Fuerza Regida

Fuerza Regida is an American regional Mexican band from San Bernardino, California. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Jesús Ortíz Paz, backing vocalist and twelve-string guitarist Samuel Jáimez, rhythm guitarist Khrystian Ramos, sousaphone player José "Pelón" García and tololoche player Moisés López.
Formed in 2015 as a cover band, they later released a song titled "Radicamos en South Central" in 2018, which would receive moderate success and eventually lead to a signing of a contract with Lumbre Music, where they later issued their first full-length release, the live album En Vivo Puros Corridos (2018). Seven of Fuerza Regida's studio albums, Del Barrio Hasta Aquí (2019), Adicto (2020), Otro Pedo, Otro Mundo (2020), Del Barrio Hasta Aquí, Vol. 2 (2021), Pa Que Hablen (2022), Sigan Hablando (2022), and Pa Las Baby's y Belikeada (2023), have peaked within the top 10 of the US Regional Mexican Albums chart, with their eighth studio album Pero No Te Enamores (2024) exploring EDM and other dance genres.
Their single "Tu Boda" with Óscar Maydon, which remains the group's highest-charting single, peaking at number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other released singles, including "Bebe Dame", "Ch y la Pizza", "Harley Quinn", "Tú Name" and "Nel", would appear on the Billboard Hot 100 and receive certifications in the United States and Mexico. Throughout their career, Fuerza Regida have earned four Billboard Music Awards, including two wins for Top Duo/Group, six Billboard Latin Music Awards, and one Latin American Music Award.
Fuerza Regida was formed in 2015, in San Bernardino, California, originally a cover band. In 2017, they created a YouTube channel where they began to upload videos, also performing some songs written by themselves. Their videos received moderate success, and they soon received thousands of subscribers on their YouTube channel. In 2018, one of their first singles, "Radicamos en South Central" went viral on YouTube and received the attention of Ramón Ruiz, frontman of the band Legado 7 and owner of Lumbre Music. Ruiz contacted Jesús Ortiz Paz, frontman of Fuerza Regida, to offer them a contract to join Lumbre, as well as signing them to the Rancho Humilde record label.
In mid-2018, the group released their first live album, and debut album overall, En Vivo Puros Corridos, which contains previously released singles "Soy Montero", "Radicamos en South Central" and "Dos Plumas". In February 14, 2019, they released an EP consisting of covers, Las Románticas Favoritas de Fuerza Regida, to coincide with Valentine's Day. The EP peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart, marking the group's first entry on any music chart in the United States. In July 2019, the group released their debut studio album Del Barrio Hasta Aquí, which eventually reached the top 10 on the Top Latin Albums chart, also peaking at number one on the Regional Mexican Albums chart. Ortíz Paz of the group told Billboard that "[he] never imagined being on a Billboard chart." In December 2019, they released their second live album Pisteando con la Regida, which contains covers of songs by other artists in the regional Mexican music genre such as Pedro Infante, Antonio Aguilar, Sergio Vega, and among others.
In January 2020, the group released their third live album, Pisteando con la Regida, Vol. 2, which also contains covers of songs by other regional Mexican artists, such as El Coyote, Chalino Sánchez, Los Intocables del Norte, Fidel Rueda and among others. In April 2020, the group was featured in the song "Cuenta Conmigo", along with Los Tigres del Norte, Ana Bárbara and Natanael Cano. The song was used by Univision and Uforia to campaign and invite Spanish speakers to participate in the 2020 United States census. The single was named by Rolling Stone as a "census anthem." Later that month, the group released their second studio album, Adicto, and the single "Agusto GTR". The album reached the top 5 on the Top Latin Albums chart and peaked at number one on the Regional Mexican Albums chart. Production on Adicto was done by Ortíz Paz and Edgar Rodríguez, who had also worked with Jenni Rivera, Gerardo Ortíz, and Natanael Cano. The band released their third studio album Otro Pedo, Otro Mundo in September 2020, with a Christmas album titled Navidad con la Regida being released two months later.
In the beginning of 2021, the band collaborated with fellow band Calle 24 on "Qué Está Pasando," which was written by Diego Millán, lead vocalist of the latter, who expressed that he was a fan of Fuerza Regida. They would also release their fourth studio album and sequel Del Barrio Hasta Aquí, Vol. 2. In August, they released the single "Lo Vieron Pasar," and in October 2021, they released the single "Descansando" as a tribute to a close friend of Ortíz Paz who passed. The latter single became a hit in Mexico and the band would receive several nominations for it, such as Sierreña Song of the Year at the Premio Lo Nuestro 2023.
In 2022, the band hired tololoche player Moisés López as their fifth member. In May 2022, Fuerza Regida released the single "Chingas a Tu Madre". In July 2022, the band released "Señor Miedo", and had announced the Del Barrio Hasta Aquí Tour, which began on July 23 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California and ended on December 2 at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. "Señor Miedo" was described as an apology for crime, since its lyrics mention Mexican drug lord El Mencho, later going viral on social media in August 2022 following the arrest of Ricardo Ruiz Velazco in Jalisco. In August, the band released a hit single with Edgardo Núñez, "Billete Grande". The hit single lead to being nominated a Latin American Music Award for Best Collaboration – Regional Mexican. Thanks to their Del Barrio Hasta Aquí tour, the group became the Mexican band with the most tickets sold that year in the United States. In November 2022, Fuerza Regida released a cover of the song "Chuy y Mauricio", titled "Chrysler 300". Days later, they released the single "Prefiero Empedarme", which was released along with a music video uploaded to the band's official YouTube channel. Musically and lyrically, the song talks about spite to the rhythm of a Sinaloan band played and recorded live. At the end of November they released the song "911" together with Grupo Frontera, co-written by Horacio Palencia and Edgar Barrera.
