Kali Uchis discusses pregnancy, breaking industry barriers and new Spanish-language album ‘Orquídeas’
LOS ANGELES — Kali Uchis has played many different women in her 29 years on Earth.
In the lead-up to her 2018 debut, “Isolation,” the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter made a name for herself as an edgy soulstress who could rock with Bootsy Collins, Damon Albarn and Juanes — in both English and Spanish — without missing a beat.
In her 2020 follow-up, “Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)” — her first primarily Spanish-language LP — Uchis played a cosmic siren who stepped into her star power with her colossal breakout hit, “Telepatía.” In her 2023 album, “Red Moon in Venus,” she evolved into a sage of love, letting karma take the wheel in enlightened R&B ballads like “I Wish You Roses” and “Moral Conscience.”
With her new Spanish-language album, “Orquídeas,” released last week on Geffen Records, Uchis humanizes the divine feminine avatar she’s developed in her previous works. With splashy cameos from Karol G, Peso Pluma, Rauw Alejandro, El Alfa and JT of City Girls fame, she blooms wildly.
I last met Uchis one mid-September evening in Los Angeles, where she gave an intimate live performance at
