The Singles Jukebox

Medium wash…

[Video][Website]
[5.00]

Juana Giaimo: The influence of J. Balvin’s “Ginza” is becoming present in the reggaeton’s scene. Nicky Jam also opts for singing rather than the harsh rap of Daddy Yankee or Wisin. But while “Ginza” is built on a light beat and plain vocals, “Hasta el Amanecer” aims to be deep — and someone should have reminded Nicky Jam that this is a song about flirting with a girl at a club. 
[5]

Jonathan Bogart: A plain and somewhat dull piece of pitched woo; the video livens it up by throwing in a dubsteppy breakdown, but even that brief flash of magic can’t make Nicky Jam appealing. As indeed the video acknowledges; he doesn’t even get the girl.
[6]

Jonathan Bradley: Over a slow-motion Dem Bow, Nicky Jam’s seductions sound lonely and grasping: doomed to be unfulfilled. A darkness settles over the bass swells. Sunrise is far off.
[6]

Alfred Soto: Hotel pool patio reggaeton, inducing waiters to anticipate Rihanna, any Rihanna.
[3]

Cassy Gress: What is this clearance beat from Riddims R Us?  I used to have a keyboard with preset variations 1-4 that sounded about like this.
[3]

Brad Shoup: For lack of a better term, the verse melody sounds elemental: a thesis stated carefully, to be elaborated with half-raps and more bashful singing elsewhere. The track itself isn’t great shakes — the synth gets a pointillist trap makeover at one point, but otherwise it’s just mid-tempo reggaeton. The first analog I can think of is Big Jay McNeely’s “There Is Something on Your Mind”: something that probably sounds basic, but triggers one of my brain’s presets.
[7]