YHLQMDLG (acronym for "Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana", transl. I Do Whatever I Want)[2] is the second solo studio album and third overall by Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny. It was released on February 29, 2020, by Rimas Entertainment.[3][4][5] The album's music style is heavily influenced by "old-school" reggaeton,[6] and features guest appearances from Daddy Yankee, Nesi, Yaviah, Ñengo Flow, Sech, Mora, Jowell & Randy, Anuel AA, Myke Towers, Kendo Kaponi, Arcángel, Duki and Pablo Chill-E.
YHLQMDLG | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 29, 2020 | |||
Recorded | 2019–2020 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 65:48 | |||
Language | Spanish | |||
Label | Rimas | |||
Producer |
| |||
Bad Bunny chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from YHLQMDLG | ||||
|
The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, becoming the highest-charting all-Spanish album ever on the chart at the time, until the release of his third album, El Último Tour Del Mundo. YHLQMDLG was the best selling Latin album in the United States of 2020, became Spotify's most streamed album globally of 2020,[7] and won for Best Latin Pop or Urban Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[8]
Background and singles
edit"Vete" was released as the lead single of the album on November 22, 2019.[9] The album title was first mentioned during a sequence of the accompanying music video.[10][11] The second single "Ignorantes" with Panamanian singer Sech came out on February 14, 2020.[12] Bad Bunny announced the album on February 27, 2020, and stated that it would be released on Leap Day 2020.[13]
Composition
editYHLQMDLG is a primarily a Latin trap and reggaeton album that also incorporates elements of pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B, reggae, dancehall, ballad, acoustic, electronic, lo-fi, bachata, dembow, and sandungueo.[25] Billboard had described the album as an "old-school perreo, romantic reggaeton, and Latin trap with global appeal.[26] It is a departure from Bad Bunny's Latin trap style showcased on his very beginnings and focuses more on fun, bouncy, and aggressive reggaeton beats, and lyrics. Bad Bunny's vision for the album was for it to bring back the “glory days” of reggaeton, drawing inspiration from it, like the song “Safaera”, which is a heavy, 00's-inspired, beat switching described as "reggaeton symphony", which features Puerto Rican duo Jowell y Randy and Nengo Flow. The album also features Latin trap sounds, incorporating the widely known 808 drum patterns, and both fun and aggressive melodies, such as in “Si Veo A Tu Mama”, which samples the bossa-nova classic "The Girl from Ipanema",[27] featuring a sweet, Nintendo-ish keyboard sound, while the song “25/8” is an example of the dark, hard-hitting melodies that some of the trap songs in the record share. Lyrically, Bad Bunny sings and raps about themes such as women, partying, heartbreak, and women's empowerment, an example of it is the song “Yo Perreo Sola”, which talks about a girl whom Bad Bunny wants to dance with, but she refuses, because according to her, Bad Bunny also refused to dance with her in the past, so now he is the one who is "begging". In the last track of the album, “<3”, Bad Bunny thanks all his fans and a team of work for supporting and believing in him, while also expressing his desire to retire and live with no more stress, closing both the song and album with the title of the record.[28]
Critical reception
editAggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 88/100[29] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [20] |
Consequence of Sound | B+[15] |
Pitchfork | 8.5/10[14] |
Rolling Stone | [30] |
YHLQMDLG received widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 88 based on five reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[29]
Writing for AllMusic, Thom Jurek stated Bad Bunny "turns the notion of the cohesive urban statement into a sprawling 20-track mix of styles, production techniques, and completely accessible hooks in a work of peerless musical invention," and described YHLQMDLG as "a transformative fever dream of an album that accents freedom by breaking all the rules without writing new ones."[20] In Rolling Stone, Suzy Exposito gave YHLQMDLG 4.5 stars, writing that Bad Bunny "convenes a family reunion of his favorite rappers and reggaetoneros to produce a genre-promiscuous work of reggaeton a la marquesina."[30] For Consequence of Sound, Lucas Villa wrote that Bad Bunny "is emerging as a rarity in the game like the mythical Mew. Benito is game-sharking a system that was once othering Latin music artists with his perreo takeover of pop."[15] Matthew Ismael Ruiz in Pitchfork deemed the album "outstanding" and described it as "a big party record that pushes boundaries and pays homage to reggaetón's past and future, all made by a swaggering star with absolutely nothing to prove."[14]
