People of Ibiza: Izan Llunas 

‘I told my dad I wanted to be a singer when I was about nine years old. My dad and my granddad are both singers – growing up in a musical family was great fun. We listened to music 24/7. After I told him that, I started singing classes and when I was 10, I started performing at a small, local bar – just me and the singing teacher, playing guitar. 

I then went on La Voz Kids when I was 11 and left at  the semi-finals, but the people from the [Netflix] series  Luis Miguel were trying to find who would play the next Luis Miguel. They had been casting and researching around Latin America, Mexico, Peru, so my dad contacted them. I needed to record myself, so I dressed like him and sang some of his songs. I didn’t even know who Luis Miguel was, but they looked at me and thought I was his clone – and I sang as well. They were like, “All right, you’re going to be him.”

My dad and I moved to Mexico and I was there for two months, recording nearly every day, eight hours a day, more or less. I was 13 when I did the series, but I remember everything – it feels like yesterday, and it happened really fast. I was a little kid singing at a pub and the next year I was really famous in Latin America.

When I came back to Ibiza and went back to school, it was pretty funny. My school was an international school, with people from Holland, England, Italy and Germany, and they’d cut my hair [for the series] and made me look like totally different. My friends were like, “Why is your hair like that?” They laughed a bit, and I was like, “No, I did a series!” They believed me, but they probably thought it was going to be a small series. 

It took another year, but when the Luis Miguel series was released, I went to Mexico, and then we went to Chile, Peru, Argentina, Honduras, Guatemala. I did a small tour – around 30 shows, singing and performing at malls that were almost always full. It was like I had two lives:
I knew when I went to Latin America, I was going to sing, do TV, do shows, and then when I went back to Ibiza, the people here didn’t really care. My friends who have known me since I was three years old were proud of me, and the friends who speak Spanish watched the series, I think, but they didn’t really care. 

Now, I’m at the point that I would much prefer people to recognise me more for the music that I’ve done.  I’m releasing new songs, I’m dancing, and I’m preparing myself as an artist. I’m not the same person as I was when I was 13: I had to do a new show, which is exactly what I’m planning this year. I will be taking part in a festival next August in Alicante.

I work a lot, but if you’re doing what you like, you don’t consider it a job. I’m also searching for and making different types of music, and social media helps people hear my songs. One day I’ll upload a bachata, and another day I’ll upload a reggaeton, and then the bachata blows up, so you never know! 

I listen to the people around me, but I also have my own personality and that’s the good part about being a musician. My dad always insisted for us to play music, play instruments, keep growing as an artist, and it helps because my family have gone down the same path that I’m on now – they can help me with decisions. 

I love Ibiza. I was born and raised here; I’ve been  living here for 15 years and I know every single rock of  the island. When I moved to Latin America, in the beginning, I was like, “Oh wow.” The people there are really nice – they’re really warm, and for me, that’s one of the most important things. So Latin America is my second home, but Ibiza is Ibiza. I need my island.  I missed waking up, seeing the beach, the sea, the quiet side. There’s something that makes you want to come back. It’s magnetic and I think a lot of that is the nature but, you know, it’s the vibe.’