With over 170 million streams worldwide, reaching No. 1 on Latin Radio in the U.S., going multi-platinum with his latest album, and performing at the Oscars ceremony this year, it’s safe to say Sebastián Yatra is killing it. And it’s only March. His latest project now sees the Colombian pop star team up with soul crooner John Legend for a bilingual remix of Yatra’s hit, “Tacones Rojos.” Out today (March 23), the single is a quirky, light-hearted music video to accompany it.
And after reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart — Yatra’s 10th No. 1 and his fifth from Dharma — in February, it came as no surprise to see a fun rendition with Legend in the game plan. The bilingual arrangement of “Tacones Rojos” sees the duo put a twist to the song perfect for spring — one we’ve desperately needed as the sunny days arise.
Via a written statement, Legend spoke about working on the song, “It was already such an amazing track but this was the first time I’ve tried to translate a Spanish song into English. It’s not as simple as a word for word conversion. You have to translate the sentiment, but re-shape and massage the language flows so that it flows naturally and feels like an original song in English. That was my challenge and I had so much fun doing it.”
For Yatra, this is a brand new song. “It has the happiness of the original,” he said through a statement. “It sounds like it was born this way. It was meant to be with John’s voice on it with me.”
In the music video, Yatra waves to his neighbor, played by Legend, while leaving his love interest after a memorable night. Legend then invites him over for coffee to chatter about the girl in los tacones rojos, or the red stilettos. As for the song, it taps into a ‘90s Latine pop flare akin to Enrique Iglesias, serving a humorous storyline.
On Instagram, Yatra publicized the new single, saying, “The best songs are born out of real emotions. Just when I thought this one was unbeatable, John Legend proved me otherwise.” Surely, we can’t disagree as Legend gives us a bubbly pop-like tonality that makes the song even sweeter. Legend commented back, noting, “Excited for this release! Thank you for having me, mi hermano!”
So ladies, put your tacones rojos on, earphones on high, and let Yatra slip you away into the new spring anthem!
Watch the music video for Sebatián Yatra and John Legend’s “Tacones Rojos” below.