Have you ever been putting together a jigsaw puzzle and come across a piece that seems to fit absolutely nowhere? Try as you might, twisting and analyzing it, that piece simply refuses to take up its space, even though logic dictates it must have one... right? EMJAY—whom you might also know as María José—defines herself as "a mixture of many things that don't necessarily make sense together." She enjoys living with strength and energy, changing every chance she gets, and doing whatever she pleases—did somebody here say La Vie Bohème?

EMJAY isn't just that piece that doesn't fit—because she's decided she likes it that way, because not everything has to be part of the grand framework of parts; she is, in a way, an entire puzzle made up of sharp shapes and clashing colors where, no matter what angle you look at it from, there is something there—in her—that draws your attention. She is a puzzle where, if you look long enough, there will always be something new to discover; amidst the intensity, the pure emotions, and, of course, the music. Above all, the music, where María José finds her medium of expression, the escape valve we all need.

"Pop can make noise, too. It can be vulnerable, intense, brilliant, uncomfortable, and still be pop"—this is the premise with which EMJAY presents her new album, POP PESADO, an amalgam of 13 tracks that introduces us to a world where opposites meet at a party, hold hands, kiss, become enemies, go with the flow, laugh out loud, get real with each other, and wear each other down... all at once. All night long. Infinite.

Following the same spirit of vulnerability and clash found in POP PESADO, we delve into the time-frozen spaces of an abandoned hotel to place EMJAY, dressed in Calvin Klein, at the center of a visual discrepancy. It plunges us into a spectacle where María José feels, lives, and makes mistakes, allowing herself to truly feel, to be authentic, and, of course, to conquer us with this new era that is here to stay.

KEVIN GORIAN, from THE WALK (KG): If this abandoned hotel were a physical representation of your mind in your most vulnerable moments, like the ones you describe in "como cuesta mentir", what would we find in the room you never give anyone the key to?

EMJAY (E): Probably a bunch of things I still don't know how to explain... Memories I've idealized, conversations I never had, and some versions of myself I prefer to leave there. I'm quite nostalgic, even if it doesn't always seem like it.

KG: You say pop can also be uncomfortable. The industry often demands that women in pop be accommodating, visually perfect, and easily digestible. What is the rawest, loudest, or most uncomfortable part of María José that you decided not to filter out and instead place at the center of this album?

E: My intensity. I feel everything so deeply, and not always in the prettiest way. I can be dramatic, contradictory, obsessive, even a bit ridiculous. I used to be ashamed to show certain parts of myself; now I find them to be the most interesting.

KG: Songs like "Obsesión" and "Moreno Fantasy" talk about surrendering to illusions while knowing they might end badly. Why do you think, as a generation, we are so drawn to the things that destroy us a little?

E: We love feeling those micro-moments of adrenaline triggered by getting something that isn't entirely good for us. I feel like it's just human nature to seek out that pleasure every once in a while; otherwise, everything would be so much more boring :p.

KG: Let's imagine for a moment that POP PESADO isn't just an album, but an underground cult operating out of this hotel's lobby. What would be the golden rule for someone to join?

E: I guess anyone who enters the cult would need to know how to throw a good party and have a bit of an emotional track record.

KG: Denim is one of the few materials that looks better and gains more character as it wears out. If you could compare the emotional wounds you talk about on your record to a piece of denim clothing, which song from POP PESADO feels like those jeans you simply refuse to let go of?

E: The dark oversized jeans from the shoot. Add some studs to them, and they could be the perfect main characters for "Tirada en el Club."

KG: There's a very famous quote that goes: "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." Who are you trying to make uncomfortable with this album, and who are you hoping to embrace when they listen to "como cuesta mentir" or "Tirada en el Club"?

E: I didn't make the album with the intention of making anyone uncomfortable, but if it bothers someone to see a woman simply being, then perfect. My music is meant to be taken and made your own; if that happens with those two songs or any other... then it was all worth it.

KG: Wearing Calvin Klein underwear on a magazine cover is one of the most iconic statements of rebellion since the 90s. What are you rebelling against in 2026 with the attitude of POP PESADO and the looks in this story?

E: I want to be myself today and always. I’ve fallen into the game of trying to be someone else just to please people many times, too, and nothing has ever made me feel worse than that. So, from now on, I'm only looking to be me: me in my looks, me in my music, me in everything.

KG: We placed clean, classic Calvin Klein pieces inside an abandoned hotel. It’s the clash between the flawless and chaos. How closely do you identify with this idea of being a "flawless disaster"?

E: Quite a bit. I love having control over my aesthetic, my music, and everything I create, but my personal life isn't always so organized... I think I can have an incredible look while everything else is falling to pieces. There's a certain charm to that.

KG: The album closes with “Tirada en el Club”, showing the less glamorous side of excess and exhaustion. After all the intensity, the noise, and the catharsis required to sustain the POP PESADO era, when we finally reach the end and the lights of this era fade out... where and how do you hope to wake up?

E: This era isn't going to end. There's still a lot left to discover with POP PESADO.