The Pop Star — and Activist — We Need Right Now

September 21, 2020
by Monica Sisavat

If it weren’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, Becky G would be in the midst of her European summer tour for her debut album, Mala Santa, right now. Instead, she’s on a Zoom call with me.

Becky dials into our interview from the two-bedroom apartment in LA where she’s been sheltering in place with her boyfriend, LA Galaxy player Sebastian Lletget, for the last six months. She's shooting her cover story with POPSUGAR and I Am a Voter — a campaign aiming to create a cultural shift around voting — from home today. Fresh out of glam, Becky looks vibrant in a turquoise Aliétte blazer — which perfectly matches the LED light strip in the background of her makeshift studio. It’s a detail that was carefully taken into consideration, just like her decision to spotlight Black and Latinx designers in the photo shoot today. “We have different pieces from different designers for this whole cover story, because why not? There’s a lot of talent out there and a lot of beautiful pieces, like the one that I’m wearing,” Becky says. Her energy is bright and magnetic but balanced by a genuine down-to-earthness that makes my nerves about Zooming with a global, multiplatinum-selling pop star with 25 million Instagram followers instantly fade away.

Just like it has for the rest of us, the pandemic has changed Becky’s world dramatically, but she’s finding silver linings. She’s been trying her hand at cooking and reconnecting with Sebastian. “I hadn’t been able to enjoy my apartment with my boyfriend like this, ever,” she tells me. “This is the first time we’ve had continuous time together to really just bond. I love it.” Despite the newfound downtime, Becky is still hard at work. She recently collaborated with Juhn, Lenny Tavarez, and Dalex for “Otro Día Lluvioso,” teamed up with Pitbull and De La Ghetto for “Mala (Remix),” and dropped a sunglasses collection with Dime Optics, but her biggest priority right now is mobilizing her legion of fans to vote.

Becky has no doubt that this year’s election is critical, and there’s a sense of urgency in her voice as our conversation turns to politics. “Especially as a Latina woman, a woman of color, I got to step up,” she explains. The 2016 presidential election marked the first time then-19-year-old Becky officially exercised her right to vote. She recalls the weight of the responsibility hitting her as she stood in the voting booth. “I didn’t realize how much pressure I was going to feel when I was standing right there and looking at the ballot,” she says. “There were so many things I didn’t recognize. At that moment, I realized I messed up and I never wanted to feel that way ever again.”

Becky made a promise to herself to do better. “Educating myself on these things was the best thing that I could have done, because I think putting your pride aside and saying, ‘I don't know,’ is something that’s really hard for this generation.”

For Becky, the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, voting is “a very personal thing.” Even though her grandparents are now US citizens, the experiences they’ve shared with her about being deported and having troubles with their visas have stuck with her. “The sacrifice, the scary stories that they shared of what it was like to live as immigrants in this country, it just made me realize this one thing that I do have. I’ve got to do this for them,” she says. “I’ve got to do this for the countless other individuals who maybe don’t have this right to vote.”

When I ask Becky what she hopes to achieve with her vote this time around, her message is loud and clear. “What I’m trying to accomplish is to have people recognize that juntos somos más; we are so much more powerful when we come together,” she says, sitting up a little straighter. “Some people just think about who they’re voting for because of how it’s going to affect their taxes. I’m sorry, but where is the human side of anyone when they’re thinking about how it’s going to affect their bank account rather than how it’s going to affect children who are in cages, or what’s happening with human trafficking, or what’s happening with our education system, with our healthcare system?”

While Becky doesn’t specifically reveal whom she plans to vote for come November, her sly smile and frustration tell me we’re on the same page. “I’ll just say that the last election, when that final announcement was made, I’ve never cried so much out of just genuine fear,” she says, before stressing: “Get out there and vote! Get your friends to go out and vote, your tíos, your tías, your abuelitos, everybody!”

Voting is obviously only one piece of being politically active, but what about the people who can’t vote, whether it’s because of their age or immigration status? How can they get involved and shape the world they want to live in? “Use the power of social media — following activists who have dedicated their lives to certain areas that interest you or that move your heart, whether it’s immigration, the Black Lives Matter movement, or education,” Becky replies. “But there’s even a simpler thing that you can do, which is to just be a good person.”

While the global pop star’s ambitions are without limit, tonight her plans are the kind any 23-year-old can relate to. After work, she’s kicking off her heels, and she and Sebastian plan to grab takeout from a local restaurant and relax at home. But once the sun comes up again tomorrow morning, you can bet Becky will be all business.

“Every day is a hustle for me,” she insists. “Every day’s like, ‘How can I continue to help my family? How can I continue to uplift others in my community?’ So [once] I can do that without losing sleep at night and getting canitas in my hair, then I’ll be like, ‘Alright, I’m good. I made it.’”

Text BECKY to 26797 to check your voter registration status and get election updates from I am a voter.