Accolades
editPublication | List | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Billboard | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 4
|
[31] |
Complex | The Best Albums of 2020 | 16
|
[32] |
Entertainment Weekly | The 15 Best albums of 2020 | 5
|
[27] |
NPR | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 5
|
[33] |
Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 10
|
[34] |
Rolling Stone | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | 3
|
[35] |
The New York Times | Best Albums of 2020 (Jon Caramanica) | 8
|
[36] |
Consequence of Sound | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | 6
|
[37] |
Crack | The Top 50 Albums of 2020 | 9
|
[38] |
Commercial performance
editYHLQMDLG debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 dated March 14, 2020, earning 179,000 album-equivalent units, including 35,000 pure album sales in its first week. It earned 201.4 million on-demand streams in the country, achieving the biggest streaming week ever for a Latin album, surpassing the record set by Ozuna's Aura (2018, 53.2 million streams). It became the highest-charting all-Spanish album to ever appear on the chart at the time—before he broke his own record with El Último Tour Del Mundo's release in November, which debuted atop the chart. Previous record-holders for an all-Spanish-language albums were Shakira's Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005) and Maná's Amar es Combatir (2006), both at number four, while two mostly-Spanish albums have reached number one, Selena's Dreaming of You (1995) and Il Divo's Ancora (2006).[39] In its second week, the album dropped to number three on the chart, earning an additional 111,000 units.[40] In its third week, the album remained at number three on the chart, earning 69,000 more units.[41] In its fourth week, the album fell to number four on the chart, with 51,000 units.[42] YHLGMLG was the best selling Latin Album of 2020 in the United States with 1,444,000 album-equivalent units.[43] In 2021 and 2022, it was the second best selling latin album with 755,000 and 802,000 units sold respectively.[44][45] As of April 2024, the album has sold 2 million copies worldwide.[46]
Bad Bunny charted all 20 album tracks on the US Hot Latin Songs ranking dated March 14, setting several records: most concurrently charting titles in the top 10 (8), in the top 20 (18) and in the top 25 (20). With eight top 10 songs on the chart, Bad Bunny outdid himself as he previously held the record for the most simultaneous top 10s, with six (September 2019). With 18 songs in the top 20, he surpassed J Balvin's nine-song mark (February 2020). Both Bad Bunny and Ozuna have placed 20 songs simultaneously on the chart.[47] Bad Bunny brought his total career entries on the chart to a record 83, surpassing Daddy Yankee's 74 entries.[48]
Bad Bunny also placed 11 album tracks simultaneously on the US Billboard Hot 100, the most for any Latin artist performing only in Spanish.[48] YHLQMDLG became Spotify's most streamed album globally of 2020, with 3.3 billion streams during the year.[7]
In Spain, the album debuted at number one on the charts. It was the most popular and most streamed album of 2020 in Spain.[49]
Awards and nominations
editAward | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
American Music Awards | 2020 | Favorite Album – Latin | Won | [50] |
Grammy Awards | 2021 | Best Latin Pop or Urban Album | Won | [51] |
Latin Grammy Awards | 2020 | Album of the Year | Nominated | [52] |
Best Urban Music Album | Nominated | |||
Premios Lo Nuestro | 2021 | Album of the Year | Won | [53] |
Urban Album of the Year | Won | |||
Billboard Latin Music Awards | 2021 | Top Latin Album of the Year | Won | [54] |
Latin Rhythm Album of the Year | Won |
Track listing
editNo. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Si Veo a Tu Mamá" |
| 2:50 | |
2. | "La Difícil" |
|
| 2:43 |
3. | "Pero Ya No" |
|
| 2:40 |
4. | "La Santa" (featuring Daddy Yankee) |
| Tainy | 3:26 |
5. | "Yo Perreo Sola" (featuring Nesi) |
|
| 2:52 |
6. | "Bichiyal" (featuring Yaviah) |
|
| 3:16 |
7. | "Soliá" |
|
| 2:39 |
8. | "La Zona" |
|
| 2:16 |
9. | "Que Malo" (featuring Ñengo Flow) |
|
| 2:47 |
10. | "Vete" |
|
| 3:12 |
11. | "Ignorantes" (featuring Sech) |
|
| 3:30 |
12. | "A Tu Merced" |
|
| 2:55 |
13. | "Una Vez" (featuring Mora) |
| Taiko | 3:52 |
14. | "Safaera" (featuring Jowell & Randy and Ñengo Flow) |
|
| 4:55 |
15. | "25/8" |
|
| 4:03 |
16. | "Está Cabrón Ser Yo" (featuring Anuel AA) |
|
| 3:47 |
17. | "Puesto Pa' Guerrial" (featuring Myke Towers) |
|
| 3:10 |
18. | "P FKN R" (featuring Kendo Kaponi and Arcángel) |
|
| 4:18 |
19. | "Hablamos Mañana" (featuring Duki and Pablo Chill-E) |
|
| 4:00 |
20. | "<3" |
|
| 2:37 |
Total length: | 65:48 |
Sample credits
- "Si Veo a Tu Mamá" contains interpolations from "The Girl from Ipanema", written by Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes and Norman Gimbel, performed by Stan Getz and João Gilberto.[55]
- "La Santa" contains interpolations from "Aquí Está Tu Caldo", written and performed by Daddy Yankee.[56]
- "Vete" contains interpolations from "Si Te Vas", written by Cesar Batista-Escalera, performed by Kartiel.[57]
- "Ignorantes" contains interpolations from "No Sé Si Fue", written and performed by Arcángel and Zion.[58]
- "Safaera" contains samples from "Get Ur Freak On", performed by Missy Elliott, "Could You Be Loved", performed by Bob Marley, "El Tiburón", performed by Alexis & Fido and an opening line from Cosculluela's "Pa' La Pared".[59]
Charts
edit
Weekly chartsedit
|
Year-end chartsedit
|
Certifications
editRegion | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Italy (FIMI)[90] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[91] | 3× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[92] | 24× Platinum (Latin) | 1,440,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Exposito, Suzy (March 27, 2020). "Bad Bunny Gets a Full Drag Makeover in New 'Yo Perreo Sola' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ Bloom, Madison (February 29, 2020). "Bad Bunny Drops New Album YHLQMDLG: Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ Espinoza, Joshua (February 28, 2020). "Bad Bunny Reveals Title, Release Date, and Cover Art for New Album". Complex. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ Haylock, Zoe (February 28, 2020). "Don't Freak Out, But Bad Bunny's New Album Drops at Midnight". Vulture. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ Renshaw, David (February 28, 2020). "Bad Bunny to release new album YHLQMDLG this weekend". The Fader. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ Fernandez, Stefanie (November 27, 2020). "Bad Bunny Drops The Indie-fluenced 'El Último Tour Del Mundo'". NPR. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
- ^ a b "Bad Bunny is Spotify's most-streamed artist of 2020". Miami Herald.
- ^ "Grammy Nominations 2021". The New York Times.
- ^ Curto, Justin (November 26, 2020). "Bad Bunny's Video for His New Breakup Song "Vete" Is a Series of Bad Bunny–Level Flexes". Vulture. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ Alvelo, Joel. "Confirmado el nuevo álbum de Bad Bunny YHLQMDLG". talentomusical.net (in Spanish). Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ Bustios, Pamela (January 23, 2020). "Daddy Yankee's "Que Tire Pa Lante" Continues Its Latin Charts Domination". Billboard. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ Malone, Chris (February 14, 2020). "Bad Bunny Previews Upcoming Album With Sech Collab". Forbes. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ Hussey, Allison (February 28, 2020). "Bad Bunny Announces New Album and Performs on Fallon: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
- ^ a b c Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (March 5, 2020). "Bad Bunny: YHLQMDLG". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c Villa, Lucas (March 10, 2020). "Bad Bunny Does What He Wants on the Sprawling YHLQMDLG". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ Marcial Pérez, David. "Bad Bunny hace lo que le da la gana". El País (in Spanish). Spain.
- ^ "Bad Bunny Just Released the Best Album of the Year (So Far): Here's Where to Start". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Ellis, Verónica. "Doing Reggaetón However He Wants: Bad Bunny's YHLQMDLG (Review)". NACLA. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ Billboard Staff. "The 50 Best Albums of 2020: Staff Picks". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ a b c Jurek, Thom. "YHLQMDLG – Bad Bunny". AllMusic. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ Roman, Elias. "Album Review: "YHLQMDLG" by Bad Bunny". UCSD Guardian. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ Jenkins, Craig. "Bad Bunny Is Breaking All the Rules, and It's a Thrill to Watch". Vulture. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ Exposito, Suzy. "Bad Bunny Demands the World Crossover to Him on 'YHLQMDLG'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ Cepeda, Eduardo. "On 'YHLQMDLG,' Bad Bunny Breaks the Urbano Mold From Within". Remezcla. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
- ^ [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]
- ^ Billboard Staff. "The 50 Best Albums of 2020: Staff Picks". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ a b "The Best Albums of 2020". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Gomez, Isabella. "Bad Bunny Shows Us His Version Of Old-School". NPR.
