Ok, I have to tell you that I am a bit one sided: I do like some of Bad Bunny’s songs, lyrics and how it is all mixed. Maybe there were plenty of professional musicians creating all this for him, but in the end, he signed up on not only creating smooth and chill reggaeton songs like Callaita, but he also has some songs with salsa outros and some complete salsas.
One of the standout moments was his track “El Apagón” (2022), which features a salsa outro. Also, “Monaco” (2023) caught attention with a smooth salsa version but even bigger the merengue version. These really hit the dance floors globally!
The combination of classic salsa instruments and Bad Bunny’s typical vocal style is something that really resonates. With people that are into the genre of Gangsta-reggaeton, but also more and more with salsa lovers.
From a musical perspective, the salsa versions of his songs are really well-produced. The songs are danceable, rich, and while not really unique in terms of rhythm and music, the vocals make them stand out.
I kind of love to sing along, even though that is not easy given the special style that Bad Bunny displays and certainly also his use of vocal adjustments.
The lyrics are just absolutely fantastic. Baile Inolvidable is a song that resonates with all those that have a love that ended and the yearning that can leave …. well, I guess most salsa dancers can feel this right now!
Baile Inolvidable
Some salsa purists have a different perspective and don’t like that Pop / Reggaeton artists even dominate the salsa song list, but here is another perspective. In Latin America, salsa was seen as music for old people. The massive influx of European and to lesser extent American dancers caused a resurgence and more and more young people picked up salsa dancing again and Bad Bunny brings even more people back to salsa.
