- 13 minutes ago
Tommy Mottola, founder and chairman, Mottola Media Group and Alex Gallardo, President of Sony Music U.S. Latin, share how Latin music has taken over the world and its impact on the genre and its artists.
The 2026 Billboard Latin Music Week takes place from Oct. 19-22 at the Faena Forum Miami Beach, serving as a dynamic platform celebrating the heartbeat of Latin music and culture, with a packed week of programming that includes artist conversations, panels, live performances, hands-on workshops, brand activations, networking opportunities and more. Latin Music Week also coincides with the 2026 Billboard Latin Music Awards, set for Thursday, Oct. 22, airing live on Telemundo and Peacock.
The 2026 Billboard Latin Music Week takes place from Oct. 19-22 at the Faena Forum Miami Beach, serving as a dynamic platform celebrating the heartbeat of Latin music and culture, with a packed week of programming that includes artist conversations, panels, live performances, hands-on workshops, brand activations, networking opportunities and more. Latin Music Week also coincides with the 2026 Billboard Latin Music Awards, set for Thursday, Oct. 22, airing live on Telemundo and Peacock.
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MusicTranscript
00:00Here's all this amazing, wonderful music, whether it was Shakira, Ricky, any of the artists that we had, and Sony
00:08Latin.
00:09But how could we transform this amazing music, these amazing stars, into global artists?
00:21And today we have two titans of industry. I like saying that.
00:27Tommy Mottola, legendary, the former CEO and chairman of, what is it, Tommy? Was it Sony Music? That's how you
00:37say it?
00:39Sony Music Entertainment, and still actively involved in music, and his new book, The Bronx School of Business, coming out
00:51in December.
00:52You can pre-order it now. I have the first copy.
00:56And another titan of industry, Mr. Alex Gallardo.
01:03Only one titan in the room, though.
01:06Only one. Alex is, of course, the president of Sony Music U.S. Latin, which right now is the leading
01:15U.S. Latin label in the U.S.
01:18Congrats.
01:20One number one hit in, what year was that?
01:232010.
01:242010?
01:25Hips Don't Lie, another number one hit in 2026.
01:30Two different men behind each of the hits.
01:33How do you do to strike, like, that is such a rare thing.
01:36And the first hit in the 90s.
01:38Whatever, wherever.
01:39Whenever, wherever.
01:40So how do you do to be able to strike lightning twice with the same artist in a 25-year
01:48span?
01:49I think it's such a remarkable thing.
01:52I mean, I think the credit goes to Shakira first, of all.
01:56I think the fact that she's been delivering hits for such a long run, still, she's having currently the biggest
02:05tour ever for Aladdin artists in terms of revenue.
02:08So I think that's first and foremost.
02:13And I wasn't involved in the 2010, but I can say that on the 2026 something changed.
02:20Because back in the day, FIFA, the way they worked is they would choose one official song for the World
02:29Cup.
02:29And that was it, all efforts would go to one song.
02:33Nowadays, it's not one official song.
02:35It's one official album.
02:36It's like a hundred songs.
02:37And eventually, it was the fans choosing the one they identified with.
02:43So I think it was even more difficult this time.
02:47And I want to give also a lot of credit to the marketing team, to Esteban, who was leading that
02:53on our end.
02:55Where is Esteban?
02:56Let's give Esteban his props.
02:58Somewhere over there.
02:58Where is Esteban?
03:00There it is.
03:01Hey!
03:03There was a spearhead in all the conversations with FIFA and made the song number one.
03:08So, yeah.
03:09It's an amazing span of almost 30 years.
03:12You know, when you think back, when we originally signed Shakira, right?
03:17She was 14.
03:19She was doing novellas out of Barranquilla.
03:23And she had a big hit album with, I think it was Siega Sordomuna, right?
03:28And what my estimation was, was here's all this amazing, wonderful music.
03:38Whether it was Shakira, Ricky, any of the artists that we had, and Sony Latin.
03:44But how could we transform this amazing music, these amazing stars, into global artists?
03:53And there was only really one route at that time, which was to do an album of both English
03:59and Spanglish.
04:01And we knew that if we could do that, and we could break them in the United States, we
04:05would then have other markets to do that.
04:07So finally, after a lot of pulling and tugging, you know, Shakira, she decided, okay, we'll
04:13do an English album.
04:14And fortunately, for everyone, especially her, it worked out.
04:20She wanted the first single to be a song called Two, if you remember it, on the album.
