If you were captivated by Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance, then you’re in for a treat! A vibrant world of Latin pop is ready to explore, and with online lyrics and translation tools, language is no longer a barrier. This week, we’re highlighting exciting new music from established artists and rising stars in Latin pop, alongside fresh releases from English-speaking artists. Dive into these must-hear tracks!
(Listen on streaming platforms like **Spotify** or **Apple Music**.)
What’s New
Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso featuring Sting, ‘Hasta Jesus Tuvo un Mal Dia’
In a delightful surprise, Sting lends his voice to the latest track from Argentine pop sensation Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso. This duo, fresh off their Grammy win for the 2025 Latin rock/alternative EP “Papota,” often brings a playful sarcasm to their music. However, “Hasta Jesus Tuvo un Mal Dia” (“Even Jesus Had a Bad Day”) is a genuinely uplifting anthem. Sting’s lines, “Even Jesus had his bad days,” followed by the advice, “Don’t give up yet,” perfectly blend with the song’s encouraging message. This first single from their upcoming album, “Free Spirits,” (releasing March 19) also features a familiar backbeat and guitar style that unmistakably echoes The Police. Sting truly shines here.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
Baby Rose featuring Leon Thomas, ‘Friends Again’
Haunting questions like “Will it ever be the same? Why did we have to complicate it?” form the emotional core of “Friends Again.” This neo-soul duet unfurls slowly, filled with a mix of regrets and persistent longing. Baby Rose’s profound vocal sorrow is beautifully complemented by Leon Thomas’s soaring melismas, as both artists reflect on a pivotal moment that altered their relationship forever.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
Jorge Drexler, ‘Toco Madera’
At the heart of Jorge Drexler’s “Toco Madera” (“I Knock on Wood”) are the vibrant, African-influenced rhythms of Uruguayan candombe. This track is the lead single from his highly anticipated new album, “Taracá,” recorded in his homeland of Uruguay after years spent working across Spain and beyond. Drexler, an artist celebrated with 16 Latin Grammys and an Academy Award (for “Al Otro Lado del Rio” in 2005), masterfully crafts intricate, multi-layered lyrics and dynamic arrangements that transform silence into rhythmic pulses. In “Toco Madera,” he poignantly sings of watching a loved one’s GPS location drift away, as he metaphorically knocks on wood for their return. This act of ‘touching wood’ also cleverly references the candombe tradition of tapping the clave rhythm on a drum’s wooden shell, which subtly drives the song’s pulse.
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Ratboys, ‘Light Night Mountains All That’
Julia Steiner’s raw frustration, “You didn’t care, you didn’t care,” cuts through “Light Night Mountains All That,” a standout track from Ratboys’ new album, “Singin’ to an Empty Chair.” What begins as a calm, folk-infused melody soon erupts. As Steiner describes profound, almost mystical insights she yearned to share — “how the lightning strikes when the sun explodes” — the song accelerates into a cacophony of feedback and distortion, transforming her deep-seated frustration into powerful musical noise.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
James Blake, ‘I Had a Dream She Took My Hand’
James Blake masterfully creates a striking anachronism with “I Had a Dream She Took My Hand.” Drawing inspiration from a sample of Thee Sinseers’ “It Was Only a Dream,” Blake blends his signature synthesizers, falsetto, and pervasive melancholy into a surreal, doomed-love ballad set in a distorted, imaginary 1950s. Over a classic chord progression delivered in slow arpeggios, he paints a vivid scene of lovers walking hand-in-hand with “the Titanic band / playing them out miles from land,” culminating in a poignant, existential question: “I just wanna know what it means.”
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
Momoko Gill, ‘No Others’
From “Momoko,” the debut solo album by multi-talented artist Momoko Gill (known for her work with British innovators like Matthew Herbert and Alabaster DePlume), comes “No Others.” This jazzy, intricate track pulses with a distinct six-beat rhythm. Against a fluid bassline and delicate fragments of piano and guitar, Gill shares introspective and enigmatic lyrics — “Take me down and let me come alive until I fall / I wonder when it ends, how does it feel?” — all delivered with serene curiosity.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
What’s New in Instrumental Music
Tigran Hamasyan, ‘Manifeste’
Armenian keyboard virtuoso Tigran Hamasyan masterfully blends jazz, progressive rock, and ambient soundscapes in his album, “Manifeste.” The title track itself is a journey—complex, structured, powerful, and deeply improvisational. Hamasyan’s agile fingers dance across pianos and electric keyboards, supported by a full band and a choir executing intricate, rhythmically shifting passages. Yet, at its core, the piece is driven by Hamasyan and his drummer, fearlessly exploring new musical frontiers.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
What’s Big on the Hot 100
Noah Kahan, ‘The Great Divide’
Noah Kahan’s “The Great Divide,” the title track from his upcoming album (due April 24), received massive exposure as a full-length commercial during the Grammy Awards and has since soared to No. 6 on the pop charts. This poignant folk-rock tune reflects on a past friendship from wilder, younger days, where the singer now understands his friend’s struggles were far deeper than he realized at the time. Kahan’s regret is palpable as he sings, “how bad it must have been for you back then / And how hard it was to keep it all inside,” underscored by powerful guitar work.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
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’
Dominating the charts in both Brazil and Portugal is “Posso Até Não Te Da Flores” (“I May Not Give You Flowers”), a collaborative hit featuring three rappers and two producers. Brazilian hip-hop often prioritizes melody, and this track is a prime example: a playful lyrical battle to deliver the most captivating vocal lines over its distinctive harplike loop. Notably, MC Ryan SP incorporates a portion of the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” chorus, infusing the song with familiar Portuguese phrases.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
Corrections: An earlier version of this article misstated the title of a Ratboys song. It is “Light Night Mountains All That,” not “Late Night Mountains All That.” Also, an earlier version of this article misspelled the name of an artist. He is Tigran Hamasyan, not Hamayan. If you spot an error, please let us know at corrections@nytimes.com. Learn more about our journalism standards.
About the Author: Jon Pareles, a culture correspondent for The Times, served as chief pop music critic for 37 years. He studied music, played in rock, jazz, and classical groups, and was a college-radio disc jockey. He previously worked as an editor at Rolling Stone and The Village Voice.