been making us swoon ever since. The 30-year-old singer just dropped his first ever double album Alter Ego with two discs—Génesis and Enigma—that showcase two sides him. “With every album, I like to do concept albums,” Prince Royce explains to HOLA! USA. “This concept was two sides of Prince Royce, two sides of romance.” It’s also packing with collaborations. Music’s finest like Marc Anthony and Maluma make appearances in Alter Ego.
The project, which took two years to make, will please old and new fans of the singer. He returns to his Bachata roots in the first disc. “People who have been following my career since the beginning are going to like it because it reminds me a lot of my first album,” the singer explains. As for the second disc, expect new and Spanglish sounds from Prince Royce that are a result from a fusion of genres. Think R&B Spanish mixed with a hint of Rap and Pop.
Keep reading to learn how the album cover art came together, what Prince Royce thought of JLo and Shakira’s Super Bowl halftime performance , and what his alter ego likes to do on the weekends...
HOLA! USA: Why did you want to make Alter Ego a double album? Prince Royce: “The concept with this was to experiment with two sides of romance. I feel like everyone has a few personalities, depending on where you’re at. Like work, school, with your girlfriend, your friends, your parents, so we all have different versions of ourselves. Recently, a lot of artists have put out a lot of singles for the radio, so I think with this album, I had an opportunity to not have everything be so commercial and so radio-driven. I got a lot of material so fans can hear me in different colors.”
H!: Do you have an alter ego? PR: “I definitely do. Everyone has like three sides—the public life, the private life and the secret life. Especially with social media and Instagram right now, we basically put out what we want people to see, so a lot of it could be fake. We get caught up in this whole social media thing and what people are portraying and we start to compare ourselves. That’s kind of what this album is too—it’s two versions of me, but also me against myself. It’s focusing on myself—on my weaknesses and my strengths.
H!: What does the other side of you like to do? PR: “When I’m not on TV, when I’m not singing and I’m just doing regular stuff, I like pulling up to bars, I like bowling. I don’t have my hair up at all times 24/7. I’m very relaxed, so I think I’m definitely a whole other person than I am on TV and that doesn’t mean that I’m fake.”
H!: Can we expect any collaborations? PR: “I got songs with Marc Anthony. I got a song with Maluma ‘El Clavo,’ and I got a song with Wisin y Yandel on there, which I’m really excited about because when I first started I was 16 and I imitated Yandel from Wisin y Yandel with one of my boys. So I started out imitating them and now I’m working with them. I was with them just last week and I was thinking, ‘Damn, that’s crazy.’ It just shows to me and the fans that life can be just a crazy ride.”
H!: The cover art for the album is inspired by Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man—why did you choose it? PR: “So I was in Italy—we had done a few shows out there and I went to the Leonardo Da Vinci museum. We were there, we were seeing all the pieces and obviously the Vitruvian man is iconic and as I read more on it, I was like ‘Damn, this goes with the Alter Ego concept.’ The fact that he drew himself and he was studying the body and the idea of two parts and two people. I think it also represents not just the duality of it, but also the raw, bare essence. Just me in the photo without the fancy, expensive outfit. It kind of just shows me as me. I think the whole concept with this album was just to be a little more artistic, a little bit more different. A little more out of the box and just try to challenge myself when it comes to being creative.”
H!: Switching gears now—what did you think of JLo and Shakira’s Latinx-centric Super Bowl performance? PR: “I loved JLo and Shakira at the Superbowl. It’s been a pleasure to work with and learn from them. They’re so different and I think we saw that at the Super Bowl. Shakira bringing her Colombian and Arab vibes and then we saw JLo bringing her dancer vibe, the pole stuff and showing New York and the Bronx. And also seeing Balvin and Bad Bunny come out. I’ve worked with all four of them, so for me, it was a proud moment just as a friend and a colleague. But as a Latino, to see that they represented us and our culture, was great. I’ve been seeing the Latinx genre grow over the last ten years since I started. To see that we’re growing so much and being successful in a time where it’s been a little weird in the U.S., is powerful. I think their performance was a big statement.”
H!: And do you have any Valentine’s Day plans? PR: “Unfortunately and fortunately, I’ll be in New York with the fans, so I won’t be chilling for Valentine’s Day. But whether it’s the 14th or the weekend after the 14th, I think it’s just important to find time with that loved one. Tell them you care because we’ve seen a lot of weird stuff lately. Even with Kobe Bryant—it’s so hard to live and so easy to die, so it’s important to just have fun and spend time with the people you love.”
Alter Ego is now available.