From Latin trap and reggaeton to salsa and plena, Bad Bunny’s songs tell stories of heartbreak, celebration and Puerto Rican pride.
Bad Bunny is currently the biggest Latin artist in the world. He has achieved so much in his career that not many Latino artists can say they have performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, been the first Spanish-language headliner at Coachella, or been the first person to win Album of the Year with an all-Spanish-language album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS.
Ranking Bad Bunny’s best 25 songs was not an easy feat. He has drastically changed his sound throughout his seven albums. Moving from political statements to party anthems to perrear. I tried to have some versatility with the list, so the popular and fan favourites are here alongside some of my personal favourites that I hope to share with others.
25) Otra Noche en Miami
This song probably isn’t considered the most popular track from this album, but it is one that I love dearly. The song is from his first album, X 100PRE, where he was establishing who he is and making a name for himself in the music industry. X 100PRE is considered his ‘trap era’ album, with collaborations with Drake, El Alfa, and even Diplo.
Unlike the album’s Latin trap sound, ‘Otra Noche en Miami’ goes in another direction. It has more of a melancholic synth-pop sound. It’s about his new fame, the superficial items that come with it, and dealing with romantic relationships. This is not the song that grew his popularity to new fans like ‘MIA’ with Drake, but it talks about heartbreak in a beautiful way.
24) Booker T
Yes, this is named after the WWE wrestler Booker T, and we know how much of a fan Bad Bunny is of WWE. The track samples Booker T’s famous catchphrase, ‘Can you dig it, sucka?’, which adds to the song. He uses the song to compare his success in the music industry to Booker T in the wrestling world. ‘Booker T’ uses a heavy bass trap beat throughout the song that is used throughout the album El Último Tour Del Mundo.
23) Bichiyal
It is a classic reggaeton single from YHLQMDLG in 2020. ‘Bichiyal’ is a Puerto Rican term that is used to describe a woman between two classes, like acting as if she is from high luxury when that might not be accurate. It is a true reggaeton song that incorporates old-school reggaeton from the ’90s and early 2000s with a modern Latin trap beat.
22) PERRO NEGRO
‘¡Santo cielo, quiero perrear!’ is the first phrase that comes to mind when this song plays. Bad Bunny livestreamed himself listening to his music and said this right before this one started playing, and it has stuck with me. It is another favourite of mine that brings two popular Latin artists together for a perreo track.
‘Perro Negro’ with Feid is from the 2023 album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, with Feid. This track stands out as one of the few reggaeton songs on the album that uses some house sounds to mimic a club energy. This was during the time when he was dating Kendall Jenner and was caught throwing a fan’s phone (it was a weird time to be a Bad Bunny fan). With this album, he somewhat went back to his Latin trap era, which fans felt he had lost in his previous albums.
21) BATICANO
From Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, it has become memorable because of the music video where he dressed up as Count Orlok, which pays tribute to the film Nosferatu, the 1922 film version. This album follows one of his most popular albums, Un Verano Sin Ti, which spent 13 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart and was the first Spanish-language album to do so.
The word ‘Baticano’ is a play on the word ‘Vatican’ and talks about sexual liberation and hypocrisy in religion. In the song, he mentions that maybe his music isn’t considered pure, but he didn’t invent sex or marijuana, which is the perfect response to the people who have criticised him and his music. Going back to his Latin trap roots with the heavy synth riffs and an ominous bassline.
20) Andrea
This is another political song where he talks about issues that don’t affect him but do affect the majority of his fans. This song is about women who just want peace and autonomy. It isn’t about just one person, but about any women who have those feelings. It has been linked to Andrea Ruiz, a Puerto Rican woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2021 after the court denied her restraining order request.
It deals with the issue of femicides in Puerto Rico but can be universally relatable to women around the world. It is a heartbreaking song about a woman who just wishes for a life where she doesn’t have to fear going out, with a dream pop production.
19) La Santa
‘La Santa’ features Daddy Yankee, a Puerto Rican reggaeton icon. An artist that many Latinos grew up listening to. Everyone knows his hit song ‘Gasolina’, which is played at any Latin event or party in general. It is from the YHLQMDLG album where the majority of the songs became hits and this was no exception. The track uses reggaetón romántico, where Bunny is more melancholic with his line delivery, and Yankee has a much more hyped delivery.
18) LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAii
‘Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawái’ is yet another song where he uses his platform to speak about issues happening in Puerto Rico. He makes a connection between Puerto Rico and Hawaii, where both places have faced major gentrification, overtourism, displacement, and overmilitarism.
Through his music, he provides a history of what Hawaii went through when it became a state, where its identity was eventually stripped away. He is pleading that Puerto Rico shouldn’t face what happened to Hawaii. Bunny does so by using stripped-back string instruments and speaks at a slow pace, so you have to focus on what he is saying.
17) Otro Atardecer
‘Otro Atardecer’ is his collaboration with the indie pop artists The Marías. It is the dreamiest track from Un Verano Sin Ti. It fits perfectly with the summer aesthetic that the rest of the tracks follow in this album. I never thought a collaboration with The Marías was possible, but it felt like my two worlds colliding. It has such a longing and nostalgic feel with their harmonies, and is about unfinished potential and hopes for a second chance. It’s a bit of a sad song but is masked with the dreamy beat.
16) Vete
Bad Bunny does such a beautiful job at creating songs about failed and past relationships that many people can relate to. He demonstrates his versatility in his albums; one minute it’s a reggaeton beat, and the next he is slowing down and being vulnerable about a past relationship. ‘Vete’ from YHLQMDLG starts off with a slow tempo but does have a beat that’s still danceable. It’s a much slower track compared to his previous songs, but he still sprinkles in his Latin trap throughout the track.
15) LA CANCIÓN
‘La Canción’ is off the collaborative album Oasis that he did with J Balvin in 2019. J Balvin played a primary role in Bad Bunny’s early career, working on multiple songs in 2018, such as ‘I Like It’ and ‘Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola’. This joint album combined his Latin trap with pop and reggaeton.
Their close friendship did have a falling-out a couple of years after this album, but fans will not forget just how close these two once were. The pair later reconciled. ‘La Canción’ is the fan-favourite song from the album and is relatable to those who have gone through a breakup. It’s about missing what you once had and is one that shouldn’t be played when you are in your feels.
14) El Apagón
Off of Un Verano Sin Ti, it sticks to his theme of standing up for his community. ‘El Apagón’ translates to ‘the blackouts’. This song deals with a serious issue that Puerto Rico was dealing with: power outages and gentrification. He is not afraid to deal with serious topics in his music and uses his platform to speak out. He released a 20-minute documentary that shows viewers what is happening in Puerto Rico. He always wants Puerto Ricans to be heard and seen and does so with his music.
He does this with a classic reggaeton beat that keeps increasing throughout the song after saying the iconic lyric ‘Ahora todos quieren ser latino/pero les falta sazón’. He slows down the song when he has Gabriela, who was his girlfriend at the time, singing that the people gentrifying Puerto Rico should leave, not her or other Puerto Ricans, to leave their homes.
13) Party
‘Party’ is another perreo anthem from Bad Bunny from Un Verano Sin Ti. This uses neoperreo, which is a subgenre of reggaeton that is much more of an electronic and gritty sound that captures the Latin club vibes. Tainy, one of the producers, uses synths and electronic features throughout the sound, which makes this song stand out from other reggaeton tracks.
12) TURiSTA
‘Turista’ first begins as an intimate breakup song with just a guitar strumming in the background with his voice. This allows listeners to really listen and take in the heartbreaking lyrics, ‘En mi vida fuiste turista, solo viste lo bonito de mí y no como yo sufría. Te fuiste sin saber la razón de mis heridas’ (‘In my life, you were a tourist, you only saw the best of me and not how I was suffering. You left without knowing the reason for my wounds’). He is comparing this relationship as if the partner acted like a tourist, who has only seen the good parts of somewhere without having to deal with any of the realistic and daily parts.
This song has a double meaning where, instead of viewing it as about a breakup, it is about Puerto Rico. How people continue to visit and see the beauty of the island without having to deal with the blackouts, the political corruption, and the economic instability.
11) MONACO
‘Monaco’ is a popular track from Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, another song that goes back to his Latin trap roots. It samples Charles Aznavour’s 1964 ‘Hier Encore’ and incorporates the sound of Formula 1 cars driving. The song is filled with celebrity references like F1 drivers Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez, and Argentine football players Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. This song is talking about the lavish lifestyle and, in a way, bragging about his successful career.
