Via facebook.com/roberteliasmusic

Robert Elias is a pop musician in the truest sense of the term: an adorably groomed specimen with a knack for injecting danceability and universally relatable lyrics into the same song. Based in Miami, he once explained to our very own Arielle Castillo that, as a purveyor of a sound unfriendly to both Churchill’s and the Latin music scene, it was often difficult for him to find his niche, at least in terms of simply booking shows. “I still get a lot of shit for that interview … but I’m thankful [Arielle] gave me the opportunity to be honest,” he says. “I was never trying to play a victim or make it seem like I had no support at all from the Miami music scene … because at the moment, that’s how I felt and I feel like I spoke for a lot of local pop artists. You have to prove to people that you can put on a high-energy show. There are some venues that fully support what I’m doing; then there are the other venues that don’t get it or just haven’t seen me live yet. Usually when they do, they automatically want to book me.”

That is, essentially, Elias’s ideology: it’s not that there isn’t an audience for him in his hometown; he just needs to be exposed to them. “Within music, borders definitely need to be stretched,” he says. “I was watching a speech by creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson, and he says, ‘If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.’ I really try to abide by that. I’m not afraid to push myself. I’ve failed before; I have nothing to be afraid of. I’ve always gotten satisfaction by proving others wrong or surprising people with what I’m capable of musically and vocally.”

Such confidence comes not from a place of conceit, but from Elias’s experience alone. Though his work is set apart from the likes of his former tourmate, Don Omar, he “started off in the Latin industry” — before touring, Elias wrote for Chayanne on his last album and recorded background vocals for both Marc Anthony and Alejandro Sanz. On Don Omar’s iDon World Tour, Elias nurtured a born ability to absorb a multitude of genres and find inspiration from them. “The conception of the album Magic City began while I was on tour with Don Omar,” he says. “I was touring in South America and I was missing home genre. For me, growing up on mostly American pop and rock music, I wasn’t very familiar with the music or the intensity of what this music means to people. … I had to embrace it and learn about it. Even though I’m Cuban-American, it was like learning a new language.”

Elias’s willingness to learn and grow was the guiding force behind the formation of his backing band, The Revenge, whose inception again came from his desire to challenge both himself and the stereotypical perception of him as a pop artist. “[The Revenge] are a great balance for me musically,” he explains. “I wanted people to know that I was a live act; I take pride in my live show. In Miami, sometimes it’s easy for a solo pop artist to be put into a box, and I wanted to break that stereotype. Robert Elias and The Revenge allow me to give more of a live rock show … [and] it brings out the soul in the music. An artist is nothing without the band that backs them up.”

That’s Robert Elias: self-confidence is important, but not as much as giving credit where it’s due. But even if he felt he was nothing without his band — and it is an excellent one, true — he’d be incorrect. Elias’s openness in both this interview and on stage is the mark of an earnest, ever-growing talent. Asked about the blunt, lyrical honesty of his single, “Lies,” he says simply: “I guess it has a dark undertone because, at the time, I was feeling miserable and a bit lost within my love life. I’m inspired by the people around me, art, other music, by my own experiences. As an artist, you have to be willing to pull from all aspects of life.”

Churchill's, Miami, Robert Elias, The Revenge