Born Martina Stoessel, the 26-year-old singer got her first taste of fame in the mid-2010s, playing Violetta Castillo on the Disney Channel Latin America's telenovela Violetta, which was also broadcasted in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Violetta's coming-of-age story resembled that of the young Stoessel, focusing on the young girl's musical talent while also navigating the trials and tribulations of growing up. Stoessel's father, a television producer in Buenos Aires, had been informed of the project before its development, leading to an intense casting process that would catapult an adolescent Tini to cross-continental recognition.
But when sitting down with New Times, Tini's laid-back demeanor, complete with a leather jacket over her T-shirt and jean shorts combo and her hair wrapped in a casual ponytail, would make it seem like she was simply one of the girls.
"I was super scared at first about pursuing music, just because I had gotten started so young with a career at 13, 14 years old," she says. "I didn't have that moment where someone finishes school and says, 'Well, maybe I'll go ahead and study for this career.' Life just kind of put me in a place where I could start seriously thinking about this kind of thing, and I had really dreamt about singing as early as 10 years old. But I want to say at 14 is where I really started to find myself professionally and feel like this was really my own project that I could take on."
Having evolved from the image of her early youth, Tini has since kept a curiosity for life and self-discovery that has followed her into her music. She signed with Disney's Hollywood Records in 2015, releasing her debut album, Tini (Martina Stoessel), the following year. In support of the album, she hit the road in 2017 as part of the Got Me Started Tour, which ended up being the highest-grossing tour in Argentina that year. She continues to build on that success with the albums Quiero Volver (2018) and Tini Tini Tini (2020) and became a fixture on the Billboard Argentina charts with songs like "Oye" featuring Sebastián Yatra, "Un Beso en Madrid" with Alejandro Sanz, and "Ella Dice" with trap artist Khea.
For Tini, these early years were a time of transition, finding her voice that was distinct from the naivety of her early career.
"I didn't really understand the world of music until my early 20s, what it's like to come out with an album, a single, anything," she explains. "That's where I finally started to get a grasp on the industry, what it's like putting together live performances, and I realized how much I love it and enjoy it. I felt like I could finally be the leader of my own projects, where everything finally had my real name on it."
Beyond her music career, Tini has immersed herself in pop culture. She's served as a guest judge on Argentina's La Voz, recorded tracks for Disney soundtracks, including the Spanish version of "Let It Go" from Frozen, and has served as a brand ambassador for Pantene and Maybelline.
After signing with Sony Music Latin, Tini released her fourth album, Cupido, earlier this year. It boasted several chart-topping tracks, with songs like "Miénteme" featuring Maria Becerra reaching the Billboard Global 200 and "Maldita Foto" with Manuel Turizo reaching number 15 on the U.S. Latin Pop Airplay chart. Ultimately, Cupido is a testament to her ever-evolving sound and continued growth as both a woman and an artist.
The inspiration for the album came after her very public breakup with Colombian singer Sebastián Yatra. The songwriting and recording process allowed her not only to come to terms with the scrutiny of finding love in the public eye but also to channel her feelings when it didn't go as planned.
Tini
Photo by Nacho Nabscab/@nabscab
Though she's found success in heartbreak, the Latin pop superstar is already looking ahead. For her next project, she wants the story to be about her.
"It's the first time that I'll be able to tell my story. I talk about my processes, about dark places, about my truths, my history, everything," she says. "Even though I love commercial music and I love being around pop music, this is truly the type of music and style that I want to do by having to tell such profound things about my life. I've been able to take in a lot of information since Cupido about myself, and I've understood a lot of things. Therapy helped me a lot in analysis, verbalizing things, and being able to talk. And for the first time, to tell my truth, which I've been silent about for a long time and in many things that have been said about me and who I am, converting it all into music has been an incredible healing process so far."
But before she embarks on that journey of self-discovery, Tini will play the three final dates on her Tini Tour on U.S. soil, including a stop at the Kaseya Center in downtown Miami on Thursday, November 2.
"I have some mixed feelings because the tour is ending, but it's the first time I'll be playing in the U.S.," Tini says. "I wasn't here even as Violetta. The other day, I asked a friend, 'What are the audiences like?' She said, 'Forget it. It's going to be amazing; it's going to be incredible.' Especially in Miami, closing this chapter and seeing it come to an end after two years, I'm very proud of everything that I've been able to accomplish with this tour and that everyone enjoys it to the fullest."
Tini. 8 p.m. Thursday, November 2, at the Kaseya Center, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 786-777-1000; kaseyacenter.com. Tickets cost $39 to $225 via ticketmaster.com.
