Becky G
Rebbeca Marie Gomez, known professionally as Becky G, is an American singer and actress. Born and raised in Inglewood, California, she first gained recognition in 2011 for her cover versions of popular songs, which she uploaded to YouTube. One of her videos caught the attention of record producer Dr. Luke, who signed her to a recording contract with his label Kemosabe Records, an imprint of RCA Records. Shortly afterward, Gomez worked with singers will.i.am, Cody Simpson and Cher Lloyd. Her debut commercial single, "Becky from the Block", was released to positive reception despite failing to chart, and was followed by her debut extended play, Play It Again that same year. Gomez achieved mainstream success with the release of her single "Shower", which peaked within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. She released first full Spanish-language song, "Sola", which marked her transition into the Latin market.
Her debut studio album, Mala Santa, was preceded by the successful singles "Mayores", "Sin Pijama", and "Cuando Te Besé". The first two peaked within the top five of the Hot Latin Songs chart, while the latter became the first song to debut atop the Argentina Hot 100. Her second effort, Esquemas, contained "Mamiii", her first number one on the former chart. Her third studio album Esquinas, released in 2023, spawned the single "Por el Contrario", which peaked at number one on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart, and was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award for Best Regional Mexican Song. Her fourth record, Encuentros, was released in 2024 and contained the song "Mercedes", with Óscar Maydon. Gomez made her feature film debut in the superhero film Power Rangers. She provided her voice in the animated fantasy film Gnome Alone, and DC superhero film Blue Beetle.
Gomez has received numerous accolades, including three American Music Awards, a Billboard Latin Music Awards, an iHeartRadio Music Award, nine Latin American Music Awards, including the honorable Extraordinary Evolution Award. She has also been nominated for a Billboard Music Award and six Latin Grammy Awards. She has appeared in listicles such as the Forbes 30 Under 30, Time 100, and received the Billboard Impact Award. Gomez launched a cosmetics company, Treslúce Beauty, in 2021.
Life and career
1997–2011: Early life and career beginnings
Rebbeca Marie Gomez was born on March 2, 1997, in Inglewood, California, the oldest of four children, to American parents of Mexican descent, Francisco "Frank" Gómez and Alejandra "Alex" Gomez. All four of her grandparents are from Jalisco, Mexico, while her parents and most of her family were born in the United States. Gomez has two brothers and a younger sister. In December 2017, she revealed she has a half-sister from her father's side. Gomez grew up in Moreno Valley, and at the age of nine her family lost their home and moved into the converted garage of her grandparents' house due to financial problems. Gomez began working part-time jobs to help support her family, doing commercials and voice over work. She had what she described as a "mid-life crisis" when she was nine years old, and decided she wanted to pursue a music career. She was quoted as stating: She initially attended public school, though had to undergo home schooling due to issues with bullying. She claimed that at one point she was jumped by multiple girls while in the restroom, and was a frequent target due to her jobs in the entertainment industry.Gomez appeared in the short film El Tux as Claudia Gómez and as Nina in the Discovery Channel television film La estación de la Calle Olvera. She became a member of a girl group named G.L.A.M. in 2009, and later joined B.C.G., a duo with G.L.A.M. member Cristal G. She filmed a music video as part of G.L.A.M. for a song titled "JellyBean" in 2009. During this time, Gomez also began recording herself singing and rapping songs using GarageBand, and created a YouTube account to post covers of popular songs online. She also began writing her own songs, and by the age of thirteen had taught herself how to play guitar. Gomez befriended production duo The Jam when she was thirteen, who liked Gomez's written work. The trio began working on material together, resulting in the covers of six songs: "Otis", uploaded to YouTube on September 15, 2011, "Lighters", released on October 13, "Novacane", released on October 27, "Take Care", uploaded on March 1, 2012, "Boyfriend", released on March 30, and the song "Turn the Music Up", a sample of "Mi Tierra", uploaded on July 18. These songs were meant to be part of a mixtape, titled @itsbeckygomez, though this project never came to fruition. Her cover of "Otis" caught the attention of producer Dr. Luke, who had worked with artists including Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus, among others. Luke scheduled a meeting with Gomez, and asked her to play guitar for him; he later signed her to his Kemosabe Records record label, through RCA Records. In reference to her video clip for "Otis", Luke claimed "I would have signed her off that video alone. I was 100 percent in. She has so much personality and her voice just pops out of the speakers. Then I met her and discovered she could also sing and play the guitar and I thought, 'This is even better.' Then I found out she could write and it was like, 'What else are you going to tell me, that you're also Van Gogh?' Her potential is limitless." Shortly after signing with the label, Gomez began work on her debut album.
