Lauren Jauregui spoke with Billboard’s Chelsea Briggs and Lele Pons on the red carpet at Billboard’s Women in Music event on Thursday (Dec. 12), discussing her admiration for Rosalía, what fans can expect from her debut album, and how Alicia Keys has influenced her music.
“I think she’s such an incredible force,” Jauregui says of Rosalía, whom she presented with the Rising Star award. “Her voice is just so spectacular. Her content, the way she applies herself to her music, how involved she is in her music, I think it’s just sending waves of just inspiration for all of us to just up our game and be even more involved in our shit and really be present in our storytelling.”
When asked if there’s any chance the pair might have any collaborations in the works, Jauregui replies that she would be honored to work with her, adding that it would have to happen organically. “That’s the only way,” she says. “I like for collaborations to happen really organically and just because we both admire each other, respect each other’s work, so I firmly believe that that could be a possibility, but we’ll see.”
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As for what fans can expect from her debut album, Jauregui promises, “I’m gonna be coming in 2020 for sure.”
She’s been working on solidifying everything and getting some creative for videos done, and says there will be “a lot of surprises” at the top of the year. “I’m really grateful for the entire experience,” she adds. “Honestly, I’m so grateful to have been able to dive into my process and really get what I want out.”
Jauregui has learned a lot about herself during the album creation process, too. “I’ve been in such an introspective zone and just really peeling back layers of me and diving into me and really loving her as hard as possible,” she adds. “And then that process of self-love and really finding that and really honoring that and practicing that. It’s one thing to talk about, it’s a whole ‘nother thing to act it and to practice it every day so this has been that. This writing process has been that for me. It’s really getting to know myself and love myself.”
The “Expectations” singer’s career first started with a rendition of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You” — her audition song for The X-Factor in 2012. With Keys also in attendance to receive the Impact Award, Jauregui couldn’t help gushing over the superstar.
“Alicia and I have had beautiful interactions so far in my career and I’m so grateful for them,” Jauregui says. “We haven’t sat down and had that full-on conversation I know we’re gonna have one day, but the way that we’ve just flowed in and out of each other’s lives so far throughout my process, I think, has been super influential for me.”
Jauregui recalled a studio session where she got to see Keys’ process, which she says “helped open up a brand new wave of songwriting” for her. “It’s so full-circle, and I can’t wait until the full full-circle when we get into a studio together.”
