How a Love Song Became David Bisbal’s Tribute to Families Facing Alzheimer’s

It begins with a song. Not just any song, but the kind that stirs something in a loved one who no longer remembers your name. For David Bisbal, Alzheimer’s is not an abstraction. It’s his father’s quiet confusion, his aunt’s fading recognition, and the moments that music still manages to hold together. In an exclusive conversation with BELatina News, the Latin GRAMMY-winning artist opened up about the intimate ways the disease has touched his life and how that personal connection led him to lend his voice to a cause he never imagined would hit so close to home.

Earlier this year, Bisbal joined the Alzheimer’s Association’s Music Moments campaign, an initiative that invites artists to reimagine songs tied to personal experiences with dementia. For Bisbal, there was no question which track he’d choose. “Mi Princesa,” a ballad already wrapped in sentiment and nostalgia, had long brought light to his father and aunt, smiles that would surface even as words and memories slipped away.

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Finding Purpose in Music Moments

He recalled how difficult it was to narrow down the song list. “I could’ve sang an entire repertoire,” he admitted, reflecting on the music that shaped his childhood and now soothes his family. But the choice became clear when he thought of the joy “Mi Princesa” had brought into their lives. “My father and aunt have always liked ‘Mi Princesa,’ and remembering the smiles it brought to their faces when I sing it is why I chose it for this project.”

That connection to music goes back decades. One of Bisbal’s earliest memories is of riding in the car with his father, who would play regional Spanish music on long drives. Though he was only four or five years old, he remembers humming along, mimicking the sounds before understanding their meaning. That instinct to feel music before fully knowing it has never left him and now, he’s seeing it in reverse, as his father, unable to recall names or recent events, still recognizes a familiar rhythm or lyric.

“I’ve seen with my father the power of music and how it can connect someone living with Alzheimer’s to moments in their past,” he said. “I’m grateful to have those moments with him, when he no longer remembers who I am.”

Those fleeting glimpses of recognition, anchored in melody, are what compelled him to join Music Moments. Though Bisbal has supported a range of social causes over the years, this project felt different. It felt like home. “This is the first time that music has so intimately brought me to support a cause so close to my heart,” he said. “If I can somehow make this disease known to people who simply do not know about it, I’ll be delighted and eternally grateful to music for playing that role.”

Music as Memory, Culture as Care

In Latino and Hispanic communities, where Alzheimer’s is often misunderstood or mischaracterized, music has the potential to do more than comfort. It can educate. It can open a conversation. It can break the silence that too often surrounds diagnosis. For Bisbal, breaking that silence is part of the mission.

He understands the hesitations, the cultural stigma, the quiet suffering, the misplaced shame. But he also sees the power in giving voice to that experience. “I want people to know they are not alone,” he said. “It is OK to talk about this disease, and how it is impacting you and your loved ones. The more we talk about it, the less alone people feel and the more they know of the support that is available to them.”

He’s particularly mindful of the weight borne by caregivers, often family members shouldering enormous emotional and financial responsibilities without complaint. His admiration is evident, not just in words, but in tone. “As caregivers, we have to be present at all times,” he said. “It’s really hard but I also think it helps you learn the difficulties of life, and above all, offers you the possibility of lending your love to help others.”

In his reimagined version of “Mi Princesa,” Bisbal traded grand production for intimacy. He wanted each note to feel close, personal, human. “I recorded it differently. More stripped down. Less production,” he said. “I wanted people to feel like I was singing directly to them or for them.”

A Tour and a Tribute

The result is a version of “Mi Princesa” that doesn’t just echo love, it carries memory. Bisbal spoke of the quiet moments with his father, when words no longer come easily, yet a particular musical phrase can unlock a flash of familiarity. “There are moments when, if I sing certain songs, I am able to reconnect with my father and I am grateful for those moments,” he shared. “He can’t remember recent moments in our lives but he remembers certain songs and popular music styles of my land, such as the copla, the sevillana, and the rumba. It seems unbelievable but he does.”

These glimmers of recognition, fragile and fleeting, are why the Music Moments campaign matters so deeply to him. After all, this is about returning something Alzheimer’s takes: connection. “Singing ‘Mi Princesa’ on this tour will hold an even more significant meaning,” he said, referring to his upcoming Back in the USA tour. “The timing of the release of my Music Moments episode with the Alzheimer’s Association is special because it’s right before I’m back in the United States.”

With this new recording, Bisbal joins a chorus of artists such as Luis Fonsi, Joan Jett, and Anthony Hamilton who understand that music can be more than performance. It can be a lifeline. It can be a bridge between past and present. And sometimes, when everything else fades, it’s the one thing that remains.