Christian Nodal Goes International as Playboy New Zealand’s Cover Star

Regional Mexican singer Christian Nodal posed for the Playboy New Zealand magazine. The images feature him fully clothed and getting handsy with Mexican-American model Natalie Lopez, a curvy blonde in stiletto nails, in a series of close-up shots. 

He unveiled the cover and six additional still photos from the shoot on his various social media accounts on Tuesday, May 10, with nothing more than five emojis—one of which was the Mexican flag.

“The 23year-old classic regional singer from Mexico who is breaking down every barrier from this cover on Playboy to his music, gives us a glimpse into who he is behind closed doors,” the official Playboy New Zealand account captioned their Instagram post.

Playboy Mexico even gave its own cheeky homage to its hometown bachelor.

The singer opens the interview with the iconic magazine by talking about his hometown of Caborca, Sonora, México. He says that anyone who knows that part of Mexico knows they have “great food and beautiful music, beautiful women, and beautiful views.”

He then describes his creative process, saying he began writing songs at the age of 12 or 13. He finds inspiration in the love stories of people around him, as well as from his own personal experiences. He also uses movies as another source of inspiration from which to create. “I’m still learning because I’m young and I’m living my life,” he says in the May issue. “I’m trying to do the best I can.”

This news comes three months after Nodal and Mexican superstar Belinda announced they had broken off their engagement. The pair issued their own statements, with Nodal saying the couple “we’re taking the best of the other” and requesting privacy. He finished his statement by saying he would not be answering questions about the relationship in the future. 

More recently, the singer caused some waves on social media after casually saying during a Twitch stream that he’d like to work with K-pop girl groups MOMOLAND and BLACKPINK. In a statement to Remezcla, MOMOLAND’s reps said the group was “exploring the idea to collaborate on a new song.”