04:26We took whatever, wherever, and we put it on Z100 one day.
04:31The phones lit up, and then that was the end of that.
04:36And, you know, it was all good from there.
04:38And, I mean, the succession of how it's gone with Hips Don't Lie, and now the resurgence
04:45of everything, and continually rocketing up, is all due to her credit.
04:51Her talent, her tenacity, she is an unbelievable worker, unbelievable work ethic, and tenacity.
05:00So, Tommy, paint us a picture of what the Latin music market was in 2000, let me, in 2001,
05:12in 2000, which is when all of this, when that first Latin explosion happened.
05:16What was, what was, was there a Latin market?
05:20Mid to the end of the 90s, we were talking about this just before, inside.
05:25Sony Latin was a very small niche business at that time, only delivering profits of maybe
05:33a couple of million dollars, maybe a little bit more.
05:35This is across the globe, including Latin.
05:37This was everywhere.
05:39Oh, no, this was the United States, not Latin, okay?
05:42But, you know, again, probably the number one market is still the U.S., okay, for Latin music.
05:49So, the bottom line was, with, again, all of these amazing, talented people, we thought
05:58about, okay, how can we do this globally?
06:00So, even with Ricky, who had an album out at that time, which was unbelievably successful,
06:06selling millions, called Velve, right?
06:09We thought, okay, look at this.
06:12This is like, he's like the Latin Elvis Presley.
06:15What can we do?
06:16So, we got him in the studio, and, you know, between La Vida Loca and She Bangs, and then
06:24how could we break it?
06:26So, I decided, we're going to break it on the Grammys, and introduce him to the world
06:32and the United States, in English, on the Grammys.
06:36Grammys resisted.
06:37We said, okay, Sony Music's out of the Grammys, and, of course, they put Ricky on, and the rest
06:42is history, and he did a Copa de la Vida, because that was the hit from the World Cup, and
06:50then
06:50La Vida Loca was the next single.
06:53And I think that album initially sold almost 30 million at that time.
06:57So, yeah.
06:58And we'll go back to the Grammys in a second, but, so this is the situation in 2000.
07:03You have this music that, for us in LATAM, is everything.
07:09Here, it's a small niche, a very small percentage of the U.S. market, and you have to fight with
07:15the Grammys to get Ricky Martin on.
07:17And now, Alex, you have a very different reality with its own challenges.
07:21So, paint us that picture.
07:24I think to understand the Latin industry today, we need to look back maybe what happened the
07:30last decade.
07:30I think with the search of DSPs, social media, Latin music also found a genre, which was reggaeton,
07:41that made it global.
07:43And I think everything transformed for the Latin industry, who used to be looked over the
07:51shoulder from maybe General Market, and then, all of a sudden, we were on a par with, you
07:58know, other music from other places in the world.
08:01Nowadays, three of the top ten music markets are Latin, like U.S. Latin, East Mexico,
08:09is Brazil, so that's not a minor thing.
08:13And Alex, quick parentheses, everyone.
08:16This is a fact, right?
08:18According to Luminate, Mexico, Brazil, and U.S. Latin are among, well, Mexico and Brazil
08:26are two of the top countries in consumption of music, and then, of course, U.S. Latin.
08:31Sorry.
08:31Yeah, and that's a very valid point, because U.S. Latin is not considered a country, but if
08:36you only measure the numbers, it would be like the number six in the world as a country.
08:40So, I think that shows you the reality and the power of Latin music today.
08:45Yeah, it's like that, yeah.
08:47And now, Alex, you could...
08:48Much more global.
08:49Yeah.
08:49Yeah, it's much more global.
08:50Much more global.
08:51So, very different, Tommy.
08:52Completely.
08:52And Alex, you come from the A&R world.
08:56Before being the president of Sony, you were the head of A&R for Sony Music.
09:00He was the best A&R guy.
09:01The best A&R.
09:03But you walked into the industry at a time when the industry, when the Latin industry
09:08was struggling, you know, when we were doing that whole transition to digital, and you see
09:14what it is now, and what did you ever imagine?
09:17I mean, I remember as an A&R, when I was back in Spain, I would be invited to A
09:22&R meetings
09:22in Europe, and I would go with my records, you know, and the U.K. people would be there,
09:29the U.S. people, and we were like the underdogs, really begging for a few minutes to present
09:35our music.
09:36Fast forward some years later, they were doing conventions just to see the Latin music.
