New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.
Junior H & Gael Valenzuela, DEP</3$$SED MFKZ
Junior H’s first album in three years opens with a trilogy of songs — “No Tengas Miedo,” “En Donde Estás,” and “Errores” (where every “s” is swapped with a “$”) — each forming a mosaic of love, loss, and lingering heartbreak. The themes are unmistakably heavy, yet there’s a tenderness in the way the star balances despair with self-awareness. It’s less a requiem for ruined relationships and more a meditation on the impact of emotional scars — how they shape us without fully defining us.
Songs like “Cholo” and “La Cama” are born from fleeting inspiration, and “Mis Llamadas” shimmer with raw authenticity. Junior H’s knack for crafting confessional ballads glows alongside Gael Valenzuela’s measured vulnerability. Their collaboration LP feels effortless, unfolding as though each track were exhaled into existence in dimly lit rooms, armed with steely guitar interplay, a notebook, and the weight of their thoughts.
Stylistically, the 15-track album retains Junior H’s signature blend of brooding simplicity, born from the ethos of the ever-growing $ad Boyz movement. The Guanajuato-born artist elevates the project further by grounding his listeners in its duality: an intimate one-man confessional yet richly collaborative. Through his mentorship of the up-and-coming Mexicali singer-songwriter, the album becomes just as much about companionship as it is about the lonesome introspection Junior H is famous for. — ISABELA RAYGOZA
Julieta Venegas feat. Natalia Lafourcade, “Tengo Que Contarte” (Altafonte)
Two iconic voices of Mexican music, Julieta Venegas and Natalia Lafourcade, reunite 17 years later to celebrate friendship and offer solace through the rhythm of regional Mexican music, interpreted from a contemporary and deeply emotional perspective. In “Tengo Que Contarte” (I Have to Tell You), the second single from Venegas’s new album, Norteña — to be released this May — the singer-songwriter duo presents an ode to sisterhood through an intimate and sincere conversation, a blend of nostalgia, confession, and sisterhood, all set to the guitars and wind instruments that accompany this moving piece, reflecting the rich soundscape of Mexico. The lyrics are co-written by Venegas and El David Aguilar, co-producer of the Tijuana-born songwriter’s new album and a frequent collaborator of Lafourcade. The song is accompanied by a video of both artists during the studio recording, which captures the connection between them. — NATALIA CANO
CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso and Sting, “HASTA JESÚS TUVO UN MAL DÍA” (5020 Records)
Following the chaotic music video for “GIMME MORE,” where they are seen burning one of five Latin Grammys they won last November, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso are now in a healing journey at the hand of English icon Sting. Marking their first collaborative effort, “Hasta Jesús Tuvo un Mal Día” (Even Jesus Had Bad Days) captures in essence how the Argentine duo is overcoming a crash-and-burn moment in their career due to their overwhelming rise to success.
Now, with a holistic approach and after doing a 12-step healing program, which will be turned into songs, CA7RIEL y Paco Amoroso present their new song with Sting — a jazzy punk rock song, where they sing about breaking free, paying their debts, learning from their mistakes, and becoming better people. “No, don’t give up just yet/ Even Jesus had bad days/ Follow your heart/ Everything has a solution,” they chant. “Hasta Jesús Tuvo un Mal Día” marks the first single off of the pair’s FREE SPIRITS album due in March, where they will address the 12 problems that took them to their breaking point. – JESSICA ROIZ
Carlos Rivera & Alejandro Fernández “Sin Despedida”(Sony Music Mexico)
The stunning voices of Carlos Rivera and Alejandro Fernández unite in “Sin Despedida,” where pop blends with trumpets and violins, giving it a mariachi touch, while the accordion adds its part for a norteño sound. “Drive me crazy, blind me, leave without saying goodbye and go in silence/ Lie to me a little, say it isn’t true, or take my life, my very life, and leave me dead,” they sing. The song is accompanied by a music video, filmed at an old hacienda in Guadalajara, Carlos Rivera’s birthplace. This track is the first single from Rivera’s upcoming album, Vida México. “Sin despedida” will also be the theme song for the Televisa/Univision telenovela Mi Rival. — TERE AGUILERA
Lila Downs & Snow Tha Product, “Cambias mi Mundo” (Sony Music México)
With a message of female empowerment, these two singer-songwriters, who share a dual Mexican-American heritage, send a message of freedom and pride in their origins in a powerful cumbia that invites both dancing and reflection. It’s Downs’ first new song since 2023 and a preview of her upcoming album, featuring all her own compositions. For this track, the Oaxacan-born artist drew inspiration from the strength of young women who study and strive to improve their communities, making the Californian rapper’s participation all the more symbolic. “I think women are at a turning point. We’re at that moment of taking up the mantle and saying, ‘We’re going to change our world. We’re going to do it,’” Downs says about her creation. The single’s artwork is a lithograph by artist Alex José, hand-printed using a tortilla press and inspired by the World tarot card. — N.C.
Carolina Ross & Kalimba, “No puedo olvidarte” (FONO)
Carolina Ross joins pop star Kalimba on the latest single ahead of her debut mariachi album, slated for release in March. “No puedo odiarte” (I Can’t Hate You) speaks of the frustration of not being able to forget a past love that still hurts deeply. The track marks the first time the former OV7 member has recorded in the regional Mexican genre. The classic mariachi sound — with its elegant violins and trumpets — sounds romantic and even nostalgic in this Ross track, included on the album Coleccionando Corazones (Collecting Hearts), her debut on Fono Records after a successful independent career. Carolina is nominated for a Premio Lo Nuestro award for female artist of the year – Mexican music. — T.A.
Check out more Latin recommendations this week below:
