Blanca Wants to Bring Christian Music Into the Mainstream

It's a Tuesday evening when Blanca is sitting with New Times at Joe & the Juice on Brickell Avenue. She is dressed casually but stylishly in a white baby tee, dark jeans, and a yellow and green letter jacket.

"I don't usually share this, but I was originally working on an EP with Transcontinental Records. I'm not sure if you've heard of them, but that was Lou Pearlman's company, the one behind acts like O-Town, NSync, and the Backstreet Boys," Blanca confesses. "They were based in Orlando, and I had a starter deal with them. We recorded a five-song EP, and I was actually scheduled to meet with Lou on September 11, the day the towers fell. So, the meeting got canceled, and we never ended up connecting."

If you know Pearlman's story, you know the Kissimmee native's missed opportunity to work with the infamous music manager was perhaps for the best.

"Looking back now, as a 15-year-old kid, I was devastated," she says. "I thought this record deal could be my big break, and when it didn't happen, I was super bummed — but the Lord had other plans."

During her senior year of high school, the then-17-year-old started attending church. There, she bonded with other worshipers who loved music as much as she did, meeting weekly to work on songs and fellowship. "Through that community, a record label in Nashville heard some of the music we'd put out, and they signed us. That's how my career really began," she adds.

She was signed as part of the Christian hip-hop trio Group 1 Crew, performing with them until 2015, when she decided it was time for her to venture out on her own. She's kept on releasing music since then, including the 2022 album The Heartbreak and the Healing, which tackled topics such as divorce, loss, and abuse, all of which are seen as taboo for Christian music.
Her ability to push past the traditional boundaries of faith-based music has helped elevate her past "corny" Christian artist label into something more that hasn't been explored. She attributes this to having nontraditional influences such as Rosalía, Lauryn Hill, and Brandy.

" I've always been against the grain. It hasn't been an easy journey of trying to figure out how I fit within a space that doesn't really go outside the box," she says. "Being a female artist in any genre can feel isolating at times. There aren't usually many of us — it's especially true in the Christian music space. Even in the Latina music scene, while there's now a wave of artists like Karol G and Becky G, it wasn't always that way. Growing up, you didn't see as many women in those spaces, so when you did, it really stood out."

Many people think of Christian music as the kind of music your super-religious tía enjoys. With her latest release, "Worthy," an Afrobeat banger assisted by reggaeton legend Yandel, Blanca is trying to change this perception.

"I absolutely love Afrobeat music — artists like Tems and Tyla are always on my playlist. That vibe really inspires me, so I knew I wanted to incorporate it into my next album," Blanca says. "I hadn't really heard that style being done from a faith-based perspective, but Afrobeat music often talks about love, faith, life, and positivity, so it felt like a natural fit for what I do."

While it might seem like the Yandel collaboration came out of left field, the reggaetonero had been wanting to hop on a Christian track for a while now.
"Yandel heard the English version of the song through his wife, who's a fan of my music. Over time, she and I have become close friends, and she has been playing the song around him. When he heard it, he immediately connected with it — the beat, the vibe — and was like, 'Wait! Is that Blanca? I love this.' When I saw him, he mentioned wanting to do a remix, and that's how it all came together."

The Yandel collaboration is one of many she had in mind. Blanca admits she has a wish list of artists she'd like to work with.

"I'd love to collaborate with someone like Daddy Yankee or Farruko to keep building this new wave and movement," she explains. "Culturally, there's definitely something shifting, and I want to be part of that. I really admire what they're doing."

With 2025 just starting, Blanca has big plans for the new year.

"Right now, I'm finishing up my English album, with 'Worthy' being the first single from the project," she says, adding that the album is scheduled to be released sometime this year. "What's really special, though, is how this opportunity with Yandel has unfolded. There are moments in life when everything just feels right — like the timing and place are perfectly aligned."

According to Blanca, Yandel is interested in collaborating on her upcoming Spanish-language album.

"If all goes well, I hope to release some Spanish music this year, too," she says.