Chiquis Breaks Down 5 Essential Tracks From Her New Album ‘Janney’: ‘We Are Magic, We Are Women, We Are Roots’
May 1, 2026
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Billboard
Photo credit: Emilio Sanchez
With Janney, Chiquis challenges listeners to put down their distractions, close their eyes, and let the music take them somewhere only she can guide them.
Released Thursday (April 30), the Mexican-American singer-songwriter’s ninth studio album is a transformative work named after her given name. “I wanted to name it Janney because I’ve always wanted a self-titled album,” Chiquis tells Billboard Español over Zoom. “I just didn’t know when it was going to come… But once I was done with the whole album, I just knew. I was like, this is really me. This is who I am.”
Across the 20-track spiritual odyssy, the three-time Latin Grammy winner and self-proclaimed Reina Abeja steps away from her signature banda sound and into a more reflective version of herself. She offers listeners a soundscape that moves effortlessly between English and Spanish, fusing soothing pop and Latin folkloric influences with a spiritual undertone.
“I want this album to take you out of your mind and into your body, into the moment,” she explains. “It’s a good reminder for myself as well. For a long time it was hard for me to be in the present, and I feel like this album gives you no other choice but to be. That was the intention.”
Amid themes of survival and self-love, tracks like “VOLVÍ” reflect her own journey to healing, with the artist describing the song as “very personal, intimate, and vulnerable, but also a song that’s celebrating — you’re giving yourself permission to celebrate yourself and everything that you’ve been through.” Songs like “Eres MÁS” speak directly to her younger self, reminding listeners to trust their intuition.
Chiquis also draws listeners further into her world through a luminous lineup of collaborations, including Jesse & Joy on the breezy “MALIBU,” Lila Downs on the transcendent “ESPÍRITU” and Arroba Nat on the huapango-laden “FÉNIX.” “That’s what this entire album is about: giving hope where perhaps hope has been lost, because I’ve been there too,” she adds.
Below, the singer-songwriter breaks down five essential tracks from her new album, Janney. To listen to the full set, click here.
“VOLVÍ”
That song represents more than anything where I am now in my life. It’s a very personal, intimate and vulnerable song, but also a song that’s [about] celebrating. You’re giving yourself permission to celebrate yourself and everything that you’ve been through, and how you came out on the other side. Even if you feel that you’re not there yet, it gives you that hope. That’s what this entire album is about: giving hope where perhaps hope has been lost, because I’ve been there too.
“eres MÁS” is a song for my younger self — [a reflection on the times] I didn’t listen to my intuition and how I abandoned myself for so many years by ignoring that gut feeling. Then I realized with time that that gut feeling is an intuition, and intuition is God speaking to you. We’ve all been through those times when you know you have to make a decision, or you don’t have peace in your relationship. I would wake up in the middle of the night and I’d be like, “Oh my gosh, how do I get out of this?” My people-pleasing [tendencies] came in. It’s like, “don’t ignore your intuition.”
That’s what this song is all about. You could sing it to yourself, to your old self. You could sing it to a friend, to your sister. We all need a song to remind us of our power, that we are magic. Somos magia, somos mujeres, somos raíz (We are magic, we are women, we are roots).
“Espíritu” was originally going to be called “Mantra,” but I changed the name at the very last minute. I chose “Espíritu” because when I listened to that song — and when I wrote that song — it was [meant] for everything that’s living. We get so busy that we often don’t take the time to truly appreciate things like a tree, for instance, or la naturaleza. That spirit, to me, is God. God is everywhere, in every living thing, and that’s what the song is about.
I’m so honored that Lila Downs said yes, because she’s the perfect person for this song. I feel like she’s also a medicine woman. It’s a song that feels like, “Yes, I feel you. I can’t see you, like faith — I can’t touch you, but I feel you.” That’s exactly what this song is all about.
“Malibu” is such a happy song. It’s about embracing your inner child and not forgetting that, at the end of the day, you could be having a really bad day, pero cierra los ojos (but close your eyes), and you could just imagine and go to your happy place. Just say everything’s going to be okay and just breathe. Go to your happy place mentally so that everything else could feel that way. That’s what that song is all about. And of course, it stars Jesse and Joy. Love you guys.
This one’s going to be hard. I’d probably have to say “my angel.” It’s a song I wrote about the miscarriage I had — that we had. I also hear it and think of my mom (Jenni Rivera). At the end of the day, I know our loved ones, even if they graduate to heaven, are still with us — in our blood, our memories, how we act, and how they’re living through us. That’s what the song is all about. And since it’s in English, I thought it was a perfect way to say, “Hey, listen to me sing in English too.”
