Lucky Joe | Courtesy of Freddie Records
It all started on April 2, with a seemingly harmless Facebook post by award-winning Tejano artist Lucky Joe.
In the brief post, the Latin Grammy-nominated artist muses that if just 25,000 of his more than 40,000 followers each donated $1, he could buy the tour bus that he had shown his viewers earlier that day during a Facebook Live. At the top of the post, Lucky shows his current emotion as “feeling silly,” and includes a graphic and link to his CashApp.
“After that, people started sending in their donations,” Lucky Joe tells Tejano Nation. “When it was at $500, I said, ‘Wait, this is getting serious,’ and I went live again.”
Screenshot @LuckyJoeMusic Facebook
Lucky Joe asked his fans if they wanted to continue to see how much they could raise. The response was overwhelmingly in favor of moving forward.
“Since then, we have raised over $13,000,” added Lucky Joe. “I am at a loss for words and appreciate every single penny.”
As with any new or unconventional idea, the critics emerged, too, however, the positivity has far outweighed the opposition.
In fact, people are coming forward to share instances of when Lucky Joe helped them when they most needed it, whether he spent time with their sick relative, helped students get on an out-of-town trip, or even just signed an autograph for a fan who never forgot the gesture. A man who said he was from Lucky Joe’s junior high school commented that the singer was a good person.
The few who have voiced their opposition have stated that an artist on a legendary record label such as Freddie Records should not be “begging” for money. In contrast, others say he should be raising money for charity or working for the money. These few critics have gotten overwhelming responses from the fans to go elsewhere with their negativity.
Some of the criticism is coming from people affiliated with other Tejano music acts or who are new artists themselves, while others post negatively using blank profiles.
Lucky Joe just responds politely to his detractors and moves on.
“As far as the bad comments or what other musicians have to say, it’s irrelevant to me because the good outweighs the bad,” Lucky said. “This has never been done or seen in our industry, and it goes to show that our people really DO support Tejano music.”
Several musicians have supported Lucky Joe’s fundraiser, including Leonel Correa of La Calma, Grupo Stampede, and Los Palominos, who shared Lucky Joe’s CashApp profile on the screen during a break in their show in Robstown on Friday night.
Two comedians joined the campaign for Lucky Joe. Valente Rodríguez, who played Ernie Cardenas on the sitcom “George Lopez”, and stand-up comedian Raymond Orta, both posted in support of Lucky Joe.
Once he reaches his goal of $25,000, Lucky Joe will stop the fundraiser and he will unveil a surprise once he reaches his goal.
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