10) LA MuDANZA
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS closes the album out with ‘La Mudanza’ and can be seen as an emotional statement that describes the struggles, resilience, and pride in Puerto Rico. He uses the song to discuss the gentrification and the cultural erasure people have to deal with in Puerto Rico. He uses salsa once again in this song, which makes this song feel prideful for one’s culture for Puerto Ricans and even other Latinos.
9) DÁKITI
It was a single for the album El Último Tour Del Mundo, adding to the list of songs created with Jhayco: ‘No Me Conoce’ and ‘Cómo Se Siente’. It is different from his previous reggaeton songs, and instead of being so aggressive, it takes a more ‘futuristic’ approach with an edgy synth riff.
El Último Tour Del Mundo is an album that I feel doesn’t get enough attention from his discography, but I don’t think this song will ever get overlooked. It came out in the middle of the COVID-19 quarantine, which is one of the reasons it’s somewhat forgotten.
8) La Romana
‘La Romana’ with El Alfa is such a staple in Bad Bunny’s career. From his debut album, X 100PRE, it uses elements of not just trap but of dembow as well. For those unfamiliar, El Alfa is a Dominican artist known as the ‘King of Dembow’. He incorporates reggaeton and dembow into his music. This song merges the two genres perfectly to demonstrate the styles of the two artists.
7) Yo Perreo Sola
To talk about YHLQMDLG’s ‘Yo Perreo Sola’, you have to talk about the music video. In the video, Bad Bunny goes in drag to break the barrier in the male-dominated genre in which women are just seen as sexual objects. He uses the video to make a statement about the LGBTQ+ community and women’s rights that are forgotten in the reggaeton genre.
This song is about women who just want to dance alone, which is something that feels impossible. Women want to be able to go out and have fun on their own without having to entertain anyone else, especially men. He uses reggaeton to make a statement about these serious topics that are not considered ‘traditional’ in the reggaeton genre.
6) EoO
One thing Bad Bunny establishes in each of his albums is a perreo anthem; DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS is no exception. ‘EoO’, which is a shortened version of ‘perreo’, uses reggaeton to make you get up and dance. The song reached even more popularity after being used in the Calvin Klein ad with Bad Bunny. It somehow unlocked a whole new level of popularity that is pretty well deserved.
5) Tití Me Preguntó
This is for sure the most played song from Un Verano Sin Ti; it was the song of the summer in 2022. Now, many people think this song is overplayed, but I don’t agree with it. Bad Bunny is not settling down and wants to have fun in his dating life. He also admits his vulnerability and some sort of trust issues with love.
4) VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR
This has become another fan-favourite song from DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. It is another reggaeton track that just encourages listeners to get up and start dancing. ‘Que viva la putería’ (‘Long live promiscuity’) is one of the loudest lyrics screamed at his concerts. It describes all the reggaeton songs Bad Bunny has and is something many possibly want to relate to, but not many do.
3) BAILE INoLVIDABLE
‘Mientras uno está vivo/Uno debe amar lo más que pueda’ (‘While one is alive, one must love as much as possible’) is the lyric that best describes what not just the song but the album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS is about. In this album, he explored different genres and created music that can be enjoyed by the whole family. This song uses salsa, which builds on Afro-Caribbean rhythm, another way he is showing his Latin culture.
2) Safaera
‘Safaera’ can be considered the ultimate reggaeton song; it is now a staple at any Latin party. Once this song starts playing, everyone wants to get on the dance floor and perrear. Safaera is a Puerto Rican slang word meaning an out-of-control party, which is exactly what the song gives. With Jowell and Randy, an iconic Puerto Rican reggaeton duo, the track has about eight beat changes with five different rap flows.
For non-Spanish speakers, this may be one of the songs you don’t need to know the translation for. You are not missing out because the best part is the reggaeton beat. Once you hear this song at any function, be ready to have fun for five minutes.
1) DtMF
This song felt the most deserving of the number one spot. ‘DtMF’ is the song that best describes what the album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, was trying to do. This is the song that has managed to bring people together even with a language barrier. As we know, music can be a universal language, and this is a perfect example. The track accomplishes this by using plena, an Afro-Puerto Rican folk music style that is not really known by non-Puerto Ricans. This song not only showcases plena to a much bigger audience. He demonstrates his culture not just with his lyrics but also the music styles he incorporates in his songs.
I can’t listen to this song without tears welling up in my eyes, which I’m sure others can relate to. We all wish to have more time, more pictures, and more memories of our loved ones. Life is so short that we may forget to do that, but the time spent and the pictures we have will always be cherished.