Disney Channel star Adam Irigoyen talks “Shake it Up” and new music

[Via nbclatino.com...]

You may know Adam Irigoyen best from the Disney Channel hit show, “Shake it Up,” but the Cuban American cutie wants fans to know that there’s much more to come from the 15-year-old Miami native.

“I’ve had big dreams ever since I was really small,” confides Irigoyen. “I knew I wanted to be on the Disney Channel and make music and now I’m close to making my dreams come true.”

Irigoyen definitely can achieve whatever he puts his mind to and the star – currently filming the third season of “Shake it Up” in Los Angeles – has a pretty good track record to date. When he was just ten years old, he launched what he calls a “nagging” campaign to get his parents to set him up with an agent and move across the country to LA.

“It was a big risk for any family, but my parents knew that this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” says Irigoyen.

For Irigoyen, who has quickly become one of Disney’s new emerging stars alongside fellow “Shake it Up” cast member Bella Thorne, working on a television show set is truly “the coolest thing every day,” he says.

Irigoyen on the set of his new music video for “School Girl.” (Photo/Courtesy Kevin Thomas)

“I love how my character is growing up, seeing new relationships and experiencing cool things,” explains Irigoyen, who is one of four siblings. “But the hard part of having such a great job is that you have to do school and work at the same time, which is challenging.”

Irigoyen, who says his favorite subject in school is  health, has added a brand-new project to his already busy schedule. He’s in the midst of recording new music – both in English and Spanish – and is excited about the November 13 premiere of his new single “School Girl.” The video for the single was directed by legendary music icon David Rousseau, who has worked with mega-watt music icons like Pitbull, Enrique Iglesias and Shakira.

“It’s really important to me that my music be bilingual and Latin, because that’s a reflection of who I am,” says Irigoyen, who says he loves all types of music ranging from Celia Cruz to Elvis and the rock band the Eagles.

“Nobody makes music that keeps the flavor of the old days, you know?” reflects Irigoyen. “So I thought it would be pretty awesome to make my first single a remake of a classic.”

That classic – “La Colegiala” – has now been revamped by Irigoyen with new English lyrics, a new title (“School Girl”) and a contemporary rhythm that the teen star hopes to make his signature.

“I want to be known as someone who keeps the soul of Latin music while keeping it fresh and cool,” he says. “I want it to be something my grandparents could listen to but that my friends will love.”

Irigoyen – who says he loves acting and singing equally – says he has high hopes for a successful music career and would love to collaborate with Pitbull (“that’d be awesome, he says, “two Cuban boys from Miami!”). He also looks up to Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony; Latinos he explains, who “have made their mark in acting and singing just like I want to do.”

At the end of the day however, Irigoyen hopes to let the millions of Latino youth across the country that it’s an “awesome thing” to display cultural pride while pursuing their dreams.

“I’m just so proud to be Cuban and Hispanic,” says Irigoyen. “I feel like I can communicate with so many different kinds of people because of my heritage and I really think that being Latino is one of the biggest blessings that I’ve gotten in this world.”