09:42We would bring our music, we'd have two days only to present music to European executives,
09:48Asian executives.
09:49That's how drastically it changed, and having been a witness of that.
09:54They were followers, not leaders.
09:56They were followers, not leaders, 100%.
09:59You know, it's like, again, in the time when we broke and developed Shakira and Ricky and
10:06Mark and Jennifer and everybody, being able to take it from the top and push it down was
10:15a different story, and then came the low, you know, before you came in, and before the
10:21whole resurgence really, you know, became, you know, with Maluma, Balvin, everybody that
10:28you broke, and Shakira's resurgence came back to take over and dominate the world, you
10:35I mean, you told me we're a visionary, because back in those days, no one was betting on those
10:40artists, and when that first Latin explosion happened, all the names were under Tommy's
10:46wing.
10:46So, I think he really planted the seed for what was to come, and what we are living
10:55today is in big part, thanks to the work that Tommy and his executive team did.
11:00And I think, Tommy, you were a little modest with your Ricky story, because the story is
11:06that Ricky did the Cup of Life, another World Cup anthem, that was a huge success, and then
11:12he was going to release his first album in English, and you went to the Grammys, and you
11:17said, I want him to perform at the Grammys.
11:19This is when Latin music, and so you actually threatened to pull all the Sony artists from
11:25the Grammys, right?
11:26Yes, we did.
11:29You know, I mean, do what you got to do.
11:31I mean, to me, Ricky Martin was going to become the next big world phenomenon, and at that point,
11:38when, you know, they looked at him like, okay, this is just a Latin artist, what are you
11:42talking about?
11:43So we really had to use our leverage.
11:46The thing is, the good thing is, we had tremendous leverage, because we had all the major superstars,
11:51whether it was Springsteen, Billy Joel, Beyonce, Mariah, you know, on and on.
11:56And so we had a lot of clout, and a lot of influence at the Grammys, and most of the
12:01artists
12:02were on the Grammys that year.
12:04So eventually, they understood our position.
12:07They gave Ricky a spot, and it was, I'll never forget, watching Madonna sit in the front
12:13row, and literally almost jumping on stage, never knowing or seeing Ricky Martin calling
12:19me the next day to do, I think it was Con Mi Corazón, that they did a duet together.
12:26You know, it was just, it was one succession after another that just catapulted Ricky all
12:32the way, and of course, I mean, Ricky's talent, and watching him sing and perform that night
12:37was the highlight of the Grammys.
12:40And it was great.
12:42I do have to say something, because to me, in talking about, and we're going to get into
12:47this in a minute, what's the next evolution?
12:50What's going to happen?
12:51How do we continue this?
12:53What's going to infuse people to feel compelled to continue to engage and buy?
13:02and want to consume Latin music?
13:04So for me, sort of the gold standard, even though I look at it as both a piece of art
13:12and commercial at the same time, was Rosalia's performance on Saturday Night Live.
13:20For me, it was one of the best performances and pieces of music and visuals I have ever
13:29seen, maybe the best, you know, and I've seen quite a few, but that combination to me is
13:37the thing that I believe is going to inspire people to not want to just do and get hooked
13:47into the same old crap that we have to listen to with beats, you know, no matter what they
13:53are, no matter what category it is, bachata, reggaeton, whatever, it doesn't matter.
13:58And I think now is the time for artists to take those chances and to do those things.
14:05I mean, this is an art piece, it's different, it's not pure pop commercial, but in my eyes,
14:11it's commercial because it's popular and it's fantastic and popular is pop.
14:18Do you know what I mean?
14:18So, anyway, and the other example, even though it's a different genre, and it comes back to
14:25the same thing, is authenticity.
14:28And if you look at what's happened, country music's been around forever and will be around
14:32forever.
14:32I mean, you know, when we signed Dolly Parton and the Dixie Chicks and all those people,
14:38I mean, country music was always a phenomenon and it always had its base in this country,
14:44country, especially in the Midwest and down South, it always had those roots.
14:49But if you look at what's happening now with Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson and all the
14:57new artists that are breaking, what is it about?
15:00It's about raw, pure storytelling, real storytelling about real life stuff and authenticity, real
15:11music, and all the things that compel the eyes, the ears, and the mind to want that.
15:18So, I believe, you know, again, full circle, coming back to Latin music, I think that has
15:23to be the motivation and inspiration going forward for all artists and not just stick to the crap
15:29that you're hearing every day on the radio or Spotify, you know, anyway.
