Bad Gyal stepped out of her comfort zone and experimented with new sounds and collaborators for her sophomore album, Más Cara. Released on Thursday (March 5) under Interscope Records, the 19-track set blends the Latin urban sounds that defined her beginnings with other international rhythms, showcasing a creative evolution without straying too far from her essence.
“There are several genres I hadn’t explored, such as merengue, guaracha and kompa, but the genres that define me and that I’ve always loved are still there,” the Spanish star tells Billboard Español. “There’s still reggaetón, there’s still dancehall, obviously all blended from my perspective as a girl from Barcelona, because I always clarify that I’m not Puerto Rican or Jamaican, so it’s not the original sound. But I am a huge fan and deeply inspired by all Caribbean music culture, and you can feel that.”
“This has been very different from my previous album,” adds the artist, referencing La Joia from 2024. “I had always been an artist who worked solo with the producer during sessions, creating a little here, a little there, and then choosing what I liked best. This time, Nir [Seroussi from Interscope] proposed building a solid team, and from the very first session, both with the producers and writers, there was a vibe. It was a much more collaborative process of creating beats from scratch, bringing ideas to the studio… and the result was incredible.”
Co-written entirely by Bad Gyal with executive production by Cromo X, Más Cara (Spanish for “more expensive”) opens with the title track, encapsulating a special moment in her life and career where she enjoys more resources and tools to create her magic. “I feel much more elevated,” she reveals. The set includes collaborations such as “La Iniciativa” with J Álvarez, “Choque” with Chencho Corleone, and “Muñeca” with De La Rose, among others, and arrives with the music video for “Un Coro y Ya :)”, featuring an early 2000s R&B aesthetic that captures her confident and flirtatious energy.
Below, Bad Gyal breaks down five essential tracks from her new album, Más Cara. To listen to the full set, click here.
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“Más Cara”
This is, I would say, the most commercial song on the album, but it still has many synth pad touches influenced by Jamaican dancehall. It also maintains a lot of that urban essence. I would highlight it mainly because it defines the concept of the album very well, the moment I’m in, the evolution of Bad Gyal, the stage she’s at, and what Bad Gyal has now become.
Listen to the song here
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“Un Coro y Ya :)”
This one is one of my favorites. It’s an R&B track. I feel like we managed to capture the sounds and energy that transport you to that late ’90s and early 2000s R&B, but still with that strong Bad Gyal vibe.
The song talks about that attitude, which I think many girls of my generation feel nowadays with men who always like to have that attitude of “I’m the manliest, the coolest, the whatever,” and in the end, women have everything under control, we’re very confident in our skin. I feel like men underestimate a little the power and strength that women have achieved, and the song is about that.
Listen to the song here
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“Choque” with Chencho Corleone
Is the song I have with Chencho Corleone, produced by Looney Tunes. It’s also like a little personal reward because I’m a huge fan of Plan B, a huge fan of Chencho. It was my dream collab, in fact. When we made the song, I thought, “My dream would be for Chencho to do it, but he’s not going to want to.” And that’s when Nir told me, “Yes, he will want to, we’ll make it happen.” Because Chencho is very picky, he doesn’t collaborate just out of obligation or with just anyone.
It was a dream come true that he wanted to collaborate with me and that it became a reality to have a track with him, and even more so produced by Looney Tunes, who are legends in all the different styles of reggaeton I grew up with and who I feel have also made it possible for me to be an artist today, because reggaeton has been one of my biggest inspirations.
So I’d highlight this one for my immense personal satisfaction and because I also feel we’ve managed to very well capture the energy of reggaeton from that time. And we went to work with the people who truly forged it and made it happen, so I feel very fortunate in that regard.
Listen to the song here
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“Noticia de Ayer”
It’s a house song mixed with merengue. I’m also happy with how well the blend of genres turned out, because it’s something different that I hadn’t explored before, something I’m also a huge fan of — I’ve always been a big fan of Omega. And I was also lucky enough to have the actual instruments and musicians who were collaborating with Omega at the time; they’re the ones who recorded the percussion and horns for the entire song, and that makes me really happy.
Listen to the song here
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“La Iniciativa” with Jay Álvarez
Another one that’s very special to me is “La Iniciativa” with Jay Álvarez, which was something I really wanted to do because I’m a huge fan of that 2010s reggaeton. My pre-teen years are filled with Jay Álvarez’s songs! — “Junto al Amanecer,” “La Pregunta.” And I feel like we managed to capture that essence really well, and it feels like the song was rescued from this moment. It’s produced by Montana the Producer. He opened an old computer from that time to find a beat and adapt it, and it was really cool to be able to recapture that essence.
Listen to the song here
