
Sebastián Yatra Breaks Down Five Tracks on His ‘Miracle’ Album and Its Journey Through Life’s Perspectives
Sebastián Yatra’s new album, Milagro, is a perfect example of how the simple things in life can be a gift, and a reminder that every moment we experience is unique, almost a miracle.
Over the past few months, the Colombian singer-songwriter hinted at his highly anticipated new album, which was released on Friday (May 16) under Universal Music Latino. Through a series of images, videos and personal reflections on the “miracles” that inspired this project, Yatra has gradually unveiled the essence of his fourth studio album.
Each song represents a unique everyday miracle that shifts our perspective of the world: “Energía Bacana” reflects on memories; “2 AM” symbolizes freedom; “Vagabundo” embodies dance; “Lienzo” stands for imagination; “Una Noche Sin Pensar” captures complicity; and “Disco Rayado” tells the story of a heart unwilling to let go of a bond the other person has already left behind.
With this album, he aims to tell deep, meaningful stories and forge a genuine connection with his listeners through 17 songs, each representing a miracle. “I’ve experienced this emotion in my other albums as well, as they express where I am in my life at that moment,” Yatra tells Billboard. “However, right now, this emotion feels particularly strong. In my previous albums, I was a person searching for many things, like happiness, which seemed like a distant goal. Today, I feel that I have discovered everything I could ask for in life, and I found that perspective at quite a young age.”
The name for the LP was inspired by a phrase written by Yatra’s brother, the writer Andrés Obando Giraldo: “Life denies you miracles until you realize that everything is a miracle.” Yatra saw this as a sign that reinforced the name he had in mind for his album.
He explains, “I found this definition of a miracle to be different from what I had encountered before. It suggests that a miracle can be something as simple as seeing things from a different perspective.
“My nature, the first things that always come to me are very heartfelt things; that’s what I listen to the most,” he adds. “But that doesn’t mean that just because it’s what I listen to the most, I don’t enjoy partying and also like to organize and create songs for those moments, for that type of sensation. Milagro mostly leans more towards that celestial experience, from the ballads and lyrics to those melodies that give you hope. But there are also some songs like ‘Vagabundo,’ which is pure party and happiness.”
Below, Yatra breaks down five essential tracks from Milagro. Listen to the full album here.
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“Milagro”
In this song’s video, you’ll see a child playing the piano and it is like all the music that he has in his head. It’s a very special song because the piano that you hear gives the album its sound and identity. I played on the piano first and later it was recorded very well by Ben Alerhand, who is an incredible musician and with whom I do a lot of music. It felt like I was contributing to the production of the songs on the LP and to bring my mind into that part of the creation, not just in composing the melody and the lyrics.
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“Mi Puerto”
This song is super special. I wrote it during very specific moments, not for people to listen to, but to send to someone on WhatsApp. Really, simply because it was something you felt in the deepest part of yourself. In fact, I already had an initial idea for the song, I already had the melodies and some parts of the lyrics, and I finished writing it with Spreadlove via video call, because we weren’t in the same place at that moment, and we connected for like three or four days in a row.
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“Templo de Piceas”
This collaboration with Humbe means a lot in this album. He is one of the most talented people I have had the opportunity to meet, and he is a super sensitive soul. We have truly become very good friends. We connect a lot, and writing this song together was also like a journey, and it was like a miracle to find each other. We have very different writing styles and musical tastes — even though we both love pop, you listen to our music and it goes in quite different directions, each having its own magic.
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“La Pelirroja”
I wrote this song in my home studio. It was my first time writing with Jorge Villamizar (Bacilos), whom I had always considered a genius and admired a lot. It is a very Colombian song because everyone involved in the creation of the song is Colombian. Casta, the producer, was also here; he played keyboards with me at some point during my shows when we both were starting out in Bogotá. Julián Bernal is also in the song. He lives in Mexico but he’s a Colombian singer-songwriter from Bogotá, and is very talented and very patient.
It’s a song very inspired by the first song of my best friend Jesus, who started making music and singing, and he does a bit of everything. But the first song he released was called “La Pelirroja.” I remember when I was in the hotel, I started playing and began with the first melody of the song. And I already loved it a lot, and I got together here with the rest of the guys to write it. And there was a part in the chorus where I thought of saying this about the red hair. And I said, “Of course, this is the song about Jesus’ red hair.” And so I took the lyrics more in that direction.
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“Amen”
I wanted to make a protest song, and I had tried several times. In fact, when I showed this song to Jorge Drexler, he told me it wasn’t a protest song, but rather a propuesta song, or one that offers a different perspective. “Wow! It’s poetic; it’s poetry,” said Drexler. I remember talking with Andrés Torres and Mauricio Rengifo about how I felt, and at that moment, everything related to the war in Ukraine was starting.
I wanted to say things, but I think it’s impossible to criticize what’s around you or talk about it without first being critical of yourself, because we are all part of the problem and we are also part of the solution. So, I looked at myself from my position, where sometimes you want to go out and speak and say things, but you also don’t have all the information, that’s why I say: “What’s outside doesn’t match what’s inside/ The world is on fire, I’m at a concert/ Wanting to talk without wanting to hear/ And in this movie, the good guy isn’t the one who prays/ The bad guy doesn’t always start.”