Sebastian Yatra

Sebastián Obando Giraldo (born 15 October 1994), known professionally as Sebastián Yatra, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. He began as a Latin pop artist and has recorded many ballads, but has released several successful reggaeton singles. Yatra is noted for his romantic lyrics, melding traditional lyricism with modern reggaeton influences. He rose to prominence in Latin America in 2016 when he released the hit "Traicionera". He has released three studio albums and recorded with artists from a diverse range of musical genres throughout his career.

Born in Medellín and raised primarily in Miami, Yatra began singing at a young age and returned to Colombia to begin his musical career. He achieved breakout success with "Traicionera" followed by "Robarte un Beso" featuring Carlos Vives. "Traicionera" served as the lead single for his 2018 debut album, Mantra, which also featured the single "Sutra", featuring Puerto Rican rapper Dalmata. He then released the album Fantasia including the lead single "Un Año" featuring Mexican band Reik. He received continued success collaborating with Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, and the Jonas Brothers on the bilingual single "Runaway".

Yatra's music has been classified as Latin pop, reggaeton, and ballads. According to The Fader, Yatras music lands "somewhere in between the olden times’ sappy romantics and the new wave’s sensuous vibras."He is influenced by Latin pop and reggaeton artists Ricky Martin, J Balvin, Juanes, and Reik. In an interview with Billboard, he expressed a desire to collaborate with Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli. Yatra believes that contemporary musicians commit an "error in associating ballads with boring and slow and old", and hopes to rejuvenate intererest in ballads for a younger audience.However, his music contains elements of other genres; Desire Thompson of Vibe described his song "Traicionera" as a "trap-EDM blend".

Despite growing up in Florida and being fluent in English, Yatra sings almost exclusively in Spanish. Yatra explains, “My goal was always to be a singer in Spanish. And I really wanted to understand where I come from and live it. A lot of times I went to Colombia and, even though I spoke Spanish and was always speaking Spanish with my parents, I still felt like an outsider. I wasn’t 100 percent part of it. I wanted to give my roots the importance they deserve. ”His June 2019 song "Runaway" was his first foray into bilingual songwriting. In December 2019, he collaborated with South Korean boy group Monsta X for the song "Magnetic", which features verses from Yatra in Spanish and a bridge from Monsta X in Spanglish. Sara Delgado of Teen Vogue called the song a "truly international pop hit".