15:34And Alex, what challenges do you have?
15:37Because Rosalia actually is one of yours as well.
15:42Did you, was it a challenge for you, especially here in the U.S., to get people to listen to
15:49her when she was starting three, four years, four years ago or so?
15:54Or if not that example, which one were you with your disquitos going into the meeting and
16:00saying, guys, we got to do this?
16:05I really feel that now the door is open for Latin artists and it's more, the challenge is
16:10more what Tommy was saying.
16:12It's about what is the artist's artistic proposition.
16:17Is this something truly original, unique that is worth paying attention to or is the 10th copycat
16:27of something we've heard multiple times?
16:29So now I think that the opportunity is there, more and more we see Latin artists showcasing
16:37in late night American shows, Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl.
16:44I mean, I think the Coachella every year hosts a ton of Latin artists.
16:51So I think the opportunity is there.
16:53And the challenge to me is more, okay, now we need to raise the bar in terms of what is
16:59the artistic proposal.
17:01And I can't agree more with what Tommy said.
17:05Yeah, but everybody tends to, no matter what genre, whether it's R&B, pop, hip hop, follow
17:12a trend, right?
17:14I think unless the trend and the mold is broken now, that we're going to stay flat.
17:19It has to break wide open.
17:21Just like country.
17:22And just like, I mean, Rosalia came out of the gate, out of the box on fire, on fire.
17:29Everyone thought this is the next global superstar.
17:33Okay, then through changes that she went through creatively, whether it was Motomami or these
17:39other things, you know, she was finding her way.
17:42Now she's taking this artistic approach.
17:44But again, you know, I think that breaking through is going to require change and breaking
17:53out of the mold, you know, and getting back to the things that made people want to engage
17:57and listen to music to begin with.
18:00So how do you do that, Alex, today in such a...
18:03Well, first of all, I think it's...
18:05And stay commercial.
18:06And stay commercial.
18:06And I think it's important that the room knows that you're a musician.
18:11So when you send music to him, he actually doesn't just hear it as some executive, like
18:18in the movies where it's like some weird guy.
18:20No, the man is a musician.
18:21And you have to listen to his album.
18:23Ah, yes, that's true.
18:25I heard that.
18:26But how do you break through?
18:28Because before, Tommy, you appropriately said that you could do it top down.
18:32Now it's harder, right?
18:34Because there's so much.
18:35It's so atomized.
18:37So what do you do?
18:38Yeah, I think, I mean, we are living in an era that is so much information that is extremely
18:44difficult to cut through.
18:45And that's why I feel that, as Tommy said, you need the storytelling.
18:52What is the narrative?
18:53Why a fan is going to put down the phone or is going to turn off TikTok to go and
18:59listen
18:59to your album or watch your video?
19:01No, I think they need to feel connected because what you are telling them is engaging, is exciting
19:08on an emotional level, speaks to them.
19:12So it's not about putting records like fast food one after the other.
19:18I think it's more about taking a minute to think, okay, what is the concept of this album?
19:23Let's build a story.
19:24Let's build a narrative.
19:26Yeah, exactly.
19:27Another example is not just, you know, with country music and with Ellen Langley and telling
19:35a story about real life, but I'm forced to drive in the car with my 15-year-old son.
19:41So I'm forced to listen to Drake and another artist that I didn't know much about named
19:48Steve Lacey.
19:49I've grown to love Steve Lacey.
19:52And what about Drake and what about Steve Lacey is it that makes it work?
19:57They're talking about their life experiences, their own personal stuff, all the crap they
20:03have to go through every day, what happens in real life, what happens with relationships,
20:08but not in a plastic way, a formula way that used to work, by the way.
20:13But that's the thing that's separating them, making Drake, you know, the number one artist
20:17in the world, streaming artist, and Steve Lacey, virtually unknown in the pop world, becoming
20:24so huge, you know.
20:26Now, it's hard to chase what's working today because if you chase it, then by the time you
20:31come out, it's no longer working.
20:34But what is working today, Alex, in the Latin market?
20:38I mean, as I was saying before, for many years there was one genre dominating everything,
20:43which was reggaeton.
20:45And then now we have like a lot of different flavors, like Mexican music is doing great,
20:53tropical music is doing great, Afrobeat is doing great.
20:56I think there's an opportunity and fans are more open to listen to different things.
21:03So anything goes.
