In which we coin our second genre neologism for the day…

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Micha Cavaseno: Last year, one of my particular obsessions during moments of deep depression was listening to a Michael “5000” Watts Chopped & Screwed remix of “Dile al Amor” by Santos’s former group Aventura. The most beguiling aspect of all this solipsistic emo sulking that would get soundtracked was that the song sounded so human and normal in this incarnation, in sharp contrast to the nimble and preternatural life of the original. “Favorito” is a modern Romeo song that sounds just so high and fast that my instincts constantly trick me and make me think the song is pitched up or sped up, that these are parodical attempts at being so sterling and pure in emotion; and maybe that’s even the case. But despite being unfamiliar with a lot of bachata, that’s what makes Romeo Santos’s music so fascinating even when I don’t comprehend or maybe enjoy what’s going on. Once that jazzy soloing emerges, and Santos comically adlibs “that’s that golden touch right there” or that he wants to be “your paladin of love” it just enhances the inhuman brilliance that he’s aspiring to sound like.
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Alfred Soto: Amazingly, Romeo Santos’ voice has gotten higher. The buoyancy of his tenor complements the discreet synth washes and occasional bass slaps, not to mention the daffy superhero lyrics: if this man can be your Spider Man, then we’ve got a new definition of masculinity.
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Katherine St Asaph: Santos channels his inner Timbaland, introducing the bridge solo with “that’s that golden touch right there.” And he is correct: it’s the lightest, most fluid part of an effortlessy light and fluid song.
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Thomas Inskeep: The golden-voiced king of bachata comes back to remind us that he’s still golden-voiced, and he’s still the king. Like the best bachata, this is feather-light and almost painfully romantic. Just try to resist Santos’s pull. 
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Josh Langhoff: The other night Steely Dan came on adult R&B radio and I had to sit in the car a couple extra minutes to process. And now King Romeo, following his guitarists down their gilded fretboards into some blatantly smooth jazz/yacht rock netherworld, is forcing a similar reckoning amid the bangers on Latin pop radio. What do we call this: bachyachta?
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Jonathan Bradley: Santos is more beguiling here in those moments he plays fragile, not flirtatious. The former better suits the “Ventura Highway” guitar, which is moisturizer soft and far better accompaniment to this shuffling and tapping rhythm than it is to soft rock.
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Will Adams: When the track goes deep, it’s lovely; the subtle synth pads in the breakdowns wash over like watercolors, and the jazzy bridge is as intriguing as it is unexpected. Otherwise, “Héroe Favorito” is a fine showcase for Santos’ morning ray vocals and not much else.
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