The Singles Jukebox

Shakira makes comments about Barbie, we make comments about Shakira… Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie you have 24 hours to release a statement about us to complete the circle…

[Video]
[5.62]

Harlan Talib Ockey: “Puntería” is a no-thoughts-head-empty ode to sex. Without context, it’s fun, but it’s hard to forget that it just doesn’t have anything like the righteous fury of “Bzrp Music Sessions” or the caustic groove of “Te Felicito.” Cardi puts in an MVP performance, breezily singing a third of the song herself, and it’s ultimately their chemistry that makes this worth it.
[5]

Claire Biddles: This only really livens up when Shakira and Cardi sound like they’re in the same room — I’d love to hear a song where they’re riffing off each other the whole way through.
[5]

Leah Isobel: Something about this brings out my cynicism. None of it is bad, and some of it is quite good — Shakira singing about her G-spot, for instance. I like the trancey “Realiti” synth in the chorus, too. But mostly when I hear this I hear an attempt to recreate “Kiss Me More,” and I’m a little Kiss Me Bored.
[5]

Dave Moore: It didn’t seem like rocket science to just give Shakira more of the sound she perfected on her Bzrp Music Session (check), then make a mini-album out of it (check) and tack on all the great stuff she put out in the last year or so to fill out the runtime (check). But I would not have guessed the secret weapon on this particular song would be Cardi B taking to the proceedings so naturally that you start to lose track of who’s singing when they start passing melody lines back and forth in the second half. So now I also want Cardi B to make a Shakira album.
[8]

Will Adams: Neither disappointing nor surprising that Shaki would follow up an international smash with a redux that sands off its predecessor’s edges for the palatable lite-disco of “Say So” or “Lottery” or “Kiss Me More” or (or or or or). The real crime is for a duo of performers as vibrant and charismatic as Shakira and Cardi to sound this boring.
[4]

Isabel Cole: Two stars known for more dramatic modes turn up the sweetness for a frothy little bauble, like the aural equivalent of girls’ night. No one sounds like they’re working very hard, in a good way; they’re having fun, and so am I!
[7]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: “Say So”ification comes for even our most charismatic pop stars — lite retro production, indistinctly horny sentiments, a vague malaise creeping up even as the beat loops jauntily. It’s not bad per se — I will hear this at parties for the next six months and bop my head along without a second of regret tied directly to the song — but I can’t help but feel like there ought to be something more; I’d rather have an ambitious failure of a crossover track (remember the Shakira-Rihanna Ska Explosion?) than a distinctly unmemorable set of pleasantries.
[6]

TA Inskeep: A mildly sexy empty-calories jam that I can’t remember I heard five minutes later.
[6]

Nortey Dowuona: David Stewart, who is possibly a millionaire from producing a BTS song you don’t know (unless you are hardcore ARMY or a person who listens to a radio station) has now created another song for Shakira you won’t remember after this year (unless you are a hardcore Cardi B fan or a person who listens to a radio station). Will this one make him a billionaire? Find out on: BIG, MEGA, FORGETTABLE, RADIO SMASHER. Hosted by Cardi B.
[4]

Ian Mathers: Cardi B singing in Spanish is surprisingly close to Shakira here, when she just takes a chorus near the end if I hadn’t been watching the video I might not have noticed the switch until she mentions her own name. Which is not a criticism! I wish I could fit in on a Shakira song, especially a decent one like this, so neatly. 
[7]

Alfred Soto: I hear voices like theirs at checkout lines and on FaceTime chats: two distinctly Hispanic lilts crashing against each other like sea spray against rock. Listening to each other is besides the point. “Puntería” reminds me of those exchanges. Pure idiomatic expression for expression’s sake, it puts an arm around the listener then ignores her.
[6]

Kayla Beardslee: Apparently scientists still have not found a cure to the “Say So” substitutes epidemic since I last did this bit two months ago. Everyone, our time on this planet as a species is finite: it’s up to us to band together and figure out how to de-chintz the pop girl singles before it’s too late. “Puntería” is an extremely average addition to the “Say So” imitators’ shelf, but having Shakira on a track will always be worth an extra point. At least I learned a new Spanish word!
[6]

Katherine St. Asaph: EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to an oversight in the selection process, we have covered “Not My Fault” twice. We regret the error.
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