You’ll always catch me with headphones on, no matter the time of day. Most of the time, I get asked, “What are you listening to?” Half the time, I’ll tell you: Latin music. Whether it’s urban latino, reggaeton, R&B/Soul or música mexicana, it’s blasting in my ears.
Here are some of my favorite Spanish-language albums that were released this year.
5. “LA VIDA ES UNA” by Myke Towers
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“LA VIDA ES UNA” by Myke Towers is a reggaeton album with a tracklist of 23 songs. It contains collabs with Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, J Balvin and Arcángel.
It starts off with a calm vibe, but once it gets to the fourth song with Daddy Yankee, it’ll make you feel like you can’t stop dancing. Once I press play on this album, it’s as if I have a little party in my head while doing homework.
4. “DESVELADO” by Eslabon Armando
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This LP is made by a Mexican regional group that was formed in 2017. I didn’t really listen to them that much until one of their songs from an old album, “Jugastes y Sufrí” featuring DannyLux blew up on TikTok in 2020. Then, I began to like their music.
My sister was still in NY at that time and she and I would listen to it and sing our hearts out. This new album by the quartet made me remember the good times we had three years ago. It’s full of sad music from one song which relays a guy missing his ex to another about how beautiful this girl is and how he’s blessed that God put her in his path.
3. “Pa Las Baby’s Y Belikeada” by Fuerza Regida
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“Pa las Baby’s Y Belikeada ” by Fuerza Regida contains 30 songs of the música Mexicana genre, including collabs with El Fantasma, Calle 24 and more. It dropped in October.
I saw the group live when I went to LA. I almost lost my voice when they performed “HARLEY QUINN” featuring Marshmello, which is on this album. It starts off slow with just the lead singer’s vocals, then Marshmello suddenly made it much more upbeat by adding horns.
2. “Red Moon In Venus” by Kali Uchis
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“Red Moon In Venus” by Kali Uchis was another album I enjoyed as it’s filled with so much love and dedication. I was very excited when I got to see her perform these tracks live at Radio City Music Hall with a friend.
The LP has a mix of Spanish and English, which makes it more fun to yell out the lyrics. For example, in the song “Hasta Cuando,” she starts off in Spanish, but around 20 seconds later she has a small verse in English and quickly switches back in Spanish.
She has a few features in the album like Omar Apollo and Don Toliver that make it more exciting. I look forward to hearing the new album she will release next year.
1. “nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mañana” by Bad Bunny
Listen on Spotify / Listen on Apple Music
Of course, a Bad Bunny album had to be in first place.
If you know me, you automatically knew a release by him would top all others in this list. This album dropped on October 13, 2023 and it hit number one on Billboard in its first week.
The LP has 22 songs and a whole lot of features including ones from Young Miko and Eldio Carrión. A few songs that never fail to make me sing my lungs out in my room are “FINA (feat. Young Miko),” “TELEFONO NUEVO” and “NO ME QUIERO CASAR.”
As I play this album almost daily through my Sony headphones and Airpods, it never loses the feeling it had the first time I listened to it. It makes me happy to see Bad Bunny make it worldwide as I’ve listened to him since 2016 when he only had one single out.
As a Spanish speaker, I enjoy listening to music in my first language. Junior Leah Rivera shares the same thought.
“I’m Dominican,” she said. “So, listening to Spanish music is in my blood.”
