Viva Friday is a compilation of the best new Latin songs, albums and videos recommended by the Billboard Latin editors.
La Maquinaria Norteña feat. Grupo Firme – “En Honor a Ti”
Collaborating for the first time with up-and-coming Grupo Firme, La Maquinaria Norteña dropped their new single “En Honor a Ti.” Known for their norteño-style songs powered by the saxophone and the accordion, “En Honor a Ti” is no exception. The frontmen of La Maquinaria and Grupo Firme sing of overcoming heartbreak. The track, released under Azteca Records, follows the release of La Maquinaria’s 2019 album A Puro Galope. — GRISELDA FLORES
Cali y el Dandee & Reik – "Borracho de Amor" (Universal Music Latino Enrertainment)
Colombian duo Cali y El Dandee and Mexican band Reik gave a romantic touch to the week. Written by Andres Torres along with Cali y El Dandee and Reik, “Borracho De Amor” (Drunk of Love) is a heartbreaking song full of nostalgia, loneliness and despair. It's what someone feels trying to forget the one person who, quite frankly, is unforgettable. Musically, it is an urban midtempo song fused with pop. — SUZETTE FERNANDEZ
Kany García – “La Libreta” (Sony Music Latin)
The Puerto Rican singer-songwriter’s song “La Libreta” is included in her 2019 album Contra El Viento and on Friday, she debuts a music video for the cumbia-style song. In the video, directed by Diego Andrade in Miami, García decides to move on and leave behind the man she wrote about in her libreta (notebook) who she once loved. The man, who is portrayed as a stiff doll who has no emotions, goes back into his little doll box and Kany begins to write her own story. — GF
Dulcecitos – Piso 21 with Zion & Lennox (Warner Music Latina)
Piso 21 and Zion & Lennox want to make your life sweeter with their new collaboration "Dulcecitos." Written by Piso 21 with Dynelll, Lalo Ebrat, Andrés Saavedra, Sunamy and Zion & Lennox and produced by Sunamy y Mosty, the upbeat song will make you start the party while being serenaded by the sweet lyrics. “Dulcecitos” will be part of Piso 21’s forthcoming album. — SF
Draco – “Quiero Vivir” (Sony Music)
Draco unhinges from time and space in “Quiero Vivir” (I want to live), a song based on the poem “Tengo Ojos" (I have eyes) by Mexican poet Jaime Salinas. He’s disposed of the compass and opted for the present with candid openness and clarity in this personal conversation bookended by robust orchestration, his melodious baritone vocals and a penchant for gloomy, introspective lyrics. The song’s music video, directed by Inés Mongil, continues the journey of past visual clips filmed in his native Puerto Rico where earthly experimentation comes to the fore, this time using water as the main element. — PAMELA BUSTIOS
Céu – "Corpocontinente" (Six Degrees Records)
Brazilian Céu’s “Corpocontinente” blends the words "corpo" (body) and "continente" (continent) as a result of her exploration of the disparities of two different bodies and their connection after separation. The second cut from the forthcoming APKÁ set, due in April, was written by Céu with Pupillo on drums, Hervé Salters on keyboards, Lucas Martins on bass and Pedro Sá on guitar. The tune drifts around the word "saudade" (nostalgia) and its power to heal in the dystopian and captivating audio-visual clip directed by Rodrigo Saavedra. “Vou passear em seu delírio/ Vou te ensinar como se sente uma saudade/ Saudade/ Palavra inexistente/ Um dialeto fora do nosso continente” (I will enter your delirium/ I will teach you how nostalgia feels/ a word that only exists in the dialect of our continent). — PB
Jessie Reyez – “Love in the Dark” (FMLY / Island Records)
Jessie Reyez’ debut album Before Love Came to Kill Us (March 27) yields the contemplative “Love in the Dark,” an anthemic song about the analysis of realism and relations and third cut from the set. Reyez’s aesthetic sensibility is displayed in the song’s music video, directed by Se Oh (Mad Ruk Entertainment). Her raw vocals are flanked by a soft keyboard progression before the melody moves into an earnest harmonic string section later tied by gentle brass strokes. — PB
Luis Figueroa – “Te Deseo” (Sony Music Latin)
Following the release of his debut single “La Especialista,” Luis Figueroa continues to mark his territory in the music industry with his new track “Te Deseo.” Written by Figueroa and produced by Laureano “Lauro” Pardo, the captivating Latin pop-meets-urban melody brings to the forefront a person who’s sarcastically wishing their ex all the luck in the world after their breakup. “I hope that you’re very happy and that he does to you what you did to me,” Figueroa belts in the chorus. “Te Deseo” dropped Friday with a lyric video that shows the Philadelphia-born Puerto Rican artist singing the song in the background. With this release, Figueroa will take his music to some of the biggest stages in the U.S. as Marc Anthony’s opening act on the current leg of his Opus Tour, including at the Madison Square Garden in New York on Feb. 13. In 2015, Figueroa was signed to Anthony’s entertainment company Magnus Media. Listen to “Te Deseo” below. — JESSICA ROIZ
