Destiny Navaira comes from Tejano music royalty as the niece of the late Tejano superstar Emilio Navaira, who together with the iconic Selena, brought Tejano music to the masses during the 1990s. But with the spring 2020 release of her solo debut album,La Preferida, Destiny has taken her own musical path with a more regional Mexican sound inspired by a variety of genres and with soaring vocals that excel at passionate expression and belting out emotional lyrics.

However, the young, talented vocalist, honors her family roots and did just that on her debut album when she recorded one of her uncle’s first hits “Pienso En Ti.” The video for the song will premiere at midnight on Monday, June 22, 2020.

The song, “Pienso En Ti,” from the early 1990s, will sound a bit different as Destiny puts her own spin on it, but singing along with her father, Raulito Navaira, she pays tribute to her family, and especially Emilio, who paved the way before her.

Destiny spoke with Tejano Nation about the recording, the video, and what it has meant for her both personally and professionally. “I really wanted to do a cover of my uncle but change it up,” she said. “He did everything with so much grace and so much talent I knew I couldn’t compete with the way he did it. But I think putting a twist on it was something that is special to me.”

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Instead of the heavy keyboard that is reminiscent of the early 1990s Tejano sound, Destiny wanted a more regional Mexican feel to the song.

“When we heard it, I was like, this would be perfect to kind of give it that Ramon Ayala feel and change the style of it,” Destiny said. “And I think it worked really well for the album.”

Destiny chose “Pienso En Ti” from her uncle Emilio’s large repertoire of hits not only because of the new style she envisioned for it, but because the song was special, as it was one of the first major hits for Emilio in Mexico, a country that is also embracing Destiny’s music. Destiny said music from her debut album is getting airplay in areas like Monterrey, Coahuila, San Luis Potosi, and generally in the northern part of Mexico.

“You know, just doing the solo album and starting my solo career, it’s all so special to me and I feel like I’m following in his footsteps,” Destiny said, of her uncle. “’Pienso En Ti’ was one of the first songs that hit really big for them in Mexico and it’s kind of what I’m doing as well.”

“And it’s just kind of like a continuation of the legacy and it makes me proud that I can add that on my debut album,” Destiny continues.

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As for the video, Destiny says she thinks people will enjoy it.

“It’s a really fun, cute video and it really kind of shows who we are together,” Destiny said. “It’s a family-oriented video. My whole band is in it and it’s a lot of fun.”

Destiny also reminisced about the song and the memories she has attached to it along with her family’s younger generation.

“I definitely have a lot of memories to that song with my cousins and playing band and imitating our dads,” she said. “So it’s definitely a special song.”

Special Note: For those who listen to Destiny’s album,La Preferida, in its entirety, they can enjoy a special song titled simply, “Interlude,” that precedes “Pienso En Ti” and is an homage to her uncle Emilio. The sweet, sad melody and lyrics are sung beautifully by Destiny and the song was written by her auntYvette Navaira, who originally wrote it in 2003 for the passing of Destiny’s grandfather. Guitar on the song is performed by Grammy winnerJuan Treviño. A video for “Interlude” was released on the anniversary of Emilio’s passing and Destiny commented on the video and song: “There’s a lot of symbolism in the video. It was an emotional song for all of us. It kind of leads into ‘Pienso En Ti’ perfectly. It’s one of my favorites on the album.”

Destiny is already at work on her sophomore album but for now, fans can expect a video each month as the vocalist filmed videos for each of the 10 songs on her debut album.

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