# Boy Pablo

Boy Pablo (stylized as boy pablo) (born 29 November 1998) is the indie pop music project of Norwegian singer songwriter Nicolas Muñoz. In the recording studio, Muñoz writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Boy Pablo currently consists of Nicolás Muñoz (guitar, vocals), Gabriel Muñoz (lead guitar), Judah Kubendran (bass guitar) and Esteban Muñoz (drums).
Boy Pablo gained attention in late 2017 after the music video for the song "Everytime" gained international popularity on YouTube's algorithm. The duology concept EPs Roy Pablo (2017) and Soy Pablo (2018) were released under Boy Pablo's own independent label 777 Music. Their debut studio album, Wachito Rico was released in October 2020. Out of nominations for six Norwegian Grammy Awards, Boy Pablo has won two, and has additionally been nominated for three GAFFA Awards and one P3 Gull award, having won the latter.

## Early life

Nicolás Pablo Rivera Muñoz (born 29 November 1998) was born and raised in Bergen after his Chilean parents immigrated to Norway in the 1980s. Born into a musical family as the youngest child, his father and brother were both multi-instrumentalists and helped teach him how to play guitar, drums, bass guitar and piano. He attended secondary school at Kongshaug Upper Secondary School of Music, a music boarding school in nearby Os. He and his parents moved to Os, Hordaland when he started secondary school, two years prior to January 2017.

## History
### 2015–2016: Career beginnings

Muñoz began the "Boy Pablo" project in December 2015, and released its debut single "Flowers" in January 2016. Boy Pablo played its first-ever gig as a warm-up band for Tellef Raabe (brother of Norwegian singer Sigrid) at Hulen in April 2016. In September 2016, they performed as part of the Vill Vill Vest festival in Bergen. Boy Pablo as a group gained immense national popularity after receiving a Bergenfest scholarship of 35 thousand kroner in November 2016. Alongside this scholarship, the group additionally won their own headlining gig as well as a performance at the 2017 Bergenfest.

### 2017–2019: Roy Pablo and Soy Pablo

Muñoz further gained international popularity in 2017 with the song and music video for "Everytime", originally uploaded to YouTube in May 2017. Within a few weeks, the video had received millions of views, with Muñoz significantly expanding his fanbase. Boy Pablo released the 6-song EP, Roy Pablo, in May 2017, which includes "Everytime". In August 2017, Boy Pablo opened as a supporting act for American band Beach Fossils at Red Bull Sound Select in Oslo.
Boy Pablo released the single "Losing You" in March 2018, and embarked on a sold out thirty-nine date headlining world tour of United States, Europe and Asia. On 5 October 2018 Boy Pablo released its second EP, Soy Pablo. The EP received critical acclaim and was successful commercially in Norway, topping the national Vinyl albums chart. The EP additionally landed in the top 10 of year-end critics lists from Gaffa and Nöjesguiden, placing at Nos. 9 and 4 respectively. At the 2018 Spellemannprisen (also referred to as Norwegian Grammy Awards), Boy Pablo was awarded with the award for Breakthrough of the Year which additionally gave them the Gramo scholarship of 250 thousand kroner. At the same ceremony they were nominated in the categories of Best International Success, and Indie/Alternative of the Year for Soy Pablo. At the 2018 P3 Gull Awards, Boy Pablo also won Årets Nykommer. In January 2019, Boy Pablo was the only Norwegian act to perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California, U.S. in that year. At the 2019 Spellemannprisen (also referred to as Norwegian Grammy Awards), Boy Pablo was nominated for Best International Success for the second consecutive year in addition to Årets Musikkvideo ("Losing You").

### 2020: Wachito Rico

In May 2020, Boy Pablo announced the release of its debut studio album, Wachito Rico; the title is a Chilean expression and means "handsome boy." The album's singles are "Hey Girl", "Honey" and "Rest Up". With the release of the latter single, Boy Pablo announced its second-ever headlining world tour to support Wachito Rico, which kicked off in the UK in March 2021.