- ^ a b "YHLQMDLG by Bad Bunny Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ a b Exposito, Suzy (March 2, 2020). "Bad Bunny Demands the World Crossover to Him on 'YHLQMDLG'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020: Staff Picks". Billboard.
- ^ "The Best Albums of 2020". Billboard.
- ^ "The Best Albums of 2020". NPR. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ Burgos, Jenzia (December 8, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
- ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2020". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Pareles, Jon; Caramanica, Jon; Zoladz, Lindsay (December 2, 2020). "Best Albums of 2020". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2020". Consequence of Sound. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2020". Crack Magazine. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (March 8, 2020). "Lil Baby Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'My Turn'". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- ^ Keith Caulfield (March 15, 2020). "Lil Uzi Vert's 'Eternal Atake' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart With Biggest Streaming Week Since 2018". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ Keith Caulfield (March 22, 2020). "Lil Uzi Vert's 'Eternal Atake' Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ Keith Caulfield (March 29, 2020). "The Weeknd's 'After Hours' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart With Biggest Week of 2020". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ "YEAR-END REPORT U.S. 2020" (PDF). Retrieved August 31, 2023.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 6, 2022). "Dua Lipa's 'Levitating' Is Most-Streamed Song of 2021 In U.S., Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous: The Double Album' Is MRC Data's Top Album". Billboard. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 11, 2023). "Bad Bunny's 'Un Verano Sin Ti' Is Luminate's Top Album of 2022 in U.S." Billboard. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ Vázquez, Román (April 26, 2024). "Bad Bunny: Revelando la Increíble Cantidad de Discos Vendidos en su Carrera". Sevilla Disonante (in Spanish). Retrieved June 18, 2024.
- ^ "Ozuna Breaks Own Record With 20 Titles on Hot Latin Songs Chart". Billboard. September 5, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ a b Bustios, Pamela (March 11, 2020). "Bad Bunny's Entire 'YHLQMDLG' Album Is on the Hot Latin Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- ^ "Bad Bunny, David Bisbal and Pablo Alborán lead the Spanish 2020 market". Promusicae - Productores de Música de España. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ "American Music Awards 2020". E! Online. November 22, 2020.
- ^ "Grammy Nominations 2021". The New York Times.
- ^ "Lista de nominados a los Latin Grammy". www.20minutos.com - Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ "Bad Bunny arrasa en los premios Lo Nuestro". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). February 19, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
- ^ "Bad Bunny Wins Big at 2021 Billboard Latin Music Awards: Full Winners List". Billboard. September 24, 2021.
- ^ Fu, Eddie; Bell, Javy (March 3, 2020). "Si Veo a Tu Mamá". Genius. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ Flores, Griselda; Roiz, Jessica (March 2, 2020). "6 Essential Tracks on Bad Bunny's 'YHLQMDLG': Editors' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ^ Fu, Eddie; Bell, Javy (November 21, 2019). "Bad Bunny Interpolates A Reggaeton Classic On "Vete"". Genius. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
- ^ "Ignorantes, de Bad Bunny y Sech: letra y vídeo". El Mundo (in Spanish). February 18, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ^ Herrera, Isabelia (March 4, 2020). "Bad Bunny: "Safaera" [ft. Jowell & Randy and Ñengo Flow]". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- ^ "Bad Bunny Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "Chile Top 100 Albums".
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ^ "Top 100 Streaming Álbumes: Semana 10 (2018)". El portal de Música (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- ^ "Bad Bunny Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "Bad Bunny". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ^ "Bad Bunny Chart History (Top Latin Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ^ "Bad Bunny Chart History (Latin Rhythm Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ^ "Top 100 Albumes 2020" (in Spanish). PROMUSICAE. Archived from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- ^ "Top Latin Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ "Top 100 Albums Annual 2021". Productores de Música de España. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
- ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- ^ "Top Latin Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ "Top 100 Albums Annual 2022". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- ^ "Top Latin Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ "Top Latin Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ "Italian album certifications – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 25, 2022. Select "2022" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "YHLQMDLG" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
- ^ "Spanish album certifications – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
- ^ "American album certifications – Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 1, 2021.