AriGameplays always knew she wanted to be a performer. The Mexican streamer, who has amassed over 7 million subscribers on Twitch playing everything from Fortnite to Roblox, remembers being a young girl performing for her family at holidays and wanting to be a star.
“It was an idea that was replaying in my head,” she tells Rolling Stone over Zoom from her streaming setup at home. “This is me being loyal to myself as a little girl.”
Following a live event in her native Monterrey, Mexico on Tuesday, where she officially launched her music career in front of hundreds of fans, the Latina gamer officially premieres the colorful video for her debut single “Pilates” with Rolling Stone.
“The song is about empowering the girls. And it’s very pink!” she says. “‘Pilates’ is very pink, and I feel like it goes with the whole design of my world. I want it to put fans in the mood — even if you’re having a bad day, I want it to pull you out of that. “
In gaming, AriGameplays has built a devoted fanbase thanks to her Twitch streams with games such as Minecraft, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto, and Overwatch. She ranks in the top 30 of most-followed Twitch streamers in the world, and leads the list of Spanish-speaking women on the platform.
In her music, Bela doesn’t take herself too seriously. The campy, pastel-toned music video for “Pilates” follows her as a doll living in a colorful tropic world as she sings about yachts and matcha lattes, dropping Spanglish refrains like “in my baddie era” along the way on the poppy track.
Rolling Stone recently spoke to Aria Bela about her music launch, Sabrina Carpenter’s skin in Fortnite, and what’s next for her:
How was it for you to decide to transition into music? Walk me through it.
I was being loyal to myself as a little girl, who always liked to do shows, dance, sing. It’s something that I’ve always liked, and music, after all, lives with me every day. It was another way to be able to connect more with my fans, because they can listen to me everywhere, in the car, wherever they want to be.
Do you think your fans are expecting music from you?
I just released the teaser, and I put a little bit of everything in there for people to come up with ideas. There are a lot of people who think I’m going to release merch, do makeup, or start a Pilates studio. The people who guessed music are very excited.
How did you start making music?
I’ve been taking classes for more than two years, because I really wanted to do things right. Then I met Mechi Pieretti on TikTok. She’s an artist, she’s a singer, and she’s also a composer. And we connected so well. The truth is that it’s been a really fun process. It made me feel really confident. I write with her. We’ve had a really great girl power, where we’ve made things work pretty well. I’ve been very involved in my musical process, in my songs, in my videos, in the concepts of my songs. And I think that when you listen to it, it makes a lot of sense. It’s my world.
Tell me about “Pilates” and its video. What was the inspiration for it, and how did you come up with the concept?
Well, I love Pilates, to start. I was lucky enough to participate in [amateur boxing event] La Velada del Año several years ago. And things changed from zero to 100 for me, to start exercising, because I didn’t before. And when I finished boxing, I said, “What am I going to do now?” And that’s when I met Pilates. It fascinated me. It’s 40 minutes, where you feel good with yourself, where you work out for yourself. And I think that’s exactly what the single is, empowering the girls. And it’s very pink. Pilates is very pink, and I feel like it goes with the whole design of my world.
Obviously, making the transition from a streamer to creating music can bring a lot of questions. How do you plan to respond to those people?
It definitely makes me nervous. Something new always makes me nervous. And obviously, I guess there’s going to be a lot of expectations, a lot of comments. I imagine they’ll be good and bad. But I have a lot of confidence in what I’m doing. I’ve done it with a lot of love. And I think it’s actually good. When you believe in yourself, you just need people to join you, to like you, to share with you, to connect with you. And for people who don’t watch AriGameplays, they can connect with Aria instead.
On the music side, what inspires you? What artists and what kind of songs?
Well, the truth is that I’ve always been a popera, a pop girl. I definitely look to make pop. I feel like we need more pop in Mexico. So I really like knowing that I’m going to get in there. Obviously, I love other genres. So a lot of my songs are a mix of various things with pop. But that’s mainly it. I grew up with Belinda. And I love that she still makes music. I still love what she does. And also Kenia Os, who I know is doing very well right now.
What do you think of the artists who are doing the opposite of you? For example, Sabrina Carpenter released her skin on Fortnite. What do you think of the crossover between music and gamers?
It’s crazy. I love it. It’s been several years since Travis Scott released his Fortnite skin. I thought it was really cool. At the end of the day, it’s the best of both worlds. And that’s really good. I like that singers are trying to transition to this gaming world, which is huge. And I hope they can receive me as well now.
Love that. What’s your plan with the music?
I’m working on a lot of music. I already have a lot of songs that are coming out. I think that in about two weeks, a month, you will be getting to know another song and then another song. I also have a lot of love for them, and I know that people are going to like them a lot. They are all very different, but at the end of the day, they are still in the same line of pop and Aria Bela.
How would you describe your personality and what’s something people may not know about you?Whenever I have to describe myself, I get nervous. I would say that I’m very happy. I radiate a lot of energy. I’m going to repeat, pink. I’m a very pink person, and very sentimental. I hope that when people listen to my songs, they can feel what I’m trying to convey.
I saw you were at Coachella, right?
Yes, I loved seeing Lady Gaga, I also liked Post Malone, the Mexican artists, too. I enjoyed Junior H, I saw a bit of everything, and I loved it. Coachella was a great festival; it was my second year there, and it’s really nice to have all kinds of music, and all the fandoms, and communities of people who like different genres in one place, living and sharing. It’s incredible.
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