Back at the end of 2011, when we published our top songs of the year, our number one Chilean pop boyfriend Alex Anwandter scored three tremendous hits in our countdown. During those December days, Rebeldes blew us out. A fertile pop gem which had all the Fonograma crew profoundly enchanted, yet it became difficult to decide on a highlight because each song bloomed to an outstanding, deluxe professorship in particular style–newly-refined pop brilliance. For my part, having established a personal relationship with the album, the strikingly aching ballad “Tormenta,” alarmingly not included in said list, pumps the core of this emotionally bare-souled experience, a record we can already declare an essential reference of the contemporary Iberoamerican pop landscape.
Gorgeously shot in Puerto Rico by sharp director Álvaro Aponte, the provocatively, unjustifiably NSFW sublime clip for "Tormenta," premiered via Perez Hilton, once again demonstrates a powerful discourse derived by the singer’s thirst for equality and acceptance. According to my good friend and Fonograma guest writer Martha Preciado, organizer of the All My Friends Festival, this video represents “a statement that is not aggressive, but instead allows the public to understand the natural and organic shape of love.” In his post, Perez refers to Anwandter as the “South American Morrissey.” This comparison hardly does any justice to the artistic force Anwandter has morphed into. (Michael Jackson-esque dance moves plus Prince-evocative falsetto could always be added.) The fact is there’s no one currently like him. He's remarkably sexy, a gifted composer, and generational leading figure now reigning a league of his own.