Sophia Michaels
From “Baby, you’re a firework” to “You light me up inside like the Fourth of July.” Becky G’s 2014 breakout single “Shower” was meant to be a Katy Perry hit. Speaking to Teen Vogue for their September cover story, Becky G opened up about the bubblegum pop single that launched her career — and how it was almost sung by someone else.
“It wasn’t written for me,” she said, adding that it “absolutely” was made with a white pop star in mind. The star in question was Perry, according to R. City, who wrote the song and shared that the pop queen “never heard it.”
“For me, the lesson [was] that the song was bigger than me. Anyone could have sung that song, but I was very lucky,” Becky said. “It took me to so many places. I can enjoy it now.”
Perry was an early supporter of Becky, sharing her song “Play It Again” on Twitter even before “Shower” existed. “Check out my girl 🎶🌹Becky G🌹🎶 the cutet chicana from the barrio keeping it real real!!!” Perry tweeted at the time.
The following year, Perry would welcome Becky G on her Prismatic world tour for several dates, including four tour stops in Mexico.
Years after giving the pop (and rap) game a chance, Becky stepped away and avoided “Shower” completely. Her performances featured only songs from her Spanish career, launched by “Mayores” with Bad Bunny. For Becky, “Shower” reminded her of a time in her mind when she wasn’t in full control of her destiny as she handed away much of her freedom to shitty contracts.
“Because if you told me to run up the mountain, do five spins, clap my hands three times, and do two jumping jacks, I will do it if it means that I get to provide for my family,” she said. “Thank God, I can speak another language because where I was in my career felt like I was tied to a sinking ship.”
She added, “And it’s terrifying to think at 18–19 years old, This is it. This is the end of what you’ve dedicated your entire life to.”
In her cover story interview, Becky opened up about becoming the “sole provider” for her entire family as a teen.
“We lost our home in the 2008 [financial] crash. My parents were broke, and we had to check ‘homeless’ on our lunch applications. I remember how embarrassing it was to get my lunch taken away because I was in deficit,” she said, describing what she went through as “parentification…when you become the emotional confidante for a parent.”
Back in May, Becky spoke to Rolling Stone about going through the wringer in the industry and the PTSD she still deals with to this day.
“There’s definitely my own form of PTSD at the moment, experiencing the success that I’m having. And that’s just me being 100 percent honest because there were so many times in my life that I now look back at that I realized I was experiencing imposter syndrome, feeling like I was only in the room because someone else put me there,” Becky said. “Fast forward 11 years later, to still be here — it’s not because someone put me in the room. It’s because I’ve worked for it.”
She added, “And the truth is even the people who have hurt me in some shape or form have made me stronger and have made me better. I walk into a room with a different understanding of my own self and what it is that I want for myself.”
