With a petite stature and laugh reminiscent of Sofia Vergara, Lupe and The Ex-Girlfriends are the newest addition to electric pop in America. Fuentes has graced the pages of Spain’s FHM, Primera Linea, Diosas del Desnudo, LIL (Spain’s largest publication), Interview and Siete, having beat out American sex idols Carmen Electra and Pamela Anderson for their “Hottest Top 20 Celebrity Hot Stars” issue. And with all this going on, her bubbly personality and mastery of the English language (she learned only 3 years ago) took us by surprise when we sat down to speak with her last week.
Give your history in music.
I started The Ex-Girlfriends about two years with girls from the LA dance community, so the other girls are choreographers/dancers. We got together and started dancing, singing and working together. Things just happened really fast and we get along really well together.
How would you describe your music?
To be honest, we don’t sound like anyone else, but are inspired by other artists like LMFAO. Their music is so right now, which is electric pop and easy to dance to. The Black Eyed Peas are very universal and futuristic which is a huge part of being a great group. But one group we absolutely love is 2NE1. They are a huge inspiration for us, as well as Girls’ Generation.
What you’re wearing now is completely different from what you wear in your video. What sort of style do you have?
It all depends on how I feel. Fashion for me is way of expression. So today, I’m feeling very dark (laughs). No, when I was told I was coming to New York for this, I packed everything so quickly, which is not me as I take a lot of time for everything.
Who would consider your style inspirations?
CL from 2NE1 is a huge style inspiration because she mixes lots of different items together. But it’s also a challenge because I’m so small [she’s 4’9”], so it’s hard to find clothes. So I always wear heels because without the height you’ll be like “Hello? Excuse me?”
You said you mix styles… what top designers would you throw your mother in the front of a bus for?
(laughs) Like I said, it’s all about items that fit me so Prada, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Marciano and BCBG.
Where do you see yourself from here on? What do you want your group to be going?
Our biggest market right now is English speaking, but we want to tap into the Spanish speaking market soon. We’re actually working on some songs in Spanish right now. But what I want to be doing is what I’m doing now – making music and connecting to people through music.