Sebastián Yatra

Sebastián Obando Giraldo (born 15 October 1994), known professionally as Sebastián Yatra, is a Colombian singer.

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.

After graduating from the Sagemont Preparatory School in Weston, Florida in 2012, Yatra attended Babson College to study business administration.

However, Yatra dropped out of school to focus on music and at age 20, Yatra returned to Colombia to begin his musical career.

In September 2013, Yatra had his first minor hit single, "El psicólogo", which charted in his home country Colombia, as well as Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico and the United States.

"El Psicólogo", a pop ballad with reggae influences was recorded in the United States, and produced by well-known Latin producers Yhonny Atella and Ender Thomas, mastered by Tom Coynequien and music video shot by Colombian director Simón Brand.

Yatra toured with Paty Cantú in her Drama Queen Tour and with Sandoval Sandoval in her Deja Que La Vida Te Sorprenda Tour gaining more fame.

His follow-up single "Todo Lo Que Siento" was mildly successful, but the ensuing "Para olvidar" became a big hit in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and yet again in the States.

2015 saw launching of two successful singles, "No me llames" featuring Alkilados and "Cómo Mirarte", a repeat hit first as solo and again in a collaboration featuring Kenai and remixed by producers like Kevin ADG, Chan El Genio and Dandee.

Yatra first received international success with the single "Traicionera" a Reggaeton, trap and EDM-influenced hit that solidified his status as a favorite international artist in Latin America, in the Latin market in the States also charting in Spain and finding success all over Europe.

The single was classified double platinum in Colombia and platinum in Ecuador.

It peaked at number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Yatra's collaboration with Colombian vallenato singer Carlos Vives entitled "Robarte Un Beso" won an ASCAP award.

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.

The single's accompanying music video, directed by Venezuelan filmmaker Daniel Duran and released on 28 July 2017, features four love stories that all center around partners serenading each other.

"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 Fantasía 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".

Born in Medellín, Yatra lived briefly in Cartagena before moving with his mother to Miami, Florida at age five.

At the same time, his father stayed in Colombia to work in real estate.

Discussing the experience, Yatra explained, "It was a big sacrifice. Since my dad stayed working in Colombia, [my parents] had a long-distance relationship for like 12 years."

He studied piano, guitar, and vocal technique, and was an avid soccer player before deciding to concentrate on his music, although he continues to practice soccer as a hobby.

The first concert he attended was that of Colombian pop singer Juanes.

He decided to become a singer at age twelve after landing the role of Troy Bolton in his school production of High School Musical.

In high school, Yatra played the position of the central defensive midfielder on his school's soccer team and often wore a scarf over his mouth during practice to protect his voice.

He practiced performing for his teammates on the bus to and from games, performing songs by his favorite artists as well as his own original songs.

He attended vocal lessons every day after school.

Yatra released the album Mantra on 18 May 2018.

On the album's title, he explained, "My mantra are my songs. It takes you to that good energy with whatever you're listening to. All these songs have these positive vibes, especially in the lyrics. They're just sharing love."

In 2018, Yatra voiced the character Migo in the Spanish language version of the computer-animated film Smallfoot.

He released the single "Sutra" featuring Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Dalmata in March 2018, which also peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs.

In December 2018, Yatra's single "Ya No Tiene Novio" featuring Mau y Ricky reached number one on the Billboard Latin Airplay chart.

To promote the song, Yatra and Mau y Ricky publicized a "feud" between them to create attention around the track, with Yatra explaining, "It's pretty crazy because the song blew up before it even came out. Instead of telling people it was awesome, we told everyone that the collaboration sucked and having everyone say, 'Dude you guys messed up the song so bad.'" Artists Maluma, Zion Y Lennox, and J Balvin publicly commented on the "rivalry".

The music video features a playful nod at the artificial feud, with the artists competing over love interests.

In January 2019, Sebastián Yatra and Reik launched a collaborative work titled "Un Año" (one year).

The single was well-received by many Venezuelan migrants who identify the song lyrics with separations from families.