As a child, Iván Cornejo liked to play the lottery with his cousins when he visited Mexico.
When Apple offered him to be part of a short film celebrating Mexican culture and highlighting the lottery game, he enthusiastically accepted.
“The lottery is part of everyone’s childhood, and it is a very memorable game for me,” said Cornejo, who was born in Riverside, California, and raised by Mexican parents. “I remember playing that in Mexico with my cousins, using the beans. Being able to be a part of that and the Mexican culture is something that makes me very proud. I feel like my parents are very proud of it, too.”
With “Luck!”the short film Apple released last week, Cornejo, 20, made his acting debut.
The film guides viewers through characters from the Mexican lottery, inspiring El Músico (Cornejo) to create authentic music. It also explores the duality of the Latino experience in the U.S., showing how the protagonist regains his connection to his Mexican heritage with the help of the other characters.
“It was a lot of fun and I always wanted to do this. As for the performance, I improvised and it was a great experience for my first time,” said Cornejo, who, through the project recorded entirely with an iPhone 15 Pro, presented his fans with a new song titled “Unfair Exchange”.
“I feel like that song is very, very special, soft and bright. So I thought it was a good choice to be the first new song from the album that fans would hear.”Cornejo explained.
“They proposed the idea to me, I really liked it and I had a song that fit perfectly, so everything worked out well”shared the artist, who also had the creative freedom to develop the character: a shy young man who travels from the United States to Mexico to reconnect with his roots. “I had originally submitted a different song, but then I got tired of it, so I decided that ‘Unfair Exchange’ had to be the one.”.
The nostalgia that “Mirada” produces
“Unfair Exchange” is one of the 12 songs on his new album titled “Mirada”This musical project also connects Cornejo with another significant moment in his life: his time in high school.
“I wanted to create something that felt like that, like that night on the beach, with a friend or with friends, or at a campfire with the boys. It’s a very good nostalgia. And yes, I wanted to make songs that connect people to those moments,” Cornejo explained. “We all have those summer nights in high school with friends, when we just… I don’t know, I have a lot of memories of those nights that fill me with so much nostalgia when I listen to certain albums.”
An approach to his fans
The artist, who is gearing up for the biggest tour of his young career with 26 shows in arenas and amphitheaters, including smaller markets like Alabama, Nebraska, Arkansas and Kentucky, compared the creative process of “Mirada” to previous projects, detailing how his approach has evolved.
To celebrate the release of his album, Cornejo will be performing the “Pop-up look”an event taking place on July 19th, from 11am to 7pm, in Los Angeles, CA, where he will perform live.
“I think this album is — even from the musical processes — very, very different than the last one. I feel like a lot more effort has been put into it. I learned a lot more as an artist, a writer, and a musician. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into this album,” said Cornejo.
Her beginnings on TikTok
Like many artists of his generation, Cornejo saw social media as a portal to express himself and showcase his musical passion, which made him a viral sensation. He began uploading his content to TikTok with his music and self-written songs, and quickly gained popularity.
“I remember making my little TikToks, recording myself on guitar with my cousin. I knew I might not be ready to start singing at the time; I was just doing little covers on guitar. I thought this could help me gain followers while I continued practicing and singing. Eventually, I worked up the courage to start singing and everything fell into place,” story.
Deciding to drop out of high school a year before graduating to pursue his music career, the artist recalls how scary it was to gamble on his dreams.
“It was a mix of knowing exactly what I wanted to do, but not knowing how I was going to achieve it. I’ve always been one of those people who, if you really believe in something, you don’t need all the tools to get there, just ambition and vision. I really saw it“, he added.
On his success at such a young age, Cornejo says that authenticity has been his strongest sword and armor.
“I don’t try to make music that’s trending at the moment. I rely more on feelings and my genuine inspirations. I don’t think about how to make this a viral moment on TikTok; it just happens naturally and I go with the flow. I make what I love, which is the music I like, and that reflects in the melodies I create,” he concluded.