Q&A: Becky G On Giving Back With Fun New Cheetos Campaign

INDIO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 14: Becky G performs onstage at the 2023 Coachella Valley Music and Arts ... [+] Festival on April 14, 2023 in Indio, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Coachella)

Becky G recently launched a playful and unique campaign with Cheetos that saw the singer earn what is likely the first fingertips sponsorship. While the commercial is a lot of fun, and a creative play on how Cheetos always leaves dust on your fingertips, there is a much more meaningful component to Becky G's relationship with Cheetos.

The company will be giving out 500 uplifts scholarships to Hispanic students, and that is what particularly inspires Becky G about the collaboration. Plus, she loves Cheetos. I spoke with her about the campaign, the importance of giving back, new music on the horizon and much more.

Steve Baltin: Where are you today?

Becky G: I'm in L.A. Born and raised here in L.A. Don't plan on leaving, to be honest, 'cause I'm part-time everywhere else with work.

Baltin: So you're enjoying the sun? I had this conversation with Emily Kinney earlier, and of course after six months of no sun in LA, now that we have it again, everybody is like, "Oh my God, I need to be outside 24 hours a day."

Becky G: Yeah, seriously. My personal vibe is I love the sun. In Spanish, we say like "Friolenta," like I'm very sensitive to temperatures. So when it gets like breezy here, like that LA breeze, I'm like, "Oh my God, it's so cold." That's so California of me. But yeah, no, I'm loving it. I think it's great. I'm over the June gloom vibes.

Baltin: I associate Cheetos with summer. I think of being a kid and you would walk to 7-Eleven or something.

Becky G: For me, it's definitely an all-year-round thing. But I definitely can recall a lot of summers, we were either camping with family, or like pool days, days where you're running out in the sprinklers and my grandma would make her famous Tortas, and then you would have your Cheetos on the side for the crunch. I would say for me, it's definitely 365, but I love it in the summer. No complaints here.

Baltin: When you get your fingertips sponsored, do they get their separate insurance?

Becky G: There was conversation. It was funny. While we were shooting our announcement piece, that was a serious question that I had. I think we caught it on camera as a BTS. 'Cause I was like, :Does that mean I always need to be in hair and makeup? Does that mean I always have to wear fancy outfits? If it's literally just the fingertips." [laughter] Yeah, I had all these questions. I was like, "Do they need their own insurance policy?"

Baltin: So what does it entail? What did you find out?

Becky G: It's all of that and more. It's really cool. That's what I loved the idea of it being the first ever fingertip sponsorship. I'm like, "What a way to make history and also very different than any brand partnership I've ever gotten to be a part of." I think it's always fun when you get to be the face of a brand. But when you get to do something that's innovative and different...it's thanks to these bad boys that I get to enjoy Cheetos.

Baltin: On a more serious note, obviously, you get to be involved in giving back and doing some really cool community stuff. When you get to give back and then you get to team with them on scholarships, I'm sure that's special.

Becky G: Oh, absolutely. When I think of where I've come to in my career and what I feel like I've built for myself, it's so important for things to feel true to me, to feel organic, to feel authentic. And I think if it's not, one, your fans will call you out on it, they can really tell. But two, for me, it was genuinely like a fan girl moment when the opportunity came about, because I used to sell Hot Cheetos from my backpack when I was a kid in elementary school, for $0.75. So it's like the young hustler Becky would be very proud that today we get to embark on this journey. But I think too, the community aspect is a huge responsibility that comes with being blessed with such an amazing platform like the one that I've built, and I think there's nothing that I want more than to do things that are not just better for me, but better for the community. And I think that when I think of our youth specifically, navigating spaces in academia, it's really hard. And these scholarships are a huge way we can lessen the gap between the opportunity and the hardworking, talented, very smart and enlightened youth that exists in the community. And sometimes, it's the lack of resource that doesn't allow us to fully immerse ourselves in those opportunities, commit to those opportunities, show up in those opportunities. And so I was super proud that this was something that was already existing prior to our brand partnership, but something that I really get to spotlight. Because we've got to be able to use these resources and maximize on them and amplify others in our community. It's a really beautiful thing.

Baltin: You mentioned being a kid and selling Cheetos out of your backpack for $0.75. For you, I'm sure to come out of the community, be successful and then be able to go back and show all these kids your success and inspire them that was is a very gratifying thing.

Becky G: Yeah, it's very humbling. Because there's a lot of things that are true, I think. The fact that we're all running a different race, that the wall that's in front of me as a five-foot-tall person could be very different than the wall that's in front of somebody who is of a much taller height. All of these walks of life are so different. But the truth is, is when you grow up in a minority community and what that experience is like, there are some themes there that are pretty specific. And I think that I never let anything get in my way. The fact that I come from a story that started before I even existed, where my grandparents came from Mexico to the United States to build something from nothing is just so powerful. And it's something I remind myself of every single day, where I'm like, "Wow, if they did it, then I can do it too." And I think that was my mentality as a young girl. I started working when I was nine years old, and to be a child still today in my mind, I'm still so young. But with so much experience under my belt of having navigated this industry, I think that education is super important, to go out into the world and to experience these things and to learn new things. It's just vital. Learning that there was more outside of where I grew up was even life changing enough for me. But yeah, I think you throw in on top of that, all the pressures and the obstacles, it's a lot. But, like you said, it's very important and it's very humbling.

Baltin: What songs from the new album are you most excited to do live? Of course, we could tie it in with the Cheetos, 'cause people are going to win the opportunity to come see you.

Becky G: [laughter] How amazing. The one I just released called "La Nena" with this artist named Gabito is just so fire to me. The video was super fun to make and the song is such a vibe. I think it really represents what regional Mexican music is today. And yeah, it was such a fun collaboration, so I think that's the one I'm most looking forward to. I don't want to leave too much with you, 'cause there's some surprises along the way for sure, with the album

Baltin: What flavor Cheetos would you most likely serve to people who come see you backstage?

Becky G: All of them. I love Cheeto Puffs. I love just regular Cheesy Cheetos. I love Hot Cheetos. I love the triple X Hot Cheetos specifically, like the black bag, so yum. I love all Cheetos.

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