Ivan Cornejo: Tiny Desk Concert

This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.

Amamaria Sayre | September 26, 2024
Whether in a stadium of 75,000 or behind a desk in an office building, Ivan Cornejo sings two notes and the heart quiets. His voice invites harmony, reflection, llorando, gritando — whatever the listener needs to feel whole again.

The 20-year-old Mexican American has emerged as a happy anomaly in recent years — a singer-songwriter who not only captivates audiences with excruciatingly descriptive lyricism but also invokes an ancestral wisdom. Cornejo voices the pains of adolescence in styles and sounds that refuse to fit boxes; he communicates in a language that makes fans feel both different and true.

The singer, endearingly nervous at the Tiny Desk, found a perfect home in the intimate space for some rockier arrangements of his hit “Ya Te Perdí” and a softer performance of the genre-pushing “Baby Please.” He ends the show with a performance of “J.,” which he dedicates to the girl who broke his heart. In Cornejo’s infinite shades of blue, we all find ourselves a little grateful for heartbreak.

SET LIST
“Aquí Te Espero”
“Baby Please”
“Mirada”
“Ya Te Perdí”
“J.”

MUSICIANS
Ivan Cornejo: vocals
Gonzalo Cordero Riquelme: guitar
Ricardo Ramos: guitar
Edgar Alejandro Cornejo: bass
Pepe Hidalgo Ramos:drums
Special thanks to: Rob Trujillo

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Anamaria Sayre
Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant
Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Mitra I. Arthur
Audio Engineer: Josh Newell
Production Assistant: Elle Mannion
Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
Tiny Desk Team: Hazel Cills, Ashley Pointer
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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