Bad Bunny Knows He's Sexy — 'If You Don't Believe It Yourself, No One Will'

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"¿Cómo Se Siente?" Sexy.

Bad Bunny — the Puerto Rican star behind the world's biggest reggaetón hits — is, arguably, the sexiest Latino making his mark on the music industry today. (We might be biased.) So, of course, PEOPLE asked him about it!

"My mom always told me I was cute, bonito, as a kid and I wouldn't believe it," the singer, 26, tells PEOPLE as part of his "Deja Tu Huella" campaign with Cheetos. "Today I believe it. I think that's the most important part of being sexy — believing it yourself. If you don't believe it yourself, no one will think it."

"You have to feel sexy, no matter when or where," he adds. "That's the most important of being sexy."

But when does el conejo malo feel the sexiest?

Well, right now.

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"Some days you feel ugly, but other days you wake up and feel like you're the sexiest person on earth. Today is one of those days," he says with a laugh. "Today, I feel sexy talking to you on the phone. I feel sexy."

"Obviously, when I'm on stage or making music is when I feel not only sexy, but empowered and free," he adds. "The happiest. In those moments, I feel big. I feel sexy and all of the positive feelings you can imagine."

Bad Bunny is unapologetic. Whether it be in owning his Puerto Rican and Latino heritage or in standing up for what he believes in, the "Callaita" star doesn't stay quiet.

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He recently hit the Billboard Music Awards stage where he performed his standout track "Yo Perreo Sola" — a female-empowering song about "twerking by yourself" — alongside Nesi (who sings the track's chorus) and Ivy Queen ("a pillar of reggaetón music," according to Bad Bunny).

He also accepted the top Latin artist award at the show, making a powerful statement against sexism and gender violence in Spanish and dedicating his award to Latinas.

"Enough with machista violence against women," he said as he accepted the award. "Let's get educated, today in the present, for a better future."

"If she doesn't want to dance with you, respect her," he added. "She perrea sola."

For Bad Bunny, it's about "creating consciousness" and spreading that positive message.

"There's time and space for everything," he says. "I do everything because there's something in me telling me to do it."

"I won my space at those awards — and in music in general — by singing in Spanish for Latinos and for Puerto Rico," he adds about speaking his native language on an American stage. "I think the best way for me to express myself is in the language of which I've gotten all of this success and let everyone know that a Latino is there — someone who speaks Spanish is at that awards show doing big things."

Bad Bunny is confident. He's up for a total of eight Latin Grammys this year — a year after reggaetón artists were mostly snubbed from the top Spanish-language awards show. This year, reggaetón stars took over. (He just trails behind his Colombian friend J Balvin who's up for 13 awards.)

Christopher Polk/NBC Bad Bunny

"I'm happy and proud about the nominations," he says. "I think that when you work from the heart, your music — not just because it's popular, but because it's good music, it's creative — deserves to be there. It needs to be taken seriously."

Today, Bad Bunny announced that Cheetos is donating $500,000 to his Good Bunny Foundation for their "Deja Tu Huella" or "leave your mark" campaign. The donation from PepsiCo, the company behind the snack, is part of its multi-year, $170-million commitment to addressing racial inequality.

Courtesy Cheetos

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"It's a big project that not only will unite Bad Bunny and Cheetos in an explosive way, we'll also have this initiative to help the Latinx community with a gigantic donation," the star says. "It'll motivate people and gives them the tools to live their dreams and leave their mark in what they love, just how I've done so."

The snack brand will be unveiling a collaboration with the star during the 2020 American Music Awards next month.

As for Bad Bunny's favorite Cheetos? "Los Flamin' Hot con limón. With a bottle of water, y ya."