“There's a Lot of Names”: Carín León Teases Collaborations with Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson and Teddy Swims Ahead of New Country Album

As Mexico's chart-topping phenom, Carín León, prepares to drop his new country album, the ‘Primera Cita’ hitmaker has confirmed he has a slew of star-studded collaborations on the way with the likes of Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson and Teddy Swims.

In a new interview with Billboard, León has revealed that he has a range of new music on the horizon, with the ‘Una Vida Pasada’ crooner continuing his foray into country music.

Having already worked with Cody Johnson and Kane Brown for the bilingual ‘She Hurts Like Tequila’ and ‘The One (Pero No Como Yo)’ respectively, as well as making surprise appearances at Spotify House and the Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest last week, it's safe to say Carín León is no stranger to the genre we know and love.

Now, he's doubling down on his penchant for blurring the lines between regional Mexican music, such as contemporary banda and norteño, and traditional country music.

Speaking to Leila Cobo, Carín León shared that this is “the most eclectic album that I've ever [done]”, before hinting that the project will have a truly stacked roster of special guests.

León teased, “There's a lot of names, there's a lot of names, like my man, Jelly, Lainey Wilson...There's a lot of names over there. Maybe the plan changes on the way and some of them come in Boca Chueca Tour, so I don't know. I need to feel the concept very well, and see who [will] have to take part. But my man, Jelly, definitely”.

He went on to outline how he already has a joint song with Jelly Roll and Teddy Swims, with León implying this is set to appear on Jelly's next record, “For this album, for [Jelly's] album, with Teddy Swims, we already made a collaboration, but it's gonna see the light, like, in this year too. It's another approach to the American music”.

Elsewhere during the insightful conversation, León touched on the creative impetus behind the record, “Some stuff sounds like James Brown, some stuff sounds like Queen, some stuff sounds like regional Mexican with these corrido tumbado melodies, but in a country way. It’s very Carín. It’s what’s happening in my head and in my heart”.

He candidly explained that, “I’m not a country artist...I’m a sonorense. I have regional Mexican in my bones. But I love country music, and I’m trying to do my approach with my Mexican music and find a middle point. It’s not easy. You have a lot of barriers because of the accent, because of the language, the racial stuff”.

León expanded, “It’s something that fills me with pride and something that’s been very difficult to achieve as a Mexican and as a Latin: to reach the center of the marrow of this country movement. To get to know this industry and start moving the threads to act as this missing link between regional Mexican and country music”.

As well as linking up with some of the genre's biggest names, Carín León also dropped a country-leaning single back in 2019, when he covered Extreme's ‘More Than Words’.

Now, six years later, Carín León is a bona fide star, boasting almost 29 million monthly listeners on Spotify. When you compare that to country music's elite, only Morgan Wallen can outpace León on 42 million, with Jelly Roll following closely behind on 28 million.

Before we get to hear León's first full-length country album, the ‘Según Quién’ singer-songwriter will release his eagerly anticipated second instalment of his Boca Chueca album series, which is expected to drop later in 2025. His country effort is due in early 2026.

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