Kali Uchis is experiencing one of her most creatively prolific moments. For the first time, the GRAMMY-winning singer delights her fans with two long-play projects in less than a year: Red Moon in Venus and Orquídeas, the latter out Jan. 12.
Described by Uchis as her most energetic body of work, Orquídeas is her second Spanish language record and a showcase of Uchis' vocal and musical growth. While Uchis' recent releases typically contrast her soothing vocals with hypnotic, mid-tempo R&B and hip-hop instrumentals, her fourth studio album exists in a distinctly different musical environment.
The 14-track, dance-centric album incorporates a breadth of Latin rhythms with a global influence: Dembow, salsa, hard-hitting merengue, reggaetón, Cuban son, and Latin soul appear alongside alternative, house, and even bolero. Orquídeas' first two tracks, "Como así" and "Me Pongo Loca," set the tone for Uchis diving into house beats. On "Igual Que Un Angel," Uchis pulls Peso Pluma away from his corridos tumbados and into her dance world.
"I feel like others see Latin music or Latin artists as just one thing. That's why I need to demonstrate all the different genres of Latin music," Uchis tells GRAMMY.com. "As an artist, it's always important to push myself to do new things and try different genres. Being bicultural has always been part of my life."
Expanding the bounds of her creativity has long been part of Uchis' vocabulary. Since releasing her first mixtape, 2012's Drunken Babble, Uchis' career and sound have been characterized by taking chances. Even before she dreamed of being a singer, the artist born Karly-Marina Loaiza defied expectations and dared to be the first in her family to pursue music. The Colombian American singer lived in her car and moved from Virginia to Los Angeles alone, all the while remaining fearless in the dogged pursuit of her dream.
Uchis says following her instinct has long been a vital part of her success. Uchis defended her creative decisions on her first Spanish-language album, 2020's Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otro Demonios), which her record label at the time thought risky. In fact, the most played single from the album, "Telepatía," was on the verge of not being part of the album after the label suggested production changes to make it more radio friendly.
"I’d rather not go to radio than change my song," she told the New York Times. The single came out as she had imagined; her vision translated into billions of views, driven by virality achieved on TikTok.
The risk-taking didn't stop on Orquídeas, which sees Uchis exploring dance music and a wider variety of Latin music. The singer tells GRAMMY.com that "Labios Mordidos," the album's third single and a duet with Karol G, was one of Orquídeas' biggest risks.
"I had a reggaetón/perreo song on Isolation, but it didn't do well; it's called 'Nuestro Planeta.' [Doing 'Labios Mordidos'] was definitely a risk; I mean, the whole album is really a risk because it's not one genre; it's a mix of so many different things, and it's not what people are used to hearing from me," she adds.
Released on Nov. 24, "Labios Mordidos" debuted at No. 75 on Spotify's Global Top Songs charts. Since, it has accumulated over 54 million streams on Spotify and YouTube combined.
Orquídeas also represents Uchis' growth in songwriting; the singer says her storytelling abilities flourished on this album. She also gets incredibly vulnerable: On the melancholic bolero "Te Mata," Uchis mined her childhood experiences of survival and being kicked out of the house as a teenager.
"I had to get even tougher skin. I had to learn to put myself and my happiness first. It meant a lot for me to write, and I hope it helps anyone else going [through] it find some self-power or some peace," she said in a TikTok video.
"I love boleros," Uchis says of "Te Mata." "Romantic music, in general, has always fascinated me, as it can feel so timeless. It was a great opportunity to explore this genre and showcase my ability to tell stories in different ways."
Uchis honed her intuition writing alone, creating the entirety of her first EP in her bedroom. Solitude was her best ally in the creative process, she reflects. "[By working alone] I get a lot of my essence in music, which I feel is what people can really take away from it. That's why people listen to [my music]," says Uchis.
For Sin Miedo, Uchis worked with a group of composers who helped her clear up Spanish verbiage doubts and grammatical issues. "I didn't feel completely confident about my writing yet to make fully Spanish songs; that's why I write so much bilingual," Uchis explains.
While Uchis thought the experience cool, she has since moved on. When it came to writing Orquídeas, "I feel like I didn't need the help; I was using [the process] to better myself, improve my writing, and be open to learning more about different writing processes. I felt ready.
Just a few months after releasing Sin Miedo in 2021, Uchis embarked on the production of Red Moon in Venus and Orquídeas. For some, carrying out two productions in parallel — creating two different concepts while writing songs in two languages — may seem challenging. For Uchis, it was the perfect setting to expand her creativity.
"It's really easy to work that way because I feel like I have so much creativity that I need to express all the time. It's a little difficult for me to commit to just one sound, project, and language at this stage of my life," Uchis reflects.
Red Moon and Orquídeas are polar opposites, Uchis explains. In her 2023 album, she explores her "higher self, speaking [more] from a place of love; everything is about love. [Orquídeas] is like my bitchier side," the singer told the Brazilian YouTube channel Foquinha.
The freedom to express oneself, challenge genres, and forge a unique career path is a virtue Uchis has maintained throughout her productions and collaborations. She has never allowed the pressure to be mainstream to influence how she approaches her art.
"I've always had the freedom to do what I want. I don't do music [for the numbers]; I never feel pressure," she says. "I do this because it's my creative outlet. Whether I get more mainstream or more success, those are nice things. I'm proud of my accomplishments, but I don't think life should revolve around [the idea] of trying to be the most accomplished, the most successful."
Although Uchis does not lose any sleep over topping popular charts, her albums have done just that. With Isolation, she broke into the Billboard 200 chart, and Sin Miedo led Billboard's Latin Pop chart. In 2021, Uchis won her first GRAMMY for "10%" in the Best Dance Recording category, collaborating with KAYTRANADA.
Released in March 2023, Red Moon in Venus placed fifth on the Billboard 200 chart and was named by TIME magazine as 2023’s album of the year. To add to her success, the Colombian American singer finished the year as one of the most listened-to Latin female artists on Spotify, a distinction she shares with Karol G, Shakira, Rosalía, and Ana Castela.
2024 promises to be equally successful for Kali Uchis; the singer told GRAMMY.com that Orquídeas will be one of two albums she will release this year. That record will be a return to form, Uchis promises. (And she just revealed that she is pregnant, in her music video for “Tu Corazón Es Mío” and “Diosa.”)
"I have another project coming this year, completely different from Orquídeas. I did the whole thing in my house, alone, and never sat in a room with anybody. It's nice to go back to my roots," she says.
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