Why Juanes Never Does English Crusader Song: 'I Don't Think It's Necessary' (Exclusive)
Times of discover News: The 52-year-old Colombian musician told the crowd at the Toronto International Film Festival — where he had the world premiere of his upcoming film Pimpinero: Blood & Oil — that he doesn't think it's "necessary" to make music in English.
Juan, who was born Juan Esteban Aristizabal Vasquez, said, "My English isn't perfect. When you start singing in another language, it's really hard, you know? Because you have to be very careful with the pronunciation of the words. You're thinking. It's got to be 'too much' and you lose the soul."
The Grammy winner says he admires English-language music, but he doesn't have any desire to make it.
He told People, "I've been making music for years, but now, I don't feel the need to sing in English. I feel a connection to my language — I still think in Spanish and dream in Spanish."
Ivy Onodera/Red Ferns
Juan's new film, which stars Laura Osma, Alejandro Spitzer and Alberto Guerra, had its world premiere at the festival on Monday, September 9. The film, which will premiere on Prime Video later this year, is directed by Narcos director Andres Baez and follows three brothers as they "descend into intrigue, corruption and moral turmoil in a world of organized crime."
"I really like it...it's very different from my normal life," he said. "But also, for me, acting is a little way to make art. And when I was a kid, I acted with my family. My brother used to have a 16mm camera and he would watch TV at home. It got used to doing things like that."
Earlier this summer, he reflected on the tour experience with an Instagram post that included video and photo highlights from the show.
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Juanes is currently on the Daily Life World Tour in support of his 2023 album and has already visited San Bernardino, Paraguay; Santiago, Chile; St. Louis, Mo.; and has stops coming up in Los Angeles.
"We can't stop thinking about how much we enjoyed this leg of the Tour de Europe. Thank you for your love and the opportunity to sing for everyone," the post caption read.