## Members

Current members
* Nicolas Pablo Rivera Muñoz – rhythm guitar, vocals
* Gabriel Muñoz – lead guitar
* Esteban Muñoz – drums
* Judah Kubendran – bass
Former members
* Eric Tryland – keyboard, backing vocals
* Henrik Åmdal – bass guitar
* Sigmund Vestrheim – drums
* Amund Valde - keyboard

## Artistry

Muñoz cites Mac DeMarco, Veronica Maggio, Tyler, the Creator, the Beatles, Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala and Mild High Club as musical influences. His rise to fame with a DIY-produced bedroom pop track,"Everytime" (2017), which gained popularity through the YouTube algorithm has drawn comparisons to that of American singer Clairo's rise to fame with her video for "Pretty Girl" (2017).

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Details |
| Wachito Rico | Released: 23 October 2020 Label: 777 Music Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming, cassette |

### Extended plays

| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Year | Title | NOR | NOR Vinyl |
| Roy Pablo | Released: 19 May 2017 Label: 777 Music Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming, cassette | — | 4 |
| Soy Pablo | Released: 5 October 2018 Label: 777 Music Format: CD, LP, digital download, streaming, cassette | 40 | 1 |

### Singles

| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album/EP |
| Year | Title | NOR Air. | BEL (WA) Tip | US (RAP) | Certifications | Album/EP |
| 2016 | "Flowers" | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| 2016 | "Beach House Interlude" | — | — | — | | Non-album singles |
| 2016 | "Ur Phone" | — | — | — | | Roy Pablo |
| 2017 | "Everytime" | — | — | — | RIAA: Gold | Roy Pablo |
| 2018 | "Losing You" | 2 | 11 | — | | Soy Pablo |
| 2018 | "Sick Feeling" | — | — | — | | Soy Pablo |
| 2019 | "Never Cared" (with Jimi Somewhere) | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| 2020 | "Hey Girl" | 31 | — | 48 | | Wachito Rico |
| 2020 | "I Just Wanna Go Home" | — | — | — | | Wachito Rico |
| 2020 | "Honey" | — | — | — | | Wachito Rico |
| 2020 | "Rest Up" | — | — | — | | Wachito Rico |
| 2020 | "Leave Me Alone!" | — | — | — | | Wachito Rico |
| 2022 | "La novela" (with Cuco) | — | — | — | | Non-album single |

### Other certified singles

| Year | Title | Certifications | Album/EP |
| 2017 | "Dance, Baby!" | RIAA: Gold | Roy Pablo |

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result |
| Spellemannprisen | 2018 | Gramo scholarship | Boy Pablo | Won |
| Spellemannprisen | 2018 | Årets Nykommer (Newcomer of the Year) | Boy Pablo | Won |
| Spellemannprisen | 2018 | Årets Indie/Alternativ (Indie/Alternative of the Year) | Soy Pablo | Nominated |
| Spellemannprisen | 2018 | Årets Internasjonale Suksess (Best International Success) | Boy Pablo | Nominated |
| Spellemannprisen | 2019 | Årets Internasjonale Suksess (Best International Success) | Boy Pablo | Nominated |
| Spellemannprisen | 2019 | Årets Musikkvideo (Best Music Video) | "Feeling Lonely" | Nominated |
| P3 Gull | 2018 | Årets Nykommer (Newcomer of the Year) | Boy Pablo | Won |
| GAFFA Awards (Norway) | 2018 | Årets Norske Nykommer (Norwegian Newcomer of the Year) | Boy Pablo | Nominated |
| GAFFA Awards (Norway) | 2018 | Årets Norske Hit (Norwegian Song of the Year) | "Losing You" | Nominated |
| GAFFA Awards (Norway) | 2018 | Årets Norske Album (Norwegian Album of the Year) | Soy Pablo | Nominated |