Latin music has gone global with artists such as Shakira, Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Rauw Alejandro, among others, at the forefront.
Over the years, many mainstream artists have teamed up with Latin music’s hottest names to drop bilingual tracks with artists such as Nicki Minaj, Christina Aguilera and Shawn Mendes, who get in the mood by singing in Spanish.
Meanwhile, we’ve seen a wave of reggaeton stars who also haven’t shied away from singing in English either. Below, check out some names:
Daddy Yankee
Believe it or not, Daddy Yankee has flaunted his English rapping skills multiple times, including on his single “Come With Me” in collaboration with Prince Royce, Adrienne Bailon and Elijah King and also on the Duncan-assisted “This Is Not a Love Song.”
Jay Wheeler
Jay teamed up with Florida-based rapper Tyla Yaweh for his debut English track, which laces trap music with emo-punk and alternative pop sounds. Inspired by artists like K-Ci & JoJo, Boyz II Men and *NSYNC, the Puerto Rican artist is working on his all-English studio album Good Music for Bad Days, which he described to Billboard as a “dope challenge.”
Karol G
Karol G surprised fans by singing an entire song in English on Tiësto’s “Don’t Be Shy.” “I honestly just had fun and didn’t overthink it,” she previously told Billboard. “I always had on my mind to sing in English one day, and maybe not an entire song, but the opportunity came earlier than I expected, so why not take the chance and try something new now?”
Maluma
Although Maluma has collaborated with Madonna and The Weeknd, to name a few, it was in 2018 when he made his English-singing debut. The Colombian artist teamed up with Burns on “Hands on Me,” which also featured artist Rae Sremmurd.
Natti Natasha
Natti sang completely in Spanish on the 2019 track “Instagram,” a flavorful Latin EDM track by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Daddy Yankee, David Guetta and the Afro Bros. The bilingual song is about a girl who’s not impressed by a man’s money or celebrity status on social media.
Nicky Jam
In 2016, Nicky Jam dropped an English version of his viral hit “Hasta el Amanecer,” dubbing it “With You Tonight.” Singing and rapping completely in English, the Puerto Rican artist reached No. 73 on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 chart on June 11, 2016.
