BEST LATIN POP ALBUMVidaLUIS FONSIIf you’re wondering if album — yes, it is. Somewhere in Vida is that
the middle of the track list lies not one, but two versions of “Despacito” (one featuring Daddy Yankee, and a remix with Justin Bieber). boasts “Échame la Culpa” with Demi Lovato, and “Calypso” with StefflVida also on
Don. But beyond the slew of rhyth-mic/Latin hits that now feel so long ago, this is an album where Fonsi is able to truly mine the R&B roots that so define his sound, and often get muted. As if affirming this fact, Vida
kicks off with “Sola,” a rhythmic bal-lad set over a barely there accompa-niment of beats and chords where Fonsi plays with his voice, imparting hints of soul few Latin artists can pull off. Vida mixes in the soaring
ballads Fonsi has long been known for (“Le Pido al Cielo”), and also some lighter dance hits like “Apaga la Luz.” But the standouts here are those R&B ballads that display Fonsi’s other side. This, more than
“Despacito,” is the true crossover.11:11MALUMAMthe Latin realm who is able to take aluma is one of the few artists in
mundane love stories — the girl whose guy plays around, the guy whose love is unrequited — and turn them into songs whose lyrics feel like conversations with friends. It’s one of the reasons why pretty much
every Latin music fan knows at least one MM11:11the urban category, and that’s fine. This is an album of songs more than aluma’s trademark croon allows to live in the “pop” rather than aluma song top to bottom.
raps, where the beats are always at the service of the melody. At 16 tracks, (Ricky Mna). But its best material — rhythmic, catchy, clever and impossible not 11:11artin, Sech, Ozuna, M is full of collaborations adon-
to relate to — is MSample “Shhhh (Calla’)” to get your textbook instructions on how to be discreetly unfaithful.aluma’s alone.
MontanerRICARDO MONTANERListening to Mvoice sing songs of love and loss is such a pleasure. The most veteran contender in this category, Montaner’s effortless ontaner
included a song with his rising-star kids Mruko, on this self-titled album. He also smartly collaborated with hot new talent like producer Tainy (of J Balvin and Bad Bunny fame), and au & Ricky, and with Far-
singer-songwriter Camilo Echeverry (who is engaged to Mdaughter Eva Luna), for an updated, contemporary sound. It all manages to sound natural versus contrived — no easy feat. On songs like “No Montaner’s e
Hagas Daño,” Mthat it’s possible to evolve within the framework of established success.#ELDISCOALEJANDRO SANZontaner shows us
albums “almost as an endangered the single “M(species,” he told Sanz titled his album #TheAlbum) because he sees i Persona Favorita,” a Billboard#ELDISCO. In fact,^pretty celebration of love and friendship featuring Camila Cabello — which won record of the year at the Latin Grammys — is the most celebrated song on this collection of tropical dance tracks and more
personal musings. But the best tracks are far more urgent and less conventional, like “El Trato,” which traverses flamenco-tinged vocals and arrangements that go from beats to sweeping strings in one second.
FantasiaSEBASTIAN YATRARising star Yatra has garnered his biggest hits with pop/urban fare but took a gamble with going full pop — and it has paid off. Fantasia — in
Fantasiamajor problems with Latin pop isn’t that urban music overshadows it, but that there was a need for new artist and producer voices in order to revamp the sound. Romantic but aptly shows that one of the
contemporary and youthful, was produced by Andres Torres and Mfame, but the sound is all Yatra, who auricio Rengifo of “Despacito” Fantasiais far more than a teeny-bopper pop star. On songs like “Falta Amor,” he displays not just vocal prowess but urgent emotion, encapsulated in a sound that shuns big arrange-ments and histrionics for a more
effective intimacy.BEST LATIN ROCK, URBANOR ALTERNATIVE ALBUM
X 100PREBAD BUNNYAfter working on it for six months, Bad Bunny officially dropped his full-length debut album, on Christmas Eve 2018. The 15-track X 100PRE,
set — which translates to an acronym for “por siempre” (“forever”) — holds true to the Puerto Rican’s Latin trap base while still experimenting with other rhythms, such as bachata and dembow on “La Romana” (featuring
El Alfa), and punk rock on “Tenemos que Hablar.” His lyrics shed light on many social issues, such as domes-tic violence in “Solo de Mimportance of inclusivity in “Caro.” i,” and the
Bad Bunny at Madison Square Garden in New York on April 27.Latin
GRAMMYAWARDS
TNEVEN^ FERDMAS/GETTY^ IMAGES116 BILLBOARD • DECEMBER 7, 2019