NorteñoBlog

You’d be excused for thinking the charts are dormant this week — the same #1’s, mostly the same top 10’s, “Bailando” has always been at war with “Propuesta Indecente,” etc. — but look beneath the filthy snow and there are signs of life. For one thing, NorteñoBlog will never complain about an accordion ballad reaching the Hot Latin top 10, even when that ballad is as lifeless as Calibre 50’s “Contigo.” True, this particular song might not push my buttons, but anything that helps squeeze out one of King Romeo’s romantic bellows is fine by me. (i.e., Adios to “Eres Mia,” only a year old.)

For another, some decent songs are muscling their way up. The Pick to Click is “Nota de Amor,” a pretty piano/accordion reggaeton love note by Wisin, Carlos Vives, and Daddy Yankee. It’s got the same chord changes as the Black Eyed Peas’ “Where Is the Love?,” though I didn’t detect any lines comparing the CIA to the KKK. We noted last week that the puro Chihuahua sax of La Maquinaria Norteña is awesome, and their “Si Te Vuelvo a Ver” is getting more radio play. And wonder of wonders, Tuscon’s teen tenor Luis Coronel is charting with a song that doesn’t suck! “Cuando La Miro” is some fairly likable magic changes bullshit. Coronel can barely keep up with it, but he knows how to put across wide-eyed eagerness.

All that plus Pitbull! NorteñoBlog will also never complain about the presence of Pitbull. And not just on the charts — in public and semi-public spaces. Even if Pitbull set up a Sheets Energy Strips display inside a funeral home and cornered NorteñoBlog, NorteñoBlog would just end up buying a bunch of energy strips and handing them out to the bereaved because, you know, it’s Pitbull. He could charm the rigor off of rigor mortis and/or Marco Rubio.

These are the top 25 Hot Latin Songs and top 20 Regional Mexican Songs, courtesy Billboard, as published March 28.

1. “El Perdon” – Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias
2. “Propuesta Indecente” – Romeo Santos (86 WEEKS OLD)
3. “Ay Vamos” – J Balvin
4. “Bailando” – Enrique ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente de Zona, & the word “contigo” (52 WEEKS OLD! “Feliz cumpleaños contigo…”)
5. “Hablame de Ti” – Banda MS (#6 RegMex) (snoooooozzzzzz)
6. “Mi Verdad” – Maná ft. Shakira
7. “Contigo” – Calibre 50 (#1 RegMex)
8. “Travesuras” – Nicky Jam
9. “Yo También” – Romeo Santos ft. Marc Anthony
10. “El Karma” – Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes del Rancho (#11 RegMex)

11. “Hilito” – Romeo Santos
12. “Lejos De Aqui” – Farruko
13. “Fanatica Sensual” – Plan B
14. “Piensas (Dile La Verdad)” – Pitbull ft. Gente de Zona
15. “Disparo Al Corazon” – Ricky Martin
16. “Eres Una Niña” – Gerardo Ortíz (#9 RegMex)
17. “Soltero Disponible” – Regulo Caro (#2 RegMex)
18. “Dime” – Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda (#8 RegMex)
19. “Juntos (Together)” – Juanes
20. “Lo Hiciste Otra Vez” – La Arrolladora Banda El Limón (#3 RegMex) (Oh dear, this is not good. Not just sap — meandering sap.)

21. “Pierdo la Cabeza” – Zion & Lennox
22. “Mi Vuelvo Un Cobarde” – Christian Daniel
23. “Qué Tiene De Malo” – Calibre 50 ft. El Komander (#18 RegMex)
24. “Nota de Amor” – Wisin + Carlos Vives ft. Daddy Yankee
25. “Mi Princesa” – Remmy Valenzuela (#13 RegMex)

¡Adios!
“Eres Mia” – Romeo Santos (53 WEEKS OLD)
—————–

4. “Levantando Polvadera” – Voz De Mando
5. “El Que Se Enamora Pierde” – Banda Carnaval
7. “Eres Tú” – Proyecto X
10. “No Te Vayas” – Fidel Rueda

12. “Que Aun Te Amo” – Pesado
13. “Se Me Sigue Notando” – Chuy Lizarraga y Su Banda Tierra Sinaloense
14. “Mi Primera Vez” – Jonatan Sánchez
15. “Calla y Me Besas” – Enigma Norteña
16. “Si Te Vuelvo a Ver” – La Maquinaria Norteña
17. “Me Sobrabas Tu” – Banda Los Recoditos
18. “Cuando La Miro” – Luis Coronel
19. “Todo Tuyo” – Banda El Recodo
20. “Bonito Y Bello” – La Septima Banda

¡Adios!
“Y Vete Olvidando” – Javier Rosas
“Entonces Que Somos” – Banda El Recodo (A nada Luciano Luna ballad off Recodo’s 2013 album, now turned into a dramatic short film.)