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Carla Morrison – Eres Tú

4/5

Carla Morrison is a Mexican indie-pop singer who should receive more attention than she gets. She won two Latin Grammys in 2012; her song “Déjenme Llorar” won a Latin Grammy for Best Alternative Song and her album Déjenme Llorar won Best Alternative Music Album. Morrison has a beautiful, soft voice that partners well with the upbeat tunes featured in the majority of her songs. Most of her music is written about romantic partnerships, and she strikes a good balance between writing about heartbreak and love. One of her more popular songs, “Eres Tú”, is a bubbly song about being completely infatuated with someone. In “Eres Tú”, Morrison beautifully expresses how it feels to be so in love with someone that they are always on your mind. The chorus highlights her gorgeous voice and high range. Morrison’s most recent album, Amor Supremo, was released in November of 2015 and offers more powerfully emotional songs than on her previous albums. Amor Supremo consists of songs that show more the intense emotions that come with heartbreak, unlike the songs on her other albums.

Calle 13 – Latinoamérica

5/5

Calle 13 is a Puerto Rican group who offers an alternative, hard-to-identify genre of Latin music. Their 21 Latin Grammy Awards are the most of any act in history. Calle 13 has also won three Grammy Awards. Most of their awards fall under the “urban” category, but that doesn’t always fit their genre, as they have also won awards for Best Alternative Song and Best Tropical Song. The members of Calle 13 are René Pérez Joglar, the lead singer, and his step brother Eduardo Cabra Martínez. Joglar, whose stage name is Residente, writes their music and raps.

Calle 13 focuses on socially conscious and often controversial topics in their lyrics, rather than singing lines that sexualize women, as many other rappers do. Their song “Latinoamérica”, featuring Totó la Momposina, Susana Baca and Maria Rita, shows Calle 13’s controversial and political side. In “Latinoamérica”, Residente sings about what Latin America is to him. Calle 13 includes different characteristics of Latin America, representing both positive and negative aspects of its many different cultures in this song. Besides including parts of Latin American culture that other countries have pushed upon this part of the world, they include lines about qualities of Latin America that cannot be taken away or bought by other countries and cultures. One of the featured artists sings, “You can’t buy the wind/ You can’t buy the sun/ You can’t buy the rain/ You can’t buy the heat/ You can’t buy the clouds/ You can’t buy the colors/ You can’t buy my happiness/ You can’t buy my pains.” “Latinoamérica” also has very unique instrumentals, featuring a wide variety of instruments from maracas to a violin. It is a very powerful song that shows the many cultures of Latin America and how they are united as one.

Ximena Sariñana – Sin Ti No Puede Estar Tan Mal

3.5/5

Ximena Sariñana is a Mexican singer-songwriter. Sariñana’s music is upbeat, hip and different, and has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards. Her song, “Sin Ti No Puede Estar Tan Mal”, exemplifies the way that her music differs from other Latin pop. “Sin Ti No Puede Estar Tan Mal” has an almost jazzy feel to it and is very rhythmic. It also encourages independence and feminine power. The song begins with a heartbeat-like bass rhythm, and throughout the song are bits of autotune, which actually complement the beat and her voice very well. She sings about being better off without someone if they do not appreciate her. The message of “Sin Ti No Puede Estar Tan Mal” is empowering and displays Sariñana’s soft yet powerful voice. The music video for “Sin Ti No Puede Estar Tan Mal” has over eight million hits and displays women burning and smashing items of ex-boyfriends while Sariñana sings the lyrics, enhancing the message of feminine power. Though this song shows her variation from other Latin pop artists, her other songs do not display her unique style. Her music could be much better if she used her distinct style in more of her songs.  

Dvicio – Paraíso
2/5

Dvicio is a Spanish pop band made up of five members. They have catchy songs and their lead singer has a smooth, strong voice, but ultimately they are just another boy band. Dvicio’s songs are all about teenage romance, both being in love and heartbreak. They sound very similar to many other pop artists and their songs are unoriginal, uncreative and basic. “Paraíso” is one of their more popular songs, and its lyrics represent their music as a whole. The lyrics of “Paraíso” are very cliché, as they are about a girl’s parents not approving of her relationship with the lead singer but the couple dates anyway. It is one of those songs that gets stuck in your head all day and makes you mad that you can’t forget the melody. Although Dvicio missed the mark on writing lyrics, their musical skills show their talent. Their instrumentals are fun to listen to, though they might not be unique. Dvicio is best when they are covering other artists. Their covers of Luan Santana’s “Tudo que você quiser” and Katy Perry’s “Roar” both beautifully showcase Dvicio’s musical talents aside from songwriting.