Cat Serrano Talks New Single “When You Love Me”

Cat Serrano just released her song “When You Love Me,” and we can’t stop listening!

Hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, the rising star loves music down to the core, falling in love with the greats such as Ariane Grande and Whitney Houston. Now, she’s able to use her smooth, sultry voice to do covers of all her favorite artists, while creating her own original music. Her speciality lies somewhere between pop and R&B.

Cat’s most recent track is all about falling head over heels with someone, showcasing the hopeless romantic within her. Love is universal, and it’s something we can all relate to and cherish no matter what part of the world we are in. Plus, what better way to show love than with music?

Cat Serrano’s previous single “You Don’t Know Me” is also another empowering ballad, with lyrics inspired by real-life experiences. 

Sheen spoke with Cat virtually to discuss her love for music, favorite artists, new music, studio essentials, hobbies, and more!

What made you fall in love with music? 

I’ve always been surrounded by music while I was growing up. I was very fortunate to be in a very lively household of people that also loved music, so it’s always been kind of ingrained in me. I just can’t remember a single day in my life where I wasn’t completely infatuated by music. 

Were there certain artists that made you fall in love with music?

The first artist that I was introduced to, that made me want to pursue music as my career, was Ariana Grande. And if not, Whitney Houston. I learned about both of them around the same time, I was completely obsessed with their songs and everything that they did vocally. 

Do you have a favorite Whitney Houston or Ariana Grande song?

For Whitney Houston, “Queen of The Night.” It’s a party anthem. It’s a great song, and I love singing it when I can. For Ariana Grande, mostly her Yours Truly album was one of the first albums that I had heard when I was younger. Pop albums that I had heard, and that really pushed me further into music. 

You just released “When You Love Me.” Who or what inspired this record?

“When You Love Me “was inspired by all the love that I’ve seen throughout my life. I’m very lucky to come from a household that is very loving. “When You Love Me” is based off the love that my parents show for each other, and what I want from them personally. It’s this idea of being able to trust the person that you’re in love with completely without having to second guess it. You’re just so completely in love. It’s all that because I’m definitely a hopeless romantic. 

I am to. Are you dating?

No, not right now. I’m single. 

Is there a video coming?

I think so, pretty soon. But it might not come just yet. We’re working on few other things right now so it might be pushed back a little bit, but I promise the wait will be worth it.

Talk about being from Puerto Rico and your roots there, and how it plays into your music as well.

Being Puerto Rican, a big part of it is the music and the liveliness of our culture. It’s a lot of dancing, a lot of music, a lot of really good food. It’s a very colorful environment to be in when you’re growing up. My great grandfather was a Puerto Rican concert pianist. He was basically like my grandfather figure because I never had a grandfather. He was like a father. He taught me so much about music and how to appreciate it. Everything about classical music, specifically Puerto Rican classical music. It’s so beautiful that in certain parts of my song, you’ll hear a little beat that’s more relaxed or more Caribbean-ish. And that’s definitely inspired by my niñez, my childhood and growing up on the land.

What made you really start taking the music seriously?

I’ve always known that I wanted to be a singer. My grandma tells a story that I was on her lap when I was less than a year old, and I tried singing with the radio that was playing. It’s always been something that I wanted to do, but I started taking it more seriously… music became the forefront about two years ago. When I started being like okay, now. I want to start now. I want to get the ball rolling and start putting out music. I started putting stuff up on my Instagram: a lot of covers, some singing skits. That’s how it started. It was a passion that I just needed to get out. 

3 things you need in the studio at all times?

Water, coffee, and a jacket. There’s one more thing, and it’s my mom. 

How close are you?

We are very close. In Puerto Rican, we’re all very united. We call ourselves the Team Serrano Bigles, because we’re so united all the time. She helps me with my music. She inspires me. She’s just a wonderful person. And my dad, he’s incredible. He’s hilarious. And my sister’s also got that really funny gene, she’s hilarious. We’re all very close, so I’m very fortunate for that. I thank God every day that I have them.

Talk about your past single “You Don’t Know Me” and what that was all about.

“You Don’t Know Me” was inspired by other music, it wasn’t a personal story. I’m of the belief that a singer doesn’t have to be talking about personal experience, it can be a story that they’ve heard or they’re just storytelling. What inspired “You Don’t Know Me” was songs like “Before He Cheats” and “Bad Reputation.” It was another powerful song showing that I’m not who you think I am. Coming out into the music scene, it was very powerful. 

My director Coco Bigles turned it into this wonderful story of — well very dramatic, but wonderful story. [laughs] With the music video of heartbreak and just so much emotion. It was an absolutely awesome shoot, and I’m so happy to have worked with everyone that I’ve worked with for these two songs. 

What do you like to do when you’re not doing music?

For my hobbies, I have a few. I am very much an artsy person. I do pottery on the side. I love it, it’s very grounding. You have to be very rounded in order to produce something with pottery, so it helps me clear my mind. Besides that, I enjoy reading and baking. My dad says I have one of the world’s best tiramisu, so that is my thing. Other than that, I love being with my family, hanging out with my friends, and just making music. 

Any goals for yourself?

Yes, I’d love to one day partner with many musicians like Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, and go on tour eventually. That would be amazing because my main goal as a musician is to build this community where everyone is safe and everyone feels understood. We can all just connect through music. So a giant slumber party of sorts where we can all be emotional together and have fun together, be this giant family. 

Anything else you want to let us know?

Yes, I often post on my Instagram and sometimes on my Youtube. I do little vlogs and talk about my life and everything that’s coming up right now. I have some stuff in the works. If you’re interested in learning more about that, there’s a bunch of stuff on my Instagram and Youtube.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Cat Serrano