" We all come from artistic backgrounds, dancing, singing, everything," says 21-year-old Chilean dancer Emiliano from the group's home in Miami Beach. "Fortunately, the objective that we had in mind was to be part of a project like this that could bring together all the things we had been saying since we were so young. Lionfish and Pharrell Williams joined us — we were lucky, and we are very grateful because they grabbed us, sponsored us, and joined this group of five of us."
In addition to Emiliano, DND consists of 21-year-old Daniel (AKA Lacayo), a Miami kid who grew up singing in church and was found while working on music with Faruko; Emilio, a 22-year-old dancer from San Juan who's toured with Bad Bunny; 24-year-old Danny Issac, a classically trained dancer from New York; and Javi, a 22-year-old dancer, singer, and drummer from Caracas.
The group is the brainchild of Lionfish CEO Rebecca León and Williams. León says she was inspired by the K-pop scene that's exported boy bands from the East Asian country to every corner of the globe, as well as the long-running Puerto Rican group Menudo, which is also having a renaissance moment with its latest iteration. "It felt like this was a good time to revisit that concept with high-performance dance and high vocal abilities but add to that the Latin sexiness and that Latin sauce that we bring to music, and do something really spectacular and sensational," León explains.
León certainly has the chops to make anyone a star in the Latin music industry. Lionfish currently manages the careers of stars like Anitta and Danny Ocean and has previously worked with J Balvin, Rosalía, and Lunay. This time around, she's working with Grammy Award-winning producer Pharrell Williams.
" Collaborating with Pharrell, he's one of my closest friends — has been for over a decade. I admire him so much," León says. "I think he's one of the most important people in our lifetime in terms of his influence on music, fashion, film, and philanthropy, and his taste level is just a hundred out of ten, so I couldn't have a better partner helping us make music for them, guide them through their process."
Different Points of View
With a diverse background amongst the five and backing from two musical powerhouses, DND has kept busy, with each member working on getting better at singing, dancing, and speaking Spanish in some cases."A year ago, I thought this would've been impossible. We had just met, and now it's just way more than just music, and what we've become is a family," Emilio says. "We have a connection that we hope everyone can see and connect with us as well. It's really nice to be able to see how we watered a plant a year ago and see it grow to what it is now. It's insane."
" I feel that as a group in this industry right now, one of the most important things is to translate the genuine bond that we have between us," Danny adds. "I feel like with every show since we lived together, we built that trust within us in this past year, and now I feel like we're at a point where our bond is so strong that you don't even have to know us at all to really see it being translated to the crowd. It's just the aura of the group."
While the group is entrenched in the Latin music scene, DND's sound pulls from many genres and the music the boys group up listening to.
"Everyone has their own style. For example, when we got to the project, we were still trying to figure out what our sound was," Javi says. "Coming from Venezuela, what was in Spanish was the easiest for me — it was like reggaeton and rap. I've been listening to that all my life. I imagine that was also like that for Emilio, who is from Puerto Rico, the cradle of reggaeton. Lacayo, who is here from Miami, is taking influence from a more pop sound. I feel like what we've been listening to and what we've been doing all our lives before, we can do this as a group, whether it be reggaeton, pop, rap, or any other genres we're influenced by. We had the opportunity to show this with La Primera Vez.""It's the best thing to be able to get together with people who have been with you for so long and who take you to another level."
tweet this
Working with a superstar producer on the level of Williams has also helped the boys hone in on their sound.
" Imagine that the creative process comes with the help of people that we never imagined we would be able to work with," Emiliano says. "Lionfish and Pharrell put in front of us excessively talented people, and us having built our craft by ourselves before this, it's just super. It's the best thing to be able to get together with people who have been with you for so long and who take you to another level. The songwriters who helped us write, the producers — we've had incredible support."
A Boy Band for Everyone
For León, DND is breaking the traditional boy band mold by appealing to an older audience."What we would like to do is bring this boy band thing to a new level and to a kind of new audience, too. We want to cater to everyone, not just the classic boy-band-catered audience," she says. "That's what makes me proud that I'm saying it because it was our goal from the beginning."
After speaking with New Times, the boys traveled to Colombia to perform several showcases, returning to Miami in November for Latin Grammys week, where DND performed at Lionfish's event at Astra in Wynwood.
Unlike boy bands of the past, there is no clear leader in DND, like what Justin Timberlake was to 'NSync. Overall, each member comes off as humble.
" It's just gratitude, like being grateful for everything. Everything is always changing at the last minute. You never know how it's gonna look, but if you're just grateful for everything, that's all that matters," Lacayo says. "Like you're already successful right now. It's right here. So it's just being grateful for what you're in right now."
