AriGameplays reveals her new musical alter ego: Aria Bela at a fan event in Monterrey, Mexico.
In the competitive, male-dominated world of online gaming, Mexican streamer Ari Gameplays has spent the last decade building a successful career and a recognizable public persona. What began as a hobby at age 15 quickly evolved into a full-time pursuit, amassing more than 75 million followers across platforms like Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
The popular Mexican streamer and cosplayer – whose real name is Abril Abdamari Garza Alonso and whose favorite games are Minecraft, Halo, and Fortnite – is now embarking on a new chapter, pursuing her passion for music. She’s doing so by creating a musical alter ego, adopting the name Aria Bela, and launching her first single and music video. Determined to do things her own way, she’s self-funding this new enterprise. Her music will be distributed by TikTok’s distribution platform, SoundOn.
From Gamer to Aspiring Pop Star: Launching a Music Career
Aria had been preparing for this project for the past two and a half years, immersing herself in intensive, high-performance training and taking singing, dancing, piano, and acting classes, while keeping the details secret during her online gaming sessions.
For the big reveal, the upbeat gamer livestreamed the launch event on her Twitch channel from her hometown of Monterrey, Mexico. In front of a supportive crowd of about 250 fans, she introduced her music alter ego Aria Bela and debuted her first single, “Pilates.” In the first 10 hours after it was uploaded to YouTube, the music video of her first released single racked up almost 400,000 views, with the count surpassing half a million within 20 hours – highlighting the strong interest of her fan base.
Aria Bela with her fans during the launch of her debut single “Pilates,” on April 22, 2025.
Play Puzzles & Games on Forbes
Days before the launch, she spoke about her new focus on building the digital universe of Aria Bela and why she chose this moment to launch a music career.
“It’s a universe where this alter ego exists, where I make music,” she explains. ”It’s been a decade, so it’s a lot of time doing the same things and I always want to discover and try other things. I really enjoy music and I like to dance and I like to sing. And I really wanted to connect with my people in another way. So maybe they can feel like they’re closer to me.”
Her debut EP, tentatively titled Ariatopía, is set to launch this summer. Her sound is decidedly pop – “very girl, very fresh, very happy” – with K-pop influences, and she hopes to extend its reach beyond her Spanish-language fanbase.
“All the songs are in Spanglish – a little bit of English, a little bit of Spanish – to connect with Mexicans and Latinos who already listen to me and know me, and also with people who watch me from the United States,” she says, adding that this new venture has also pushed her to explore how far she can go.
“It’s the first time I’m doing everything – the first time I’m writing, the first time I’m searching for a sound or songs. And it has made me feel really, really confident, making me believe that I can do it. That’s also why there’s so much of myself in these songs.”
Aria, who collaborated with Argentine singer-songwriter Mechi Pieretti and producer Essa Gante, says she’s already completed seven songs and will be releasing one every month.
“It’s been a very interesting, fun process, and I’ve been working with great women. We made an incredible team. We had great girl power… that’s why the songs turned out so well.”
The music video for “Pilates” was produced by Bebas, a woman-led Argentine production company, showcasing her pink visual universe.”
Facing Criticism and Defining Herself
Arigameplay’s rise wasn’t without obstacles. As a female gamer, Aria acknowledges how hard it has been to be under constant scrutiny.
“People always want women to prove something,” she states. “When I started on the Internet, people were always criticizing…with comments about how I look, my makeup, or my outfits. They didn’t understand that I could like games and be a gamer and still style my hair.”
Aria says she tried to not let what people posted online bring her down, and stayed true to herself, building a personal brand that reflected her interests, like cat ears and bows and enveloped in lots of pink – her favorite color – without overthinking it. “It was never about branding at first. I just wore what I liked, and people connected with it.”
Despite the criticism, Ari became one of the first women gamers to gain national recognition in Mexico, with her popularity growing beyond her country’s borders. In 2022, she won “La Velada del Año,” an annual boxing event organized by star gamer Ibai Llanos.
“It was crazy,” she says of stepping into the ring. “I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. My parents and sister were like, ‘How do you think you’re going to do that? You don’t even exercise!’ But I wanted to show I could do whatever I set my mind to. And I won.”
Ari’s journey hasn’t been without controversy. In 2020, she was banned from Twitch for a Halloween stream. “It was because of a dance. I used a Chucky costume, twerking, with a fake knife. They banned me. That was my first ban, and they kept banning my account a few more times. I didn’t know why.” She adapted by moving to Facebook for two years before returning to Twitch, where her comeback drew even more attention. “Twitch is like my house. It’s where I started.”
Family support has been crucial. “My family has been a great support. I’m a very family-oriented person. My sister and my sister-in-law also stream, so I feel like I’m in a zone where I have a lot of trust and support. The internet has many good things, but also many bad things. Sometimes it’s difficult to go online and read so many things – many inventions, many insults. But there are also people who are always supportive, who are very kind and make me feel good.”
What’s Next for Aria Bela
Despite her musical ambitions, Aria has no plans to abandon gaming. “Everything starts with Ari Gameplays, and it’s something I’ve always loved. Gaming will always be my comfort zone. Even with all the music, I like to relax by playing games and sharing that with my community.”
Looking ahead, Aria dreams of performing live. “Every time I go to a concert or see an artist, I’m visualizing myself up there all the time. It’s something I dream about. I hope that in a year, I’ll be on stage, singing my songs, and seeing people there to watch me,” she says, having recently attended Coachella for inspiration.
With her distinctive pink aesthetic and growing ambitions, Aria Bela hopes to translate her massive digital following into musical success, while staying true to the gaming roots that built her career.
You can hear her share some details of her story in her first English interview here and more in-depth plans about her music in Spanish here.