Maluma is singing mariachi music. The Colombian superstar joined forces with Mexican pop star Carlos Rivera on Thursday (Nov. 19) to release their collaboration “100 Años.”
Though it bears a similar title to Mexican icon Pedro Infante’s “100 Años, ” Maluma and Rivera’s collaboration is a completely new song that they wrote with hitmaker Édgar Barrera and Vicente Barco. It was coincidentally released the day after would’ve been Infante’s 103rd birthday on Wednesday.
“This song is an encounter between two friends who called a mariachi, and after a pair of tequila shots wanted to sing ranchera music, ” Rivera said in a statement.
“100 Años” seems like Maluma’s first stab at regional Mexican music, but he took on the genre in 2014 on “La Invitación” with his compatriot Pipe Bueno.
Whereas “La Invitación” was a fusion of regional Mexican music and reggaeton, Maluma is going full mariachi singer on his take on “100 Años” with Rivera. The Papi Juancho artist digs deep to capture the emotion of their heartfelt lyrics.
Tlaxcala native Rivera gives the collaboration some Mexican authenticity with his grito-ready performance. Maluma sounds magical here. Colombia is invited to the carne asada anytime.
In the music video for “100 Años,” Maluma and Rivera perform the song in their recording studios backed by full mariachi bands. The two Latinx heartthrobs give each other a tequila toast from a social distance.
Rivera was scheduled to host the Latin Grammy Awards last night (Nov.20), but he dropped out last minute when he revealed a close member of his team tested positive for COVID-19. In order to keep his other co-hosts safe, Rivera said he had to bow out of the show. Maluma was nominated in the Song of the Year category for his love song “ADMV.”