Rolling Stone · বিনোদন

Kenia Os Knew Latin Pop Would Go Global

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M exico’s current musical identity might be rooted by the strums of the requinto and the international popularity of corridos tumbados, but even with the dominance of regional Mexican music, a pop renaissance is brewing — and singer Kenia Os is leading the charge.

At 27, the artist comes across like a life-size Bratz doll, armed with sugary vocals and upbeat melodies. She started out as a teenage beauty YouTuber in 2015, before transitioning into music. Over the past four years, she’s helped make Latin pop a musical export worth taking seriously, thanks to breakthrough hits like 2022’s “Malas Decisiones.” “I started out betting on pop when it was literally the genre that had the least airplay, especially in Spanish,” she says. “But it was always something I identified with and believed in.”

The singer released her latest album, K de Karma (or “K for Karma”), in March, blending heartbreak on songs like “Días Tristes,” featuring Carla Morrison, and romance on “Tú y Yo X Siempre.” But mostly, the record finds her embracing her feminine power and sensuality on anthems like “Rojo Versace” and “Slay.” “I made an album inspired by the way I perceive karma and how I navigate my life. I always leave everything to divine justice,” she says with a laugh. “But sometimes you need to give it a little nudge, right?”

A new era in progress

K DE KARMA ARRIVED during her nearly two-year romance with música mexicana superstar Peso Pluma, fueling an already-intense focus on her personal life. The pair split in June 2026 while Kenia was on tour, with both stars sharing a joint statement noting they’d ended things with “love, respect, and on the best terms.” The album has since taken on a new meaning for her fans, but also for her. “This year has been full of lessons and setbacks. So much chaos. But at the end of the day, the light always emerges after such a dark path,” she says. “You have to view that darkness as something that doesn’t block you, something that doesn’t dim your light.”

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Kenia keeps her eyes firmly on what’s ahead, but she’s well aware of the industry she’s navigating. Mexico’s music world is heavily focused on the male-dominated sounds of música mexicana and corridos. The singer recently joined rising Mexican American star Xavi for “Malas Mañas,” a corrido-meets-urban-pop track that taps into the sound dominating the charts without straying completely from her own voice. But she’s also had to experience the way the industry pits women against one another. She’s watched the Mexican media manufacture rivalries between her and other stars, like Belinda, the storied pop diva with whom she collaborated on “Jackpot,” and Danna, whom she met while hosting a show for Apple Music.

“It’s always the competition between women, the morbid curiosity of women hating each other. Personally, I don’t live that way. I always tell my audience and in interviews that I don’t have enemies; I don’t fight with anyone,” she says. “They are exceptional artists, they are incredible, they are super talented.”

Kenia notes that men in música mexicana don’t face the same kind of scrutiny. She also thinks it’s much harder for women in pop to break through, thanks to glaring double standards. “It’s very sad that we are always being compared, when sometimes I feel that male artists can show up high on a stage and nobody says absolutely anything to them,” she says, alluding to the debauchery often celebrated in the genre’s live shows.

Kenia Os Knew Latin Pop Would Go Global

A new era in progress

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