INTERVIEW: Sofia Reyes On Coming To the US To Pursue Music, Working With Prince Royce & More | Artist Stories

When she was just 17 years old, Sofia Reyes left her home in Monterrey, Mexico to pursue a career in music. Four years later, and the Mexican pop artist has released several Latin singles, including a collaboration with Prince Royce, a few English songs, and was even featured on a track from EDM trio Cash Cash's new album. Sofia recently shared her story with iHeartRadio through our Artist Stories series, where we got a first-hand look at her musical journey.

For Sofia, music has always been a big part of her life, and her parents have supported that from when she was a little girl. From listening to her grandmother play classical music on the piano, to singing along to songs in the car, to taking piano lessons at six years old, and making music with her father who is a former musician -- all of this helped her realize that music was what she wanted to do with her life. So, when the opportunity presented itself to go to Los Angeles with her managers, she took it. "I was a little scared, [I'm] not gonna lie, because I was 17. But if you don't take opportunities in life, maybe they won't come. So I was like, 'OK, this is my opportunity, I'm gonna do this, I'm going to LA."

On moving from Mexico to the United States to pursue music

"I was very scared, because moving from one country to another, it's just a big, big deal. I had Charlie and Paloma, who are my managers and my team. They've been with me all my life, and they've supported me from the beginning. My parents have always pushed me to move forward and succeed. But, what I needed to move to Los Angeles, what I knew, were my dreams. And this opportunity I had at the moment, I might not ever have again."

She adds, "It was very difficult to leave my brothers and my family because we are very close." 

After she got to Los Angeles, Sofia was a little intimidated. "This city is very intimidating. Everyone is very talented." But after meeting several producers, she began working on her own music, while also posting covers of songs in English and Spanish to YouTube. She covered songs from artists like One Direction and Miley Cyrus. In fact, the first cover she ever shared was "What Makes You Beautiful." 

On meeting & collaborating with Prince Royce

In 2013, Sofia released two singles called "Now Forever" and "So Beautiful," the latter of which was nominated for an MTV award in Mexico, which is how she met Prince Royce. "He loved my music, and he loved my project. He was so surprised." She adds, "We got in the studio, we wrote a couple of songs. Some of the songs are gonna be on my album."

And Prince Royce says of Sofia, "She really wants to learn about music, she really wants to become better, she really wants to do music. I think that when someone just wants to do music, I respect that."