This Colombian takes us to the Dominican…
[Video]
[6.29]
Ian Mathers: Whoever the piano player is, pay them extra, because they’re a big part of this song’s extra pep in its step.
[8]
Nortey Dowuona: Rios, a rather popular songwriter/producer who’s worked most with Ozuna and Nicky Jam, handles songwriting duties alongside producers Edge and Sky Rompiendo, the Colombian TM88 to J Balvin’s Future, as well as Karol herself. Together they sketch a sweet, lightly played fantasy of sweeping a man away from his girl — even trying to hook up with both, but clearly centering taking the man from her and making him hers. And through Karol’s bright soprano, it sounds ebullient and joyful, thus everybody wins (unless you are the shy girl in the situation). But you know, not everyone can win.
[8]
Tim de Reuse: A workable little melody, but her delivery is a little too faraway and detached to adequately sell the subject matter in the ways I would’ve liked; it’s too lighthearted and jumpy to be cathartically bitter but it’s got too much still-into-him to come off totally content. The role of tone-setter instead falls to the most melancholic, dead-eyed keyboard preset I’ve ever heard: a truly pathetic little clink-clank, dry as a bone and meandering around a sparse, half-finished beat. The atmosphere we reach is kind of stunted and shallow but, I mean, from some angles, that works; a hazy, day-drunk boredom where you’ve got nothing better to do than mull over a bunch of stale what-ifs that you aren’t really that invested in. I’ve had worse afternoons, I guess.
[6]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Not quite as fun as it wants to be. It’s still a summer jam par excellence, but there’s a gap between ambition and execution here. Karol G’s vocals sound antiseptic and restrained for far too long — she gets to stretch out a little as the song ends, buoyed by a very charming gang vocal — and the mambo rhythms here deserve something more playful.
[6]
Jonathan Bradley: Karol G’s reggaeton is a light touch anyway, but she might well be walking on air on this merengue, which shimmers with such easy joy it could be a shampoo commercial. Like Carbonne, she knows summer songs sound even sunnier if you’ve got friends who’ll shout the words along with you.
[6]
Katherine St. Asaph: If nothing else, the video made me look up merengue karaoke mixes.
[3]
Alfred Soto: Give the piano player a raise. Not that Karol G isn’t doing her part, but at times she sounds like a guest in her own home. Nevertheless, “Si Antes…” is spirited pop.
[7]