Simone & Simaria ft. Anitta – Loka
Reggaeton duo gets crazy? Ennh, possibly…
[Video][Website]
[4.33]
David Sheffieck: Enjoyable but slight; I know I’m not the target of a song about going on a girls’ night to forget a cheating boyfriend, but I wonder whether it’s a good idea to promise “crazy” when the most you’re willing to do is sound fun. The vocal tradeoffs lend the song some energy, but they can’t do it all.
[6]
Juana Giaimo: There truly is nobody better than Anitta — her voice always tender but so sensual — to join this track in which Simone & Simaria’s stronger vocals provide the right dose of passionate intensity. This is a good example of why we need more reggaeton tracks by female artists!
[7]
Iain Mew: The singers deserve better, or at least something a bit fresher-sounding with some hope of living up to the title.
[4]
Alfred Soto: I suppose it’s called “Loka” because everyone involved acknowledged the innocuousness of the results.
[3]
Will Adams: The intro’s undulating synths show promise for a song that, while perhaps not reflective of its title, is at least something. They’re quickly disposed of, though. No matter how impassioned the three singers are, the stale production (especially those drums, yikes) is a slog to get through.
[3]
Micha Cavaseno: The production here is so generic, it makes this song a chore to be enthusiastic about.
[3]
The problem here is probably that they’re not really a reggaeton duo, they’re a sertanejo duo going reggaeton for one song via Anitta, who already went reggaeton via Maluma, and you can feel the degrees of separation.
Sertanejo’s women were very prominent last year for their well constructed narratives about heartbreak and infidelity: Simone & Simaria sang about 126 hangers left empty after a lover leaves, Naiara Azevedo about finding her husband with a prostitute and paying the job, and Maiara & Maraisa, amazingly, about a waiter who plays sad songs on the DVD so they’ll remember old love affairs, drink more beer, and so pay more tips. The reasoning for Loka is sound, as it does the same thing they’ve been doing only for the rebound, adopting a poppier sound so it can leave all the sadness aside for a while. But sertanejo doesn’t really focus on producing on the studio. Most recordings are live, the songs made to be sung along to, paying attention to the lyrics, and that doesn’t translate well. In the end the song just can’t keep up with the singers. It’s a shame really, more so because Anitta is getting a bad rep here through some misguided collaborations.
Also, thank you for reviewing some of the songs I recommended! This clearly gave me a lot to think about.