Surpassing artists of the stature of Rosalía or Bad Bunny in the current musical scene are big words. Doing it as a stranger and with a single topic can be elevated to the category of miracle. This is what Íñigo Quintero has achieved, a 22-year-old singer-songwriter from A Coruña who has broken all records with ‘Si no estars’, a success that has already accumulated more than 140 million views on Spotify, becoming the first Spanish artist to become the number one in listening worldwide on the music platform.
A ‘hit’ that came out a year ago, but that has become a mass phenomenon thanks to its success on social networks – on TikTok and YouTube it has accumulated more than 100 million listens without even having a video clip. official-. An even greater feat as he is a new artist, with hardly any impact and who has the music industry trying to figure out the keys to his success.
‘If you are not’ was written by Quintero as a Catholic theme and with clear references to spirituality and the approach to God. Raised in a Catholic environment – he has studied in centers linked to Opus Dei – the artist has not denied that his success has a Christian connotation, giving rise to the listener’s free interpretation. He is at the opposite end of any of the musical phenomena that dominate the current scene. He does not give interviews, he does not take care of his social media feed and he has only performed once on a big stage, but his voice has dazzled millions of people against all odds.
‘Playlisting’
Precisely because all the ingredients of the Quintero cocktail are contraindicated with a world number one, the shadow of doubt has begun to hover over its success. Despite having been published in September 2022, it did not begin to be widely heard until the beginning of last month.
And the secret, as the artist’s record label Acqustic has confirmed, is partly due to the ‘playlisting’. Far from being a fraudulent practice, the truth is that it is quite common in the music industry. It involves placing the song on numerous playlists within Spotify to achieve greater reach. Like a snowball. This procedure involves fine print, as it is also common to pay curators – people who manage Spotify lists – to include the songs.
That is why several music industry experts maintain that it is strange that a song like Quintero’s is number one in countries like Luxembourg or Belgium. Conspiracy theories aside, the Galician singer has managed to carve out a niche for himself with a peculiar product in an industry full of trap and reggaeton. Whatever the reasons for his success, his unstoppable viralization should be studied in music marketing schools.
#miracle #Íñigo #Quintero