We’re not sure if any other artist fits the definition of a multi-hyphenate quite like Latin Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and actress GIULIA BE. That’s as true as ever with the release of her self-written, self-titled trilingual album performed in Spanish, Portuguese and English.
GIULIA BE is a uniquely expansive project, with some songs written as long as nine years ago, and others this year. Each of its three languages gets its own block of seven tracks, allowing GIULIA to explore where she comes from and where she’s been, navigating three different emotional landscapes with their own genres and even different aspects of the star’s identity tied to them. It’s a deeply personal showcase of GIULIA’s artistic development and human evolution so far. We got the chance to hop on a Zoom call with her to learn all about the project, her acting and so much more in the interview below.
Sweety High: Why did you decide it was time to release a self-titled project?
GIULIA BE: As a Brazilian artist, there was a path before I got to a point where I was able to put out music in English as well as Spanish. There are a lot of preconceived notions as to where Latin artists are allowed to dabble, so I wanted this to be my self-titled album because it was the first time I was able to sing and write in all these languages—Portuguese, Spanish and English—that I’m really passionate about and unapologetically give each one of them the same chance. That was really important to me, and this felt like the right moment. It’s kind of my debut into different markets. It’s good that for many people, this is the first time they’ll be seeing my name.
(Image courtesy of GIULIA BE)
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SH: As you mentioned, you gave each language equal space on the album, with each one getting seven songs. What was the process of figuring out that format, and ensuring that the album felt cohesive that way?
GB: It was tough because we had over like 100 songs. To get down to 21 it was really a process. How are we gonna be able to get people to comprehensively understand everything that I can do? On the English album, you get songs that are like very disco-leaning and songs that are very sad ballads, which is something I really love to do.
Then in the Spanish, you get to see me dance on a few of the records, and you also get to see this more vulnerable side of me, and more experimental with instruments as well.
It’s kind of the same thing for the Portuguese. You get some upbeat songs, but also really dive into the pits of my despair.
I wanted to make sure that it was very balanced and also had a wide range of genres that I was exploring and expressing. It’s really a blessing to be able to do 21 music videos and to be able to give all of the GIULIAs an equal shot. Again, this is the first time that I’m not having to pick which GIULIA I have to be. A lot of times in my career, whenever I got to put out an English song, it was just one song and it wouldn’t get a music video. This was the first moment where I really felt like I could give it my all in all of these different areas that I’m really passionate about.
SH: Do you feel like when you’re thinking or writing in a certain language, it draws different parts of your identity out?
GB: 100%. I feel like anyone who speaks more than one language knows that they cannot be the exact same person in each of these languages. It’s in the words you choose, the way thoughts come out, the traumas that you have in one language that you don’t in the other. It all adds up to who you are. Obviously, my essence is still the same, but I definitely express myself in different ways.
I started really speaking Spanish when I moved to Miami. I was 15 and I got to school and all of my friends were Alessia, Camilla, Maria, Sophia. Either I had to learn Spanish or I was going to have no friends. It was also a moment where I was a little bit more sure of myself, discovering myself. It really allowed me to be a little more outgoing, spicy, dramatic.
With the English songs, I’m now getting married to an American, so it’s a whole different side of my life. Even though I spoke English growing up, I’m now getting to be more assertive and confident. Half of my day, if not more, happens in English. That informed how the English GIULIA would be a little bit more just decisive. Her vulnerability comes out in a different way than the GIULIA in Portuguese.
The Portuguese is how I was born, and the way that I spoke to my family, and the way that I built my career. Each one of them brings out a different side of me. They’re all me, but I can feel different sides of my personality coming out depending on what language I’m speaking.
SH: What’s the biggest overall theme of the album?
GB: I feel like the theme of the album, cheesy but true, is love. That’s what’s always informs every songwriting decision I make, be it self-love, be it love for others, be it a breakup, be it love for the universe, love for God. I try to put love in everything that I do. That is the one connecting thread in between everything.
SH: You mentioned there being a music video for every single track on the project. What was that process like, and how did you make that enormous process work?
GB: It was crazy, man. We shot all of these videos in the span of five days. Sometimes we shot four videos a day. We would shoot a music video in two and a half hours and then go back to hair and makeup—change the hair, change the makeup, change the outfit—and then back to the set. They’d change the whole set while I was in hair and makeup. We shot it on the screen they use in movies when it’s a car scene, where you can upload something onto the background. That technology had just arrived in Brazil. Every every time I came back, it was a completely different set and they would rearrange all the pieces. I’m pretty sure it’s a Guinness World Record, even though I haven’t really gotten around to contacting them.
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SH: How did putting this album together feel different from your debut?
GB: With my first album, I genuinely was like a little lamb in the meadow. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what was right, what was not. I’m really proud of it, not only because it did well, but because it was just me being without thinking too much.
With this album, I’m giving myself that same chance in the English and the Spanish, because it’s not like I’m crafting a storyline through the album. My last album was focused on disco and space references and the whole arc of what we built was based on this futuristic kind of style. Another reason why it’s named GIULIA BE is because I’m not trying to build a world this time. Instead it’s like, this is my world. Here it is.
SH: Is there anything else we should know about you right now?
GIULIA BE: I haven’t really spoken about my acting. I have a movie coming out in August, which I’m really excited about it. It’s my first movie that’s coming out in movie theaters, and then it goes to Amazon Prime. I love acting and something that I’m very passionate about. I also hope I get to act soon in English as well.
It’s called The 10 Advantages of Dying After You. It’s about two best friends, and my character is very solar. She loves going out and partying and being a menace to her mom, because she lives life to the fullest extent. My best friend, who’s played by Any Gabrielly—who’s actually one of my best friends in real life—is very much a nerd. Her parents are very strict and she follows all the rules, and doesn’t really allow herself to dance in public and experiment. We’re polar opposites in that way.
My character gets into a car accident, but before I pass, I leave 10 letters to my best friend. In each of the letters, there is a challenge of something she needs to do—go skydiving, sing karaoke in front of other people, hug strangers in the street. It’s kind of like Ghost, where after he dies, only she can see him. After I die, only she can see me as this figment of her imagination.
It’s a really beautiful movie. Even after my character dies, she’s so full of life. I don’t feel like it’s a spoiler, because you see it in the trailer. I was able to write a song for it, like I did for my last movie, and it’s from the same director I shot my last movie with.
Listen to all of GIULIA BE here:
For more on our favorite new music this week, click HERE to read our interview with Denise Julia on her new EP, LOVE AGAIN.