21:04But to me, and I mean, Tommy was mentioning Rosalia.
21:08Rosalia did almost a classical album.
21:11And it was a huge success.
21:12So I think that's the proof that anything can work as long as it is a true artistic piece
21:20of work, that there's honest, that there's a strong storytelling, you know, something
21:27that can connect.
21:29I think we are now in a very interesting time because I remember not so long ago, pop parties
21:35or other genres should do reggaeton remixes.
21:38We were talking about doing reggaeton remixes with traditional pop parties that felt really
21:44uncomfortable.
21:45To me, Alex, and to your point, I think the consumer in the Latin market is going to want
21:51much more optionality than just following the trend of reggaeton, okay?
21:56I really think, you know, like you just said, whether it's Mexican music or it's classical
22:03or whatever, as long as it's great and authentic, I think there's going to be less of a trend
22:08and much more of that authenticity.
22:11It doesn't matter where it's coming from, Mexico, Brazil, the U.S.
22:15You know, it seems that way to me.
22:17We have an amazing example now with Milo Jota from Argentina.
22:22He's 19 years old.
22:24He did a tribute to the traditional folklore of Argentina and South America, and it connected
22:33in an amazing way that at some point we saw studies that younger kids are listening back
22:40to folkloric music.
22:41The folkloric music is having a momentum because he, like, put it in front of them.
22:47No one saw this coming.
22:49No one thought that, you know, Mercedes Sosa could be back on the conversation.
22:54Could be hip again.
22:55You know, so I think that's the beauty of what we're living, that when there is a true
23:00artist doing, you know, the things right and with an honest proposition, anything can happen,
23:08really.
23:08So what do each of you, what advice do you give new artists, new producers, new songwriters
23:16who come to you?
23:18I hear you.
23:19It has to be an authentic proposition.
23:21It has to be something that cuts through and is different.
23:25But at what point should they come to you?
23:28Do they need to get for a long time?
23:30It was, how many followers do you have?
23:32How many do you have on TikTok?
23:34Do you really need that for you guys to pay attention?
23:38I think it's a mix.
23:41Nowadays, an artist has a lot of tools.
23:44I mean, back in the day, in Tommy's days, if an artist wanted to record, they needed to
23:48go through the label.
23:49Be careful, back in the day.
23:50No, no, but I mean, I mean, in order to book on a studio a couple of years ago, no,
24:00you
24:00needed to go through the label just to have access to a studio.
24:05Nowadays, everyone can have a studio.
24:07In their computer at home, and then you can, with an iPhone, you can, or any phone, smartphone,
24:15you can do amazing pictures.
24:17I mean, there are a ton of tools that allow you to showcase what you have to offer.
24:23I think it's important to be unique, not to be, as we were mentioning before, the copy of the copy.
24:31What is unique in you and present it in a proper, solid way that it can get our interest?
24:41I think definitely, and there's going to be many, so many more options now because of the easy way to
24:54facilitate
24:55anyone who's talented and a songwriter or an artist to get their music up and out, with or without a
25:03label.
25:03Now, in addition to that, we have AI.
25:07So we have these tools that people can use to increase facilitating.
25:15Do you know?
25:16So I think whatever is going on now, it could be 10 times the amount of music coming out and
25:24at you
25:24and options for the consumer to get.
25:28So place yourselves, if you will, as if we were in 1999, and you see kind of these possibilities
25:38opening up for Latin music that simply weren't there before.
25:42What is the situation today?
25:44What excites both of you?
25:46Like Alex, for example, are there new markets opening up for Latin music and for your artists
25:51that you had never even considered and that now suddenly it's the first thing on your to-do list?
25:59I mean, one market that comes to mind because many artists are visiting regularly is Japan
26:07and there's the Fuji Rock.
26:09They say the biggest festival there.
26:11And a ton of artists are visiting.
26:15We have an amazing local team that helps, you know, doing promotion, doing things.
26:22And yeah, like from Trueno to Rao Alejandro, we are in conversations to bring Milo next year.
26:31So I think not so long ago that would be like almost impossible.
26:37It was like another planet.
26:38And now it's almost a normal thing in your, you know, strategic plan.
26:46No, okay, he's going to be touring, he's mark Europe, so Asia.
26:51And I think that's one of the good things of music now that is more global.
26:57And at least for Latin music, I don't find those, you know, doors closed
27:03or the gatekeepers as in the past that you needed to go through the guy in the radio
27:09that if he didn't like the record, it wasn't possible.
