What the thing is
LemonGrass is a Mexican children’s pop group launched in 2015.
The concept is a tribute to its predecessor, OV7, also known as La Onda Vaselina. Its current members are Ivanna, Sophie, Yael, Oscar, Keira and Matias; four others, Jelissa, Emiliano, Paula and Nathan, left for personal reasons.
Where it came from
It originated on Ari Borovoy’s TV show ‘Plan B’ in Mexico, through casting that drew over 900 children.
Ari Borovoy, of OV7, planned a group of children who would sing, dance and follow the example of his own band, and the casting answered that plan. Seven were chosen, for their acting, dancing and singing and for what made each of them unique, and Borovoy formed them into LemonGrass on his show.
The group formed on August 12, 2015, and performed its first single, “Mi Mundo Gira Contigo,” the same day, which counts as its official debut. On October 9 it opened for OV7 and Kabah in Monterrey, and on October 23 it opened again at the Auditorio Nacional. The group also gave showcases in commercial plazas in Mexico, including Coyoacan Oasis and Coapa Galleries, to promote the single and other songs.
What it gets right
It delivers what it promises: a polished, market-ready children’s pop group formed through mass auditions and backed by established industry figures.
The debut album, LemonGrass, came out on June 10, 2016, and was later reissued as a deluxe edition with four new songs and a DVD of their videos, released through iTunes on April 21. In January 2016 the group also took part in “México Se Pinta De Luz,” a tribute album to Pope Francis that featured singers such as Lucero, Cristian Castro, Pandora and Pedro Fernández, performing “LUZ” and “Mi Estrella Guia.”
What it gets wrong
It presents child performers as autonomous artists rather than participants in a tightly controlled format designed to replicate past successes.
On July 25, 2019, Bobo Production announced that Jelissa Hernández had left the group. Later that year LemonGrass released “Pensando en Ti” and promoted it as part of its Neon Tour. Sophie said the song had a deep meaning of love, something the group had never done before, and the shift from children to teenagers played a large part in it.
Why it matters now
It matters now as an early example of televised, algorithm-adjacent talent curation — where scale (900 applicants), speed (debut same day as formation), and platform metrics (iTunes Top 10, half-million lyric video views) define success before artistic development.
Is it worth your time
It is worth your time if you are tracking how children’s pop groups are assembled as commercial products in Latin America — not as organic youth movements, but as televised talent pipelines.
