As we – and others – predicted when Justin Bieber’s reggaeton-lite track “Sorry” dropped a couple of weeks ago, an official Spanish remix from J Balvin has arrived. (Between their synchronized initials, Instagram bromance, and shared love of Yeezy and tat sleeves, this one was easy to spot coming from a mile away).
I kind of thought the remix would play up the dembow vibe – courtesy of producers Skrillex and Blood Diamonds – but instead the track remains largely unchanged, with Balvin dropped in the middle to phone in a few verses apologizing to his girl en español in his signature husky vocal style (sample lyrics: “Solo espero que me perdones /Nena, tengo tantas ganas de amarte”). Not as earth-shattering as I’d hoped.
Still, the official collab with the Biebs marks the latest in a string of wins for Balvin this year, who just headlined his first U.S. tour, has previously hinted at his cross-over ambitions, and is heading into the Latin Grammys with two nominations. The Bieber co-sign may not be quite as powerful as the Drake Effect, but this is sure to net Balvin some new fans. And as for Biebs, this is far from the first time he’s repped for Latinos. Like Drake, he seems to understand that cultivating a Latino fan-base is an important part of any mainstream artist’s marketing plans in 2k15.
Listen to the remix on Apple Music here, and enjoy this mildly awk promo video they made for it below:
#SorryLatinoRemix con J Balvin disponible ahora http://smarturl.it/SorryJBalvinRmx remix is out now
Posted by Justin Bieber on Thursday, November 5, 2015