The Singles Jukebox

Remember football in stadiums?

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Al Varela: One of the stranger but more charming Latin hits in recent memory. “Pepas” is destined for football stadiums for years to come. The chanting chorus is built for jumping up and down and shouting at the top of your lungs. The squeaky synth and joyous trumpet trot along to the catchy drumbeat, while Farruko glides through the track with ease. It’s fun as hell and feels emblematic of a post-lockdown world: Things are a little unstable, but we’re finding bliss in the few moments we do have. 
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Michael Hong: Uses its expansive time to run the same melody through a couple of scenes: the sing-along chant that feels like an outdoor festival, the horns that set the track ablaze, and the electronic squiggles that feel like a silent rave. “Pepas” stitches these ideas, blurring them together to make any location with Farruko a club party in constant motion.
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Wayne Weizhen Zhang: Tipsy, infectious dancefloor magic both aided and adulterated by the fact that the electronic hook sounds from about 20 years ago. 
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Alfred Soto: On hearing the airhorn and trumpet solos, I dove under my desk like my parents were taught to do in 1962.
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Katherine St Asaph: Sounds exactly like 2010, by which I mean it’s the exact midpoint of Pitbull’s “Hotel Room Service” (the beeps) and Enrique Iglesias’ “Tonight” (the melody). But alas, 2010 is gone and never coming back — which perhaps explains why the should-be-obnoxious hook sounds distant and faint. It’s like hearing the ghosts of the Vengaboys.
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Juana Giaimo: I know it’s time to party again (or maybe not? Who knows by now!), but I can’t avoid thinking how silly an extra-loud song about taking drugs and dancing is in this context. “Pepas” doesn’t even talk about a communal experience, just the individualistic pleasure of the moment: “You live your life, I live mine.” At least it recommends that people drink water too!
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Nortey Dowuona: I’ve heard this song at least 34 times throughout the year, and every time I’ve heard it it slapped. And even in my piddly little earbuds with no bass, it bangs. Please listen to it immediately.
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