Think we need a ginger ale…
[Video]
[5.17]
Isabel Cole: Karol G’s voice is wonderful, strong and nimble while making everything sound effortless; Nicki’s verse is light but having fun is a good look on her, and if I were to cut anything here it’d be the four lines where she can’t resist interrupting the buoyancy of the track to remind us that yeah yeah okay you’re still hard we know. I love a good dance floor heartbreak jam, and the canción/depresión rhyme framing the hook in the chorus earns its place in the legacy; bonus point for how much I love (you can almost hear her shaking her head ruefully) that tonta sliding off the end of the line. We’ve all been there!
[8]
Natasha Genet Avery: Though the mechanic strings and flat percussion do her no favors, Karol G manages to spin a compelling not-quite-over-you tale on “Tusa.” Nicki Minaj proves to be another hindrance, her predictable mid-verse switch-up and awkwardly dated lingo (“epic fail?”) underscoring her waning relevance.
[5]
Will Adams: Who the hell uses “epic fail” in 2019? Nicki Minaj, apparently, who is happy to grind this otherwise likable wistful reggaeton number to a halt.
[5]
Nicholas Donohoue: For as massaged and smooth as Karol G is presenting, Nicki jabs the middle like stepping on a jack. So what reads as a could-have-been solid album track gets boosted to a single by the addition of a big time rapper singing and rapping in a way that makes everything lesser.
[6]
Michael Hong: The beginning of the track is something promising, delving into something rather mystical with Karol G’s voice delicately flitting about the track while the strings provide a sharp accent to set it apart from a lot of current reggaeton. However, it quickly unravels as the strings dissolve behind the reggaeton beat. Nicki Minaj can’t save it, and it’s moments into her verse before that beat disappears and her voice is processed heavily enough to drag the strings down with the rest of the track.
[4]
Katherine St Asaph: A soporific drear that Nicki Minaj would have known how to liven up — Jesus, almost 10 years ago?
[3]