27:12Now you can cut through, get straight to the fans, and they have the final word.
27:17And I think the big, one of the big things, one of the big vehicles is going to be,
27:23and I've been talking to a bunch of investor, private equity type people.
27:28The whole world is centered, financial world, in creating experiences.
27:35The only thing that matters are experiences.
27:37But they need content and they need IP, right?
27:40Entertainment is going to drive it.
27:42So whether it's hospitality, whatever aspect, and the two genres that they talk to me about
27:49are Latin music and country music.
27:51That's it.
27:53So, and I think that's going to help drive Latin music in a big, big, big way.
27:59Because, you know, for them, in creating the experiences, it's festive.
28:03The sound is exciting.
28:05Do you know what I mean?
28:06Unlike any other genre, Latin music definitely gets you off your ass and gets, you know,
28:12and you want to do things and engage, you know.
28:15You want to dance.
28:16It's very, it's very connective.
28:18So before I let you go, and we're down to the wire here, but I do want to ask each
28:22of
28:23you, and I know, Alex, that you have to be diplomatic with all your artists and all of
28:29that, but still, I would like to ask each of you, what has been a moment that you really
28:36feel in your careers so proud about, that you're like, damn, I'm so glad that I was part of this?
28:47There's this particular moment when I, when I was young, I was playing guitar, I had my band.
28:55You are very young, Alex Gallardo.
28:57When I was a teenager.
28:58He looks, he looks...
28:59Two years ago, when he was 18.
29:02No, I mean, one of my greatest memories with my group of friends was watching the Bustock
29:07festival and watching Santana perform South Sacrifice, and fast forward 2014, 2015, I was
29:18proposed to be the A&R for a new Carlos Santana album, and I remember flying to Vegas to meet
29:25Carlos with Afo, who is our CEO and chairman of the Latin company, and I remember listening
29:34to that specific performance on my way to meet Carlos and found tears in my eyes of the emotion,
29:43and it felt like that child dream come true, you know?
29:47And then meeting Carlos was really, really special.
29:53He's a so unique, you know, human being, and so I really, you know, hold that, you know, memory
30:02in a special place.
30:04In a little bottle.
30:05That's beautiful.
30:06And you, Tommy?
30:09I've been extremely blessed in my life and in my career, and so there are almost too many
30:16experiences, starting back when I started as a manager, meeting two guys, I was a music
30:22publisher, and they came in and sang for me, and that was Daryl Hall and John Oates.
30:28So Hall and Oates was the first experience that I had at, you know, taking hold and becoming
30:33a manager and going on from there, and then all the other artists that we had, and Carly
30:38Simon and John Mellencamp as a manager, Diana Ross, but then at Sony, within six months,
30:46of being there, I'll make this quick, because it's a lot, you know, the first three artists
30:52that I got involved with signing was Harry Connick, Jr., New Kids on the Block, and then
30:59literally after six months, I got a demo tape, and that was Mariah, and so, you know, hearing
31:07that for the first time of someone singing like that, and then listening to those songs
31:13was extraordinary, and then having the benefit going forward with connecting with Gloria and
31:20figuring out where does she go from here, right, because she had one big hit, and then
31:25all of a sudden, there was a change in direction, so getting that on court, that really was my
31:30first big connection to the Latin music market, and of course, you know, Shakira and Ricky and
31:38Beyonce, who we signed when she was 14, with Destiny's Child, so I've been blessed with so
31:44many unbelievable experiences. Sometimes I look back and I go, this really didn't happen.
31:50It's very, it's so surreal to have that gift, and it was an honor and a blessing.
31:59Wonderful. Thank you both.
32:02And what this guy just said, I was further blessed, okay, through all of that, meeting
32:13Talia almost 30 years ago, okay, and, you know, like, I was introduced by actually Emilio and
32:22Gloria, Steph, and says, you have to meet this girl, you have to meet this girl, anyway,
32:26and I said, well, you know, she's a singer, she's an actress, she's a, okay, great. I said, well, I
32:33just
32:33went through this whole other thing, you know, but long story short, meeting her, and then watching
32:40her career go from where it was to another level with, with the music, and Alex being a part of
32:47it,
32:47and Sony music being a big part of it, and being the best part of my life, again, was the
32:54biggest
32:54blessing in my life, ever. That's a gift from God. Thank you.
33:01Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Alex. Thank you, Tommy. A pleasure to have you here.