[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.”
