Taken from this week’s Future Pop mailer. Click here to subscribe.
Considering Vine has been closed for over a year now, it’s getting an impressive number of mentions in Future Pop this year. Lele Pons was the most looped and followed user on the platform, often called “the Queen of Vine.” The Venezuelan-American 21-year-old has only gotten more successful and influential since its demise, branching out onto YouTube and Instagram. She’s a controversial character, disliked by other social media stars, but has a loyal fanbase of teenage and pre-teen girls. Like Rudy Mancuso, every element of her career is controlled by Shots Studios. Music hadn’t been a part of it, unless you count featuring in Camila Cabello’s Havana video, so I was surprised to see her featuring on the new single Dicen by singer and actor, Matt Hunter. Don’t be fooled by his name – Matt is actually Colombian American, and the duet is entirely in Spanish. Why Lele’s debut single is a collaboration with this mid-level Latin pop star is unclear (my only guess is that Universal, who released it, paid her a very large sum), but leaning into her Hispanic heritage is a smart move, and a featured spot means she can test the waters before releasing a solo single. This could be the beginning of a big pop career, or it could be her Jam (Turn It Up).