2012–2015: Commercial success with music and acting
In August 2012, Gomez featured on Australian singer Cody Simpson's single, "Wish U Were Here". In September, while working on her debut album, Gomez released her debut single "Problem" featuring American rapper will.i.am. A remix version of the song, subtitled "" was released on August 31, for the animated film Hotel Transylvania; the song served as a promotional single and also appeared in the movie's end credits. In October, she was featured on English singer Cher Lloyd's single, "Oath". The song was originally written by Gomez, but was brought to Lloyd. The single had some commercial success, becoming Gomez's first entry in the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number fifty-eight in the Canadian Hot 100, and was certified gold by the RIAA. Gomez also featured with Brazilian singer Michel Teló on a remix of his cover of the song "Ai Se Eu Te Pego", released on his UK EP on October 14. She later collaborated with American singer Kesha, and rappers Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa, in a remix of Kesha's "Die Young", which was included on the Japanese deluxe edition of her second studio album, Warrior.On April 8, 2013, Gomez released "Becky from the Block", as her official debut single. The song is a cover of American singer Jennifer Lopez's 2003 single "Jenny from the Block". Gomez filmed a music video in her neighborhood, with Lopez herself making a cameo in the clip. Entertainment Tonight described the version to have "give Jenny's NY-based tune a West Coast slant". On May 6, Gomez released the promotional single "Play It Again", alongside a music video, also filmed in and around her neighborhood. Her debut EP, also titled Play It Again, was released on July 13, 2013. A Spanglish version of the track, subtitled "" was released on August 9, with the chorus and bridge now sung in Spanish. Gomez performed this version at the 2013 Premios Juventud ceremony, where she was nominated for Mejor Revelación. On September 17, she released the song "Quiero Bailar " with Mexican DJ trio 3Ball MTY, which sees Gomez rapping and singing in both English and Spanish. In October, she confirmed that she was already recording her debut album. On November 6, she released a music video for the second promotional single "Built For This". "Can't Get Enough" featuring American rapper Pitbull was released as the EP's lead single on March 29, 2014. The song debuted at number ten on the Hot Latin Songs, and debuted at number two on the Latin Airplay. A Spanish version of "Can't Get Enough" was released to digital platforms on May 1. On April 23, Gomez released the standalone single "Shower". The song was a commercial success, peaked at number sixteen in the US, peaking at number thirty-eight in Canada, and peaked at number eighty in the UK, and was certified 2× platinum by the RIAA. On November 4, Gomez released the single "Can't Stop Dancin'". The song peaked at number 88 in the U.S. She released a remix with Colombian singer J Balvin in March 2015. Gomez opened for American singers Demi Lovato and Katy Perry on select dates of their Demi and Prismatic world tours in both the United States and Mexico.
Gomez featured on Mexican singer Thalía's single, "Como Tú No Hay Dos", released on January 7, 2015. On April 1, Gomez released the single "Lovin' So Hard", along with a music video consisting of homemade footage of her and American singer Austin Mahone, whom she briefly dated. She performed at a tribute concert for the late Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera. Gomez appeared as Valentina Galindo in two episodes of Empire, performing the singles "Do It" and "New, New" for the show's soundtrack. On August 21, she released single "Break a Sweat". Gomez embarked on a co-headlining tour with J Balvin beginning on September 23 and ending on October 25; the tour spanned across the United States. She later collaborated with Dutch DJs Yellow Claw on the songs "Wild Mustang" and "For the Thrill", from their album Blood For Mercy.
