If Bad Bunny’s recent Super Bowl performance sparked your interest in Latin pop, you’re in for a treat! A rich and diverse world of music is out there, and don’t let language be a barrier – online lyrics and translation tools make it easy to explore. This week, we’re highlighting exciting new releases from both established icons and emerging talents in Latin pop, alongside fresh tracks from English-speaking artists. Here are some of the standout songs we can’t stop talking about.
You can find these tracks on your favorite streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
What’s New
Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso featuring Sting, ‘Hasta Jesus Tuvo un Mal Dia’
In a surprising collaboration, legendary artist Sting joins Argentine pop duo Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, fresh off their 2025 Grammy win for Latin rock or alternative album. While the duo is known for their witty style, this new track, “Hasta Jesus Tuvo un Mal Dia,” offers a heartfelt message of encouragement. Sting himself delivers the line, “Even Jesus had his bad days,” offering a comforting “Don’t give up yet.” This single, preceding their upcoming album “Free Spirits” (due March 19), perfectly blends Sting’s iconic voice with a backbeat and guitar work reminiscent of his Police days, creating an effortlessly familiar yet fresh sound.
Available on all major streaming services.
Baby Rose featuring Leon Thomas, ‘Friends Again’
Emotional questions like “Will it ever be the same? Why did we have to complicate it?” linger throughout “Friends Again,” a smooth neo-soul duet filled with regret and lingering affection. Baby Rose’s profound vocal ache is beautifully complemented by Leon Thomas’s intricate melismas, as both artists delve into the aftermath of an encounter that seemingly altered everything.
Available on all major streaming services.
Jorge Drexler, ‘Toco Madera’
The vibrant, African-rooted rhythms of Uruguayan candombe form the heart of Jorge Drexler’s “Toco Madera” (“I Knock on Wood”). This is the first single from his new album, “‘Taracá,” recorded in his native Uruguay after spending decades working across Spain and other countries. Drexler, a recipient of 16 Latin Grammys and an Academy Award for his 2005 song “Al Otro Lado del Rio,” masterfully crafts concise, multi-layered lyrics and arrangements that transform empty spaces into captivating syncopations. In “Toco Madera,” he sings of watching a loved one’s GPS dot move away, hoping for their return while symbolically “knocking on wood” for luck. This act also refers to the candombe tradition of tapping the central beat, the clave, on the side of a drum – a rhythm that drives the entire song.
Available on all major streaming services.
Ratboys, ‘Light Night Mountains All That’
“You didn’t care, you didn’t care,” Julia Steiner asserts with a sharp edge in “Light Night Mountains All That,” a track from Ratboys’ new album, “Singin’ to an Empty Chair.” The song begins with a deceptively serene, folk-infused sound, but this tranquility soon gives way. As Steiner recounts profound, almost mystical revelations she longed to share – imagery like “how the lightning strikes when the sun explodes” – the track escalates, transforming raw frustration into a powerful surge of feedback and distortion.
Available on all major streaming services.
James Blake, ‘I Had a Dream She Took My Hand’
James Blake skillfully creates a captivating anachronism in his song, “I Had a Dream She Took My Hand.” Drawing inspiration from a sample of Thee Sinseers’ “It Was Only a Dream,” Blake transports his distinctive synthesizers, ethereal falsetto, and signature melancholic style back to an imagined, warped 1950s. The result is a surreal, doomed-love ballad set against a vintage chord progression played in slow, arpeggiated fashion. He paints vivid scenes of couples walking hand-in-hand with “the Titanic band / playing them out miles from land,” culminating in a poignant, philosophical plea: “I just wanna know what it means.”
Available on all major streaming services.
Momoko Gill, ‘No Others’
From “Momoko,” the debut solo album by multi-talented songwriter, singer, drummer, and producer Momoko Gill (known for her work with British innovators like Matthew Herbert and Alabaster DePlume), comes “No Others.” This track is a jazzy, intricate piece built on a six-beat rhythm. Over a gentle, loping bassline and delicate fragments of piano and guitar, Gill explores enigmatic thoughts with serene curiosity: “Take me down and let me come alive until I fall / I wonder when it ends, how does it feel?”
Available on all major streaming services.
What’s New in Instrumental Music
Tigran Hamasyan, ‘Manifeste’
Armenian keyboard virtuoso Tigran Hamasyan seamlessly blends jazz, prog-rock, and ambient sounds on his album, “Manifeste.” The title track is a masterclass in complexity, featuring intricate patterns, powerful impacts, and fluid improvisation, all driven by Hamasyan’s lightning-fast fingers on pianos and electric keyboards. While the piece involves a large ensemble and choir performing complex, meter-shifting parts, the undeniable focus remains on Hamasyan and his drummer, who consistently push the boundaries with fearless energy.
Available on all major streaming services.
What’s Big on the Hot 100
Noah Kahan, ‘The Great Divide’
Noah Kahan’s “The Great Divide,” the title track from his forthcoming album due April 24, received a significant boost in promotion when it aired as a full-length advertisement during the Grammy Awards. It has since climbed to No. 6 on the pop charts. This folk-rock ballad delves into the story of a former friend from wilder, younger days, someone whose struggles the singer now understands with greater clarity. Kahan powerfully expresses his regret, reflecting “how bad it must have been for you back then / And how hard it was to keep it all inside,” as the guitars build intensity.
Available on all major streaming services.
What’s Big in … Brazil and Portugal
DJ Japa NK, MC Ryan SP, MC Jacaré e MC Meno K and DJ Davi DogDog, ‘Posso Até Não Te Da Flores’
The enduring No. 1 hit in both Brazil and Portugal is “Posso Até Não Te Da Flores” (“I May Not Give You Flowers”), a collaborative effort from three rappers and two producers. Brazilian rap often emphasizes melody, and this track is a friendly showcase of vocal skill, with each artist vying to deliver the best melodic lines over a captivating, harplike loop. MC Ryan SP even incorporates a familiar touch, borrowing Portuguese lyrics for the chorus from the Black Eyed Peas’ hit “I Gotta Feeling.”
Available on all major streaming services.
About the Author: Jon Pareles, a veteran culture correspondent, dedicated 37 years as The Times’ chief pop music critic. With a background steeped in music studies, he’s played in rock, jazz, and classical ensembles, and was a college radio disc jockey. His extensive career also includes editorial roles at Rolling Stone and The Village Voice.