Well reviewing an actual #1 album was fun. I guess we're back to talking about non top 10 debuting albums while A Boogie Wit da Hoodie reigns supreme again. Though I don't think its exactly fair to compare Luis Fonsi to the likes of Blueface and Palisades, as this man made fucking Despacito. But where did he start off? Well, I don't really have much to work with here as I'm an American, so I'll be talking about the Hot 100. Only problem is he's had just four charting songs. His first charting song was back in 2005 and it peaked at just #90. He managed to get a #92 peaking song in 2008, but aside form that he was just kinda gone from the Hot 100 for nearly a decade. He has been making music since 1998 so respect for staying in the game for over 20 years.
But then Despacito happened. 16 weeks at #1 and one of the biggest songs ever made. Broke tons of records, most viewed video on YouTube, etc etc. And hey, whaddya know, Despacito is on this album. So is his other recent charting hit, a collab with Demi Lovato. Let's just get into the album itself, where I'll be talking about both of those songs.
Overview
So this is gonna be a new one for me. I've reviewed rock, rap and pop albums, but not a latin album. And I'm honestly not sure how this will go, considering a lot of what I talk about during the song reviews are the lyrics of songs. But I guess we'll just see what happens?
In terms of overall quality, I like this a fair amount more than I expected to. I really didn't know what to think going in, but I feel like this was a pretty enjoyable listen overall. The production varies from messy to pretty tight and well done. The lyrics are certainly lyrics. He is saying words, no one can deny that. As for what he's saying, I have no fucking clue. But as for how he sounds saying it....wow. I don't get why more people don't talk about this, but Luis Fonsi has a legitimately pretty amazing voice. He's got solid range, and while his upper register isn't amazing its far from awful, and his lower/middle registers are really amazing. The guest features here vary in quality. On one side of things, you've got the god awful Ozuna on Impossible, and you've got Justin Bieber not really trying on Despacito - Remix. But then you've got people like Demi Lovato on Échame La Culpa and Daddy Yankee on both Despacitos, so it kinda balances out. Lastly, to put in concisely, the strengths of this album lie in its upbeat, fun songs, while the weakness lie in the abundance of forgettable ballads.
Individual Song Reviews
1. Sola: The guitar here sounds really great. As does Luis Fonsi. I never really realized how good of a voice this man has. It has a pretty nice post-chorus, as what I believe is a piano is brought in for a couple bars. This song does suffer from being a bit boring though. But overall I do like it. 4.5/5
2. Apaga La Luz: The main groove in this song is weird. At the start, its just like some sort of bell. Then the "drop" hits and its basically just a messy assortment of sounds. But aside from the chorus and "drop", the song overall is pretty decent due to Luis's vocals. I have a feeling I may be mentioning this a lot, but this guy just has an amazing voice. The track does drag a bit. Its barely over 3 minutes, but feels like 5. Still though, its a 2.5/5.
3. Le Pido Al Cielo: So this seems to be Luis Fonsi doing a ballad. I don't know what he's saying because I don't speak Spanish, so I don't really get the main part of the ballad. But whatever, its still a solid song, though it is kinda just a basic ballad. The verses are more quiet and reserved, with just a piano. And then the chorus explodes in the ballad-way with Luis singing his heart out. So yeah, not bad, but nothing special. 3.5/5
4. Impossible: Oh god. Luis, why did you feel the need to make a boring and generic reggaeton song with Ozuna? And yeah Ozuna sucks on this. Shock of the century, Ozuna makes bad music. I'm pretty sure I've heard this exact beat way too many times before while reviewing generic reggaeton for Wake The Pop Up, the podcast I host that you should all listen to weekly (gotta love those shameless plugs). Luis sounds good, but thats not enough to save the song. 1.5/5
5. Poco A Poco: So we've got an acoustic guitar line here that actually sounds like a real guitar was used instead of a computer preset. So thats nice. Said guitar line doesn't mix particularly well with the beat that comes in, but I guess its not awful either. As for Luis on this song, I gotta say I'm not impressed. This sounds like some sort of break up song, and even without understating the lyrics I can say that Luis sounds a little too whiny for my liking. That said, he still is Luis Fonsi, and he is basically incapable of giving a bad vocal performance. 2.5/5
6. Dime Que No Te Iras: So we've got more sad Luis here. This time, instead of a guitar, its a piano ballad. I can't say too much about the production, as its basically what you'd expect from your run of the mill piano ballad. A piano with a beat added latter on, we're not re-inventing the wheel here. But I can say that Luis delivers quite the performance, as he hits higher notes for a long period of time, which is pretty impressive. The boring-ness of the song drags it down a bit, but I still like it. 4/5
7. Échame La Culpa: This song is just really upbeat and fun. After having sad Luis for a couple tracks, he just sounds like he's having the time of his life here. And Demi Lovato is also surprisingly good at singing in Spanish. Then she sings in English in her verse, where she throws some odd references to The Beatles in. Sure, Demi, whatever makes you happy. Also Luis and Demi have a ton of chemistry. Really great song. 5/5
8. Tanto Para Nada: Ah fuck we're back to sad Luis. This time we've got production that reminds me of Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons, expect with a guitar. But then the chorus hits, and everything kinda falls apart. The production becomes very messy, and Luis's voice actually kinda cracks at one point. Downbeat and overproduced don't mix, sorry Luis. 1/5
9. Despacito: With the Bieberemix being the version that I always hear, I kinda forget how fucking awesome the original is. Luis and Daddy Yankee are having a ton of fun with this and their energy is infectious. Luis sounds really great, and Daddy Yankee's verse is pretty great. The production is solid, and the lyrics are.....about giving head slowly I believe. But whatever, its a ton of fun and an iconic summer jam. 5/5
10. Más Fuerte Que Yo: So we've got a slower song to follow up Despacito. Except I'd say this is one of Luis's better slow songs, as the chorus manages to be interesting and not overproduced. It has a nice chorus, and while it is a bit forgettable I like it alright. 4/5
11. Calypso: Huh. Stefflon Don is here. If you're like me, you only know here from the remix to Halsey's song Alone from last year, where she was "the other rapper who's not Big Sean". But as far how she does here, she's pretty good I suppose. But what really carries the song is the beat and Luis, as both things go really well together. It does feel like he's just trying to make Despacito again. But hey I can't really blame him, Despacito is great and also a massive hit. 4/5
12. Ahí Estas Tú: So we're closing out the non-remixes with another ballad. And honestly, at this point in the album, I've heard enough Luis ballads. He's not bad at doing them, but its not his strong suit. His strong suit is making really fun songs with a featured artist. Not solo ballads. So yeah, this isn't bad, but I almost certainly won't remember it. 2/5
13. Despacito - Remix: So this. This is not as good as the original Despacito. Because Bieber. While he doesn't exactly sound awful here, he's very breathy and he takes away from more Luis singing which is not good. Also him singing this live was.....interesting. But yeah aside from that, just look at what I said about the original. Even with Bieber though, this is still a 4.5/5.
14. Calypso - Remix: Huh. So trading Stefflon Don for Karol G and a couple of other latin artist I've never heard of (Andrés Torres, Mauricio Rengifo). All three of the new artists contribute really well, especially Karol G. Luis and the beat are still really good, so yeah this is a 5/5.
15. Sola - English Version: I guess I could analyze these lyrics. But theres not much to them. So I guess I'll just give this a 4.5/5 again.
Final Thoughts
Rating: 7/10 (Good)
Best Songs: Sola (both versions), Échame La Culpa, Despacito (both versions), Calypso - Remix
Worst Song: Tanto Para Nada
Nickelodeon, I like your post,
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