The release of "911" was accompanied by the release of the official music video, which accumulated 2.5 million views in its first three days of release, remaining in the top 10 videos in Mexico for its first two weeks. According to Bandamax, the single consolidated Grupo Frontera as one of the new emerging acts in Mexican music and Fuerza Regida as one of the most important bands at the time. The song was positioned at number 24 on the Hot Latin Songs list. In December 2022, together with Natanael Cano, they released "Ch y la Pizza". The song was trending on social media platforms such as TikTok. The music video accumulated 1.2 million views on its first day, being the sixth most viewed video globally on its opening day. After the release of "Ch y la Pizza", the band collaborated with Grupo Frontera for the second time on "Bebe Dame", which eventually debuted on number 91, later peaking at number 25, on the Billboard Hot 100, which marked the formers' first time appearing on the chart. The song would also reach number one on the Hot Latin Songs, Latin Airplay, Regional Mexican Airplay, and Mexico Songs charts. On December 30, the band released their sixth and seventh studio albums, Pa Que Hablen and Sigan Hablando, which were intended to be combined as a double album, but had split the tracklist in half, with 13 songs in each album and collaborations with artists such as Peso Pluma, Junior H, Eslabon Armado, Edén Muñoz, among others.
In the beginning of 2023, Pa Que Hablen and Sigan Hablando charted on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, peaking at number five and number six, respectively. In February 2023, to coincide with Valentine's Day, Fuerza Regida and American singer Becky G released "Te Quiero Besar", which is the second time the latter released a song in the regional Mexican music genre, after the remix version of "Ya Acabó" with Mexican group Marca MP. On March 10, the band released a cover of Bobby Pulido's hit single "Desvelado". On May 4, the band collaborated with Puerto Rican rapper Myke Towers on the single "Pariente", marking the latter's first appearance in the regional Mexican music genre. Days later, the band released "TQM", which surfaced around TikTok on the day of its release. On June 22, the band released "Sabor Fresa".
In July, "Sabor Fresa" peaked at number 3 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, number 16 on the Global 200 and number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, with "TQM" charting at number five, number 15, and number 34 in each chart, respectively. After the success of both singles, the band released "Tiki Taka Toco" with American production duo Take a Daytrip, which was used as the official song for the 2023 Leagues Cup and was released in partnership with Apple Music. On August 22, Fuerza Regida, along with Los Tucanes de Tijuana and Edén Muñoz, released the Spotify-exclusive single "La Tierra del Corrido". On August 29, the band had been signed into Sony Music Latin, through a partnership with Rancho Humilde. A day later, the band released "Qué Onda" with Calle 24 and Chino Pacas, which eventually peaked at 67 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking one of Calle 24's first chartings in any Billboard chart. On September 20, the band released "El Jefe" with Colombian singer Shakira, a protest song regarding the issue of labor discrimination. On October 20, Fuerza Regida released their eighth studio album, Pa Las Baby's y Belikeada, which combines several genres and contains collaborations with known artists such as Marshmello, María Becerra, Gabito Ballesteros, among others. From the album, "Harley Quinn" would become a hit, peaking at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In February 2024, lead vocalist Ortíz, along with three other men, were detained at the Calexico–Mexicali border for possession of drugs and marijuana. Ortíz would spend a few days in a Mexicali jail and would be released on February 6, 2024. Days after his release from jail, the band announced an EP titled Dolido Pero No Arrepentido, and was released on February 9, 2024, eventually debuting on the top 10 of the US Top Latin Albums chart and at number three on US Regional Mexican Albums. On March 7, the band collaborated with Edén Muñoz on the single "Money Edition", from the latter's studio album Edén (2024). The band would release "Tú Name" from the EP as a single, which became a hit, on March 21, 2024 along with its music video. On April 9, 2024, the band announced that they would embark the Pero No Te Enamores Tour, which began on June 6, 2024, and is set to conclude on November 16 of the same year.
On July 16, 2024, the band announced their eighth studio album Pero No Te Enamores, which they considered "the album [they've] invested the most money on". To promote the album, they published murals in major cities, which depicted a painting of a crossed-out heart, along with the album's release date. An experimental album, it contains guest appearances from Maluma and Bellakath, and features electronic dance and house tracks which the band coins as "Jersey corridos", inspired by Canadian rapper Drake's album Honestly, Nevermind (2022). The album debuted at number 25 on the US Billboard 200, with the addition of a number-two peak on the US Top Latin Albums chart, with 23,000 album-equivalent units. On September 26, 2024, the band released the single "Tu Boda" with Óscar Maydon. It received criticism for its lyrics surrounding violence against women. On October 18 of the same year, the band appeared on various songs from Chino Pacas' debut studio album Que Sigan Llegando las Pacas (2024), including "Modo Capone" with Canadian rapper Drake.
In January 11, 2025, as a result of the Southern California wildfires which took place that month, Fuerza Regida rented out an hotel as a shelter for victims affected by the fires. On the issue dated February 1, 2025, the band and Óscar Maydon's single "Tu Boda" reached the summit of the US Regional Mexican Airplay chart, with seven million audience impressions, becoming the band's fourth single to peak atop the chart. On January 29, the band performed a new song, "Por Esos Ojos", at Paris Fashion Week; with this, the band became the first regional Mexican act to perform at the event. After attaining anticipation from fans, the song was officially released onto digital and streaming platforms on February 11. On February 4, Fuerza Regida and fellow band Calle 24 released the single "Como Estrella", which serves as the theme song for the Netflix-original series Celda 211. On March 25, 2025, the band announced their ninth studio album 111xpantia, which was slated for a May 2 release.