Over the course of 25 years, Belinda has proven that she is a global star that can do it all. The Spanish Mexican singer and actress has scored hits across genres – from pop and rock, to cumbia, and reggaeton — while becoming an enduring presence on both small and big screens.

While recent years have seen Belinda turn her focus to acting, her first album in over a decade demonstrates that she has never left music behind. On Indómita, Belinda taps into the power of corridos to overcome a turbulent period in her life. As a result, she's positioning herself as a leading lady in the male-dominated genre.

"An indómita woman is a woman warrior," she tells GRAMMY.com. "I get stronger with each album that I do. This is an era of my career that's very creative. It's very passionate. At the same time, it's vulnerable because I'm putting myself into my arts and my songs, which are very personal."

Belinda first captured the public eye as an actress in children's telenovelas such as 2002's Cómplices Al Rescate. A year later, she channeled her teenage angst into a self-titled album and followed up with 2006's Utopía, which received two Latin GRAMMY nominations. In the intervening years as Belinda navigated her evolution from child star into Latin popstar, she weathered her fair share of media scrutiny. She remained tightlipped about a high-profile breakup in 2022, despite the press hounding her.

Now, she is speaking through her music and the message is clear: Belinda is indomitable. 

On the fiery "Cactus," Belinda sings about finding healing through music while taking shots at her ex. She fuses corridos with trap, clapping back at her haters on "La Mala" and finds an ally in Jared Leto in "Never Not Love You," which blends the sound of 30 Seconds to Mars with música Mexicana. Belinda also dabbles in dembow with Tokischa on the alluring "Wet Dreams" and house music in the sultry "Jackpot" featuring Kenia Os. She reclaims an expletive in English and Spanish as well in the reggaeton romp "+ Perra + Bitch" featuring Netón Vega. Belinda will take all these songs on the road on her highly anticipated Indómita Tour next year. 

Below, in her own words, Belinda breaks down some of the biggest inspirations behind Indómita — from innovative musicians to the queer community.

The following has been edited for clarity.

Powerful Women In History

My inspirations are women who have left a mark on history in our culture, in our art, and in life in general like Joan of Arc, Frida Kahlo, and Jane Austen. Those women were indómita because they had very masculine personalities deep down and they never gave up. They were creating art and doing things to change the world and to change the ideology of machismo (toxic masculinity). 

I’m in a series that I'm going to start shooting next year called "Carlota." She was the last empress of Mexico. She was also an indómita woman. I'm representing women that have strong personalities and that are challenges for me in terms of music and acting. 

Healing And Reclaiming Her Narrative

Healing starts from within. Every day, you have the opportunity to heal from a negative thought or a negative action. 

For me, it's been a great form of therapy to be in the studio and write because that healed a lot of my wounds. That saved me. Sometimes I would be stuck in a negative circle. I would be sad and ask myself, My God, why did this person break me down so much? Why did I let myself get carried away? Why did I do this? Music heals you and makes you feel good. Each one of these songs closes a wound from important moments in my life. I'm much more calm and at peace thanks to music. 

It was very important for me to have the power to say, "I am who you say I am and I don't care anymore." You can say what you want about me, because now I have an anthem I lean on called "La Mala." It's not only for me, but for everyone that's felt judged, mistreated, or bullied. I believe it's incredible to have a song that lets you laugh about the people that tried to hurt you. If someone tells me something, I think about this song and I don’t allow any negative energy to invade my peace. 

Anytime someone tells you something bad or negative, think to yourself, I'm an indómita person. I'm strong. I'm a rebel. I'm romantic, but not stupid. I'm a warrior of life and no one can knock me down. No one can destroy me. It's a mantra. Anytime you fall down, you can get back up because you're indómita. 

Making Space For More Women In Corridos

I love corridos tumbados. In this new chapter, they're very important for me. It's a genre that's always been full of men. Now it's becoming something else. With my album, I'm making it so corridos tumbados aren't as aggressive without losing that cool and badass edge. 

I like making corridos because this is opening doors for new female artists to enter this genre. I'm sure that after this album comes out, we'll see more women in música Mexicana and corridos tumbados.

Learn more: The Women of Música Mexicana: GRAMMY Nominees Talk Inspiration, Genre Representation & Making History

I loved collaborating with Natanael Cano, Tito Double P and Xavi [on Indómita] because they haven’t really really collaborated with women. I feel like that will create more opportunities for women, so that it’s not just a man’s world. There’s women out there that want to sing corridos and that like this genre.

Friendship & Female Camaraderie

Jared Leto and I have been friends for a long time. We try not to count the years of our friendship because for us, it’s like, Oh my God, so many years have gone by. He's an artist that I admire so much. 

He [trusted] me to modify ["Never Not Love You"] and make all the changes that we did. I believe he's very picky with everything that he does and that's why we get along so well. The fact that he trusted me is something that I’ll never forget. He's obsessive like me when it comes to music; he loves for everything to be perfect. We took literally weeks trying to define how the sound was going to be for this song.  

[Leto is] one of the most important artists we've had in the last few years. He's an Oscar winner. He's a multifaceted artist: He has his band; he plays the guitar; he writes his songs and he also writes for his movies. Those kinds of artists don't exist today. He's one of the few left with that kind of brilliant mind. For me, it's an honor and 30 Seconds to Mars have been one of my favorite bands.  

I love that there's as many collaborations with women as they are men on this album. I wanted nothing more than for Kenia Os to be on this album. With Mala Rodríguez, we have this beautiful song that’s much more pop called "Van Gogh." Our voices blend together very beautifully in that song. The lyrics are very melancholic, but at the same time, the song has rhythm and energy.

Her Telenovela Character 

Silvana [from "Cómplices Al Rescate"] has been one of my favorite characters that I've ever played. If she existed, she would be like a best friend, even though she would not treat me well. [Laughs.] She's iconic to me. I find her multitudes to be incredible. She's very much a diva. She's very pop. She's also very much a rock star. 

If you get to know her on a deeper level, you’ll find that she has a very good heart. If she existed today, she would have a song like I do called "Silvana" and she would say exactly what I’m saying in that song. It’s going to be a big surprise for my fans. 

Animation & Anime

"Rayo McQueen" [the Spanish name of the character Lighting McQueen from Cars] with Alemán is a very special song. He's one of my favorite rappers. He's Mexican. He's a unique rapper. His way of rapping, speaking, and singing in his own style is very impressive. 

I really like anime. The kind that I like is a bit dark. My favorite anime is "Death Note"; it was important to me to have a song ["Death Note"] that references an anime that I love. That song is going to be another big surprise. It's one of my favorites.

Her LGBTQ+ Fans

I'm going to put this album out during Pride Month. I love it! I wanted everything to align this way. My fans in the LGBTQ+ community are very important to me. I want them to feel that there's music for them that they like. I like to diversify my music for my fans, who are all different. 

There’s definitely a few songs I made especially with my LGBTQ+ fans in mind that they're going to love. "Wet Dreams" is a very sexy song. I love Tokischa! That song is an anthem for my LGBTQ+ fans, which I'm so excited about. "+ Perra + Bitch" with Netón Vega is a very special reggaeton song.