Aspiring Latin pop sensation (and Georgia State student) Fabio Legarda and his devoted crew make their move.

For Fabio Legarda, it all starts with a melody.

Then it’s riffing back and forth with fellow songwriter Keezy, forming a rough sketch and refining it for the next couple of hours.

What usually follows is a late night phone call to Bryan Anzel, Legarda’s sound engineer, for an impromptu recording session.

Late nights like these led to the creation of “Necesito tu Amor,” one of Legarda’s biggest hits to date, which he performed in front of thousands in Miami last weekend when he opened for Pitbull. The song is also on heavy rotation on 96.5 FM, Atlanta’s premier Latin radio station.

“There was really something spiritual about the way that song came out,” said Legarda, a marketing major at Georgia State. “Keezy came up with the melody, then we both worked on the lyrics for like a couple of hours, then I just had to call Bryan to ask him if we could come in to record this song we came up with.”

Anzel was on his way out of the recording studio that night, ready to close up shop.

“They gave me a call and I had already been working all day and was ready to go home, but they really wanted to record, so I said ‘OK,’” Anzel said.

Legarda and Keezy, along with Legarda’s primary business partner DJ ET, got to the studio and began working around 2:30 a.m. By dawn, the track was finished.

“We still had to go to class that morning too,” Legarda said. “One of us had to take a test, I’m not sure. But it was worth it, man.”

For the most part, life has been exactly like that night for Legarda and his crew of close friends/partners.

“It just seems like I’m always in a rush,” Legarda said.

“To seek out a better life”

Born and raised in Colombia, Legarda grew up fascinated by the vibrant Latin music community and idolizing Columbian greats like Carlos Vives and Shakira.

But his parents faced unemployment and saw little opportunity for their family, along with concerns of the spiking crime rate in their area. When Legarda turned 11, they moved stateside.

“We came here like most immigrants, to seek out a better life,” Legarda said. “We really didn’t have much there, and it was really hard.”

Coming to America was an eye-opening musical experience for Legarda.

“I have always loved music. When I was little, I memorized all kinds of songs, always banging on things, mostly to salsa, merengue, bachata—all kinds of Latin music,” Legarda said. “But when I got to America, I was exposed to so much more, like hip-hop, R&B, pop. I just fell in love with it all.”

The culture clash ultimately defined Legarda and his music.

“It became my dream to put both of my cultures together and bring that to the world,” he said.

By the time he turned 16, Legarda performed for any kind of audience he could find. His venues ranged from high school and birthday parties to clubs and Latin festivals.

“I would see these people’s reactions and it just became so real to me and made me realize that this was what I wanted to do,” Legarda said. “I saw how it makes them happy, and so this was how I wanted to spread happiness to the world.”

“I told you so”

By the age of 18, he signed with BME Records, the recording label founded by Lil’ Jon. While a major feat for Legarda, he would eventually part ways with the label and later signed with Flavor Unit, Queen Latifah’s production company. With Flavor Unit, Legarda only had to deal with being managed, without interference in making music the way he wanted to.

“I realized that I was going to have to do a lot of things myself and build a team around me,” Legarda said. “So it’s really been a blessing, because it’s forced me to build that team, a team of people that I trust.”

The pieces began to fall into place once Legarda arrived at Georgia State. He met DJ ET (birth name Joshua Jacques) in music business class and his future marketing and social media manager Michael Stearns in marketing class.

Once the three of them got together, the project began to take shape. They met each Sunday, setting a schedule and goals.

“Having that organization really brought the project together, helping everybody stay on track,” Legarda said. “Because before I knew I had ‘this, this and this’ to do, but nothing would really get done because of how crazy my schedule was.”

The trio eventually created TLD Records, which stood for “Te Lo Dije,” the Spanish phrase for “I told you so.” It’s a saying Legarda incorporates into most of his songs.

“A lot of people feel that the entertainment industry is impossible, making them think they need to stick with something safe, which I understand,” Legarda said. “But my passion is music. And the more I succeed in doing what I love, the more I can tell people ‘I told you so,’ because it is possible. You can live what your passion is and do what you love.”

With the new label started, one of the first orders of business was to wipe the slate clean. Legarda pulled all of his previously released music from the Web and began to record brand new songs.

Legarda eventually connected with Anzel, a fellow Colombian native who is also a close friend of the family. Anzel job at Triangle Sound Studios, a recording studio in Atlanta owned by Redzone Entertainment, allowed them to record in a high profile workspace that’s hosted the likes of Justin Bieber, Busta Rhymes and Kelly Rowland.

“There’s a vibe in this place that everyone says they feel when they come in here,” DJ ET said. “It’s the feeling that you’re doing something great. Something real.”

“Flowed like magic”

It was in one of these dimly-lit control rooms at the studiowhere they recorded “Amor.”

With the framework of the song finished, the tired but excited Legardo and DJ ET returned later that day to finish the mixing. The song piqued the interests of hip-hop artists B. Howard and BK Brasco, who happened to be visiting the studio that day.

“We were just working and they just came in, heard the song and was like, ‘man, we’ve got some ideas,’” Legarda said. “And it just flowed like magic. It was beautiful.”

The song will be part of Legarda’s first EP, titled “One Life,” released from his label on March 30. The EP will feature six of the 20 songs he recorded over the past year.

“I spend probably about 30 hours a week in the studio,” Legarda said. “But it’s also the atmosphere of it. When I’m there, I only work on music. Business has to be separate. If we do business at the studio, it’ll throw the whole vibe off.”

Stearns, who manages Legarda’s marketing and business presence, sticks to what he knows best, rarely coming into the studio.

“They’ll listen to the same damn song for hours. And the worst part is, I live with them. So they come home and play the same beat all over again. For days, even,” Stearns said. “So I just concentrate on the business side of things.”

“We don’t have to wait on anybody.”

For Legarda, he may have performed in front of thousands of people at more than 300 venues, but graduating this May gives him the same jitters every student gets.

“I do get a little intimidated, because now I must decide what’s going to happen for the rest of our lives,” he said. “I was just talking to a friend the other day who was telling me, ‘man, I’m scared, because I don’t have a job yet and I’m graduating in three months.’ You know, it’s the same for me. Even though I know what I want to do, sometimes you’ll have those days where you’re like ‘man, this is crazy.’”

Stearns and DJ ET (who now attends Morehouse College) are both heading towards graduation as well.

“We’re ready for it,” Stearns said. “This is what we’ve been working towards these last couple of years.”

Jitters aside, Legarda has his sights set for the future, not just for him, but his crew. While the crew has swelled to about 10 collaborators, the original quartet has become a close-knit family.

“This group here, we’re like family,” Legarda said. “I’m really confident with where we’re heading. For me, I’m learning something new everyday, with the music, with the business. We’ve realized we don’t have to wait on anybody. We can do this, and we can do it now.”