The Singles Jukebox

He’s come to win you back: with synths!

[Video]
[6.71]

Juana Giaimo: Bachata is almost inherently a smooth genre, and in “Imitadora” Romeo Santos surfs through it like an expert. If he previously was too melodramatic — his trembling voice sometimes being too tense — he now goes slowly, finding a balance in between the pace of the beat and his mellow cadence. 
[8]

Jessica Doyle: Romeo Santos’s lyrics frequently strike me as more entitled than seductive, and “Tell me the number of the hotel room where I made you a woman” is no exception. The Vangelis-esque synths do add to the air of unease and alienation, though, so the messages seem a little less mixed than usual.
[3]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Those Vangelis synths get me pumped but they quickly vanish, leaving us with an equally alluring bachata song. Alas, this dramatic betrayal feels appropriate, and I gladly accept it as another contribution to the Romeo Santos mythos.
[7]

Thomas Inskeep: Romeo Santos, somehow, makes bachata his own. No one sounds quite like he does: that’s why he’s the king of the genre. (Well, that and his sweet, sweet voice.) “Imitadora” keeps his streak going, as it’s one of the prettiest, sexiest songs you’ll hear all year. From Santos, it sounds so effortless.
[8]

Peter Ryan: Smoother than ever, if that’s possible — but even without the ice castle synths, Santos’s eternally-dulcet tones alone do a lot to balance out a supreme temper tantrum. I can’t say what if anything this does for his legacy or pop-bachata at-large, but to my ears it’s another musically-impeccable entry in his sub-catalog of things that sound soft but aren’t at all sweet. If you think the dissonance even matters, then how much you like this sort of depends on your take on the persona he puts across. If not, the vibes are plenty luxurious on their own.
[7]

Alfred Soto: On hearing the opening synth fanfare, I recoiled — could he handle it? He does. The introduction of this most unusual passage isn’t a refurbishment so much as an experiment. Santos still sounds too courtly for the modern world, almost silly, but Santos commits to his love patter. Because he’s courtly, he doesn’t offend.
[7]

Stephen Eisermann: The production and the lyrics make this song. I will never be a big fan of Romeo due to his off-putting voice, but everything else here is just… perfect. Romeo takes the role of a man pleading with his now estranged wife, begging her to remember all of the love and passion that once existed between them. The blend of English/Spanish is probably done for crossover potential, but it strangely works within the context of the song. By far the best part, however, is the synth beat that starts the song and every verse —  ominous and mysterious, yet also giving hints of desperation. It is the juxtaposition of these synths with Romeo’s typical cumbia-esque production that makes the track so compelling and the lyrics so convincing. Like, damn girl, I want you to give him another chance, you know?
[7]