Review: CNCO & Little Mix – ‘Reggaetón Lento (Remix)’

So, I thought that we had our fair share of these English-Spanish remix songs. There was ‘Despacito’. Then Matt Terry did that rubbish one with Enrique Inglesias. And now, low and behold, the third Spanglish song in three months, this time from CNCO and Little Mix. And, of course, this one again is an unoriginal remix, of CNCO’s original song from their album Primera Cita.

The song starts nicely, with a slow seductive beat against an acoustic guitar. The girls’ opening vocals are nice, and their alluring tones fit the feel of the song well.  In honesty, the vocals are strong throughout as Little Mix manages to display some impressive high notes and tight harmonies. CNCO’s vocal – though quite generic – blends in well against the girls. As collaborations go, this one works quite well, even if it does feel like the song belongs to Little Mix, rather than featuring them. 

The problem, however, is that it leaves you feeling a little bit bored. The song means nothing: namely because I have no idea what half of it is saying. As a result, there is virtually nothing from my perspective which distinguishes this from other recent Spanglish songs, except Little Mix’s tight harmonies. The repetitive choral line “Just get a little closer baby/ let’s go” suggests it’s just about attraction and sexual flirtation. The English-speaking parts are then just overbearingly generic: “I tell you, baby, you, baby, you get me hotter/ loving made me sick, made me sick, you’re my doctor”. Thankfully, the lyrics are not Little Mix’s own as they are poor in relation to their recent work. It feels like the lyrics of any standard monotonous pop song which is released without effort and care crafted into it, but instead with the aim of making a quick profit.

If I had to sum up the song in a word it would be pleasant, and that’s an issue. At the end of it you’re not left wanting to listen to it again. Little Mix has managed to save it from being a total trainwreck, but we need to stop English-Spanish remixes now. One was good. Two started to overdo it. Three has made it boring. A fourth might just make it become musical roadkill.

‘Reggaetón Lento (Remix)’ is out now via Sony Latin