2016–2018: Crossover to Latin music and films
Gomez was cast as Trini in the film Power Rangers. Gomez traveled to Vancouver, Canada, to film Power Rangers. Filming occurred from February 29 to May 28, 2016. On March 24 2017, Power Rangers was released, marking Gomez's feature film debut. She received public attention after it was revealed that her character, Trini, is queer, being the first film superhero to be from the LGBT community.She collaborated with Pitbull in a song titled "Superstar". The song served as the official anthem for the Copa América Centenario. Gomez decided to move to Spanish music in 2016, changing the course in her music career to the Latin music market. On June 24, Gomez released the standalone single "Sola". The song serves as her first to be sung solely in Spanish and was planned to be the lead single from her then-upcoming Spanish debut album. The single peaked at number eighteen on the Hot Latin Songs chart. On July 22, she was featured alongside Puerto Rican singer Yandel on American rapper Lil Jon's single, "Take It Off", released alongside its music video; a Spanglish version was released the same day. The single peaked at number 45 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. On October 7, Gomez released the follow-up single to "Sola", "Mangú". The single peaked at number 47 on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
Gomez was featured on American producers Play-N-Skillz's both Spanglish and English cover versions of the 1994 song "Si Una Vez " by late Tejano singer Selena, alongside Mexican-American singer Frankie J and American rapper Kap G. The singles were released on February 24 and April 7, 2017, respectively. On March 3, Gomez released the single "Todo Cambió". It peaked at number 33 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. She collaborated with Argentine singer Axel, on the single "Que Nos Animemos", which was released on June 30, as part of his album Ser. On September 8, Gomez was featured on the song "Todo Lo Que Quiero" from Yandel's fourth solo studio album, #Update. On September 21, it was confirmed that Gomez would be the opening act for American girl group Fifth Harmony, for the Latin American leg of their PSA Tour, with shows in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. During the group's performance in Argentina, Gomez was pulled off the stage by security after being confused for a fan when attempting to cover member Dinah Jane with the country's flag when her outfit was ripping apart. Gomez joined Dominican-American singer and long-time friend Leslie Grace on the song "Díganle", released on September 28, which was remixed a year later with vocals from Latin boy band CNCO. The single peaked at number 36 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. Gomez also collaborated with American violinist Lindsey Stirling as the featured vocalist on the track "Christmas C'mon", from Stirling's Christmas album, Warmer in the Winter, released on October 20. On October 26, she hosted along with Mexican actor Diego Boneta the Latin American Music Awards of 2017 in Los Angeles.
On February 9, 2018, Venezuelan duo Mau y Ricky released a remix of their song "Mi Mala" with Colombian singer Karol G featuring Gomez, Leslie Grace and Argentine singer Lali. In the same month, Jamaican singer Sean Paul and French DJ David Guetta released the single "Mad Love" also featuring Gomez, which was co-written by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. The single peaked at number 71 in Canada, and peaked at number 22 in UK. In March, Spanish singer Ana Mena released the single "Ya Es Hora" with Gomez and American rapper De la Ghetto. In April, Gomez was featured in a remix of "Dura" by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee, alongside Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny and Dominican singer Natti Natasha. In June, Mau y Ricky released the song "Mal de la Cabeza" with Gomez, as a track from their album Para Aventuras y Curiosidades; its title derives from the first line in the song. Gomez returned to the English-speaking market after three years with the release of "Zooted" featuring Moroccan-American rapper French Montana and Puerto Rican rapper Farruko, which was made available for download in July.
In August, Gomez starred in the sci-fi adventure film A.X.L., which was filmed in late 2017; the movie received negative reviews from critics and, like Power Rangers, was a box-office disappointment. Gomez starred in the lead role in the animated fantasy film Gnome Alone, alongside Josh Peck; it was originally slated for release in theaters, but was only released in Latin America, Europe and Asia in April 2018. It was made available in Netflix in October of the same year. In October, Mexican singer Joss Favela released the single "Pienso en Ti" with Gomez, which features Regional Mexican, her first song in the genre. Later that month, Spanish singer C. Tangana released the single "Booty" with Gomez. Its music video was nominated for Best Music Video at the 1st Annual Premios Odeón. On October 25, Gomez, Mexican singer Gloria Trevi, Leslie Grace, Puerto Rican actress Roselyn Sánchez and Mexican actress Aracely Arámbula hosted the Latin American Music Awards of 2018 in Los Angeles. Gomez featured in "Lost in the Middle of Nowhere" from American singer Kane Brown's second album, Experiment. Brown and Gomez released a Spanish version of "Lost in the Middle of Nowhere" in March 2019. She featured on Puerto Rican producers DJ Luian and Mambo Kingz's single "Bubalú" featuring Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA and American singer Prince Royce, released in November. It reached the top-thirty of the Hot Latin Songs, and was certified 24× platinum by the RIAA. In December, Gomez was featured in a remix of "Mala Mía" by Colombian singer Maluma, alongside Brazilian singer Anitta.