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
Copyright 2024 NPR
