COUNTRY MUSIC STAR
SCOTTY MCCREERY
INVITES
GUSI
TO ADD HIS LATIN FLAVOR TO HIS
“WHY SHE GOTTA BE LIKE THAT”
Miami, FL. (May 8, 2023). GUSI, one of the most vibrant and talented artists who forms part of today’s rich Latin music landscape, has joined forces with award-winning country music star Scotty McCreery to thrill fans with the irresistible Latin mix of McCreery’s hit “Why She Gotta Be Like That.”
McCreery, who himself has Latin roots through his paternal grandmother, first discovered GUSI on social media, when he saw a clip of the Colombian sensation performing the song, and was immediately moved to invite him to bring his unique Latin spin to the summer-ready track.
“I’ve always thought it would be fun to bring the Latin part of my heritage into some of my music,” said McCreery, who is a quarter Puerto Rican. “I met GUSI after hearing him perform ‘Why You Gotta Be Like That’ on Instagram.
It is always flattering to have someone cover one of your songs, and he’s so talented so I asked him if he would want to bring some Latin flavor to the track. He brought so much to it. It was so much fun to do a new take on this song as a duet with GUSI, so we decided to call this version ‘Why She Gotta Be Like That.’”
“I am very grateful to Scotty and his team for inviting me to participate in this song,” said GUSI. “For me it gives me pride to collaborate with him, since I admire his music a lot. Additionally I have grown up listening to country music and recording this song with this great performer was more than I imagined.”
Written by McCreery, James McNair, and Jordan Schmidt, GUSI contributed additional lyrics and Spanish translation to the Latin mix, which is wildly infectious and will no doubt form part of the soundtrack of summer 2023.
GUSI has had a spectacular 2023 so far, a year that has consisted of an incredible showcase at Miami’s renowned Gibson Showroom in March, as well as the release of two tremendous singles, the bachata track “Cuándo,” and “Duele,” his highly anticipated collaboration with Colombian superstar Andrés Cepeda.
ABOUT GUSI
A Colombian singer-songwriter, Gusi’s love for vallenato music was born at a very early age, when his grandfather Carlos Arturo Acosta, a native of Villanueva, Guajira, shared the vallenato spirit with him, playing the songs of the greatest troubadours.
The guitar with which Gusi learned how to play, and that he still plays at home, was the same one that his father had given to his mother when they were dating. Gusi adopted the nickname that his mother gave him as his stage name. Although he doesn’t remember to what he owes the same name, he has memory of being called by his first name when they scolded him as a child. Before turning 16, he traveled to Flensburg, Germany, where his brother accommodated him as a student in order to practice the language. It was there where he gave his first concert with his brother’s band.
The then-young musician also played soccer as a goalie, and although he was close to beginning a career in that sport, he finally decided on music. Throughout his adolescence, his artistic inclination continued, participating in various musical groups of which he formed part at Colegio Andino in Bogotá. He subsequently studied music at Javeriana University and independently conducted workshops in classical guitar and song with key music teachers.
In his artistic career he has had the opportunity to record independently and to belong to different groups, beginning his career in a more professional way with La Cósmica Charanga, a group at Javeriana University, as a vocalist and percussionist; in Zona de Tambora (founded by Ernesto “El Teto” Ocampo, Guillermo Vives and Gilbert Martínez) as a vocalist and percussionist; La Banda de El Sitio de Santiago Cruz as a singer; with Fanny Lu as a guitarist and backing vocalist; and as a member of the duo Gusi & Beto, with which he became famous.
Today, Gusi alternates his career as a singer-songwriter with that as a songwriter for other artists, also belongs to the record label of Latin music superstar Carlos Vives, “Gaira Música Local.” In November 2022, he made his debut as a mentor on Caracol TV’s reality show “La Descarga” alongside other big music stars in Colombia: Maía, Santiago Cruz and Marbelle.
