Christian Nodal unveiled his new PA’L CORA EP. 02 on Thursday (Jan. 30), part of the PA’L CORA series that he launched in 2024.
Sonically, the Mexican artist further solidifies his distinct mariacheño sound — a subgenre fusing mariachi’s strings and horns with the norteño accordion — with other rhythms such as tropical (“Contigo al Cielo”) and dance (“Botox en el Cora”). Lyrically, he stamps personal experiences into themes of love, loss, and redemption.
“I didn’t want to be anyone’s shadow,” Nodal previously said to Billboard of pioneering the mariacheño movement. “I felt that the genre was stigmatized under all these stereotypes, and I wanted to break all of that because I was unsatisfied to see that our genre wasn’t going far enough. I didn’t want to disrespect anyone, much less the mentality of some of these [regional Mexican] legends who think the genre should sound and look a very specific way, but that wasn’t me. I didn’t feel part of it. I wanted to make it my own.”
The six-track set, which drops with the vulnerable and delicate focus single “A Solas con la Botella,” includes collaborations with Snow Tha Product, Nunca Jamas, and Jonaz.
PA’L CORA EP. 02 follows his 2024 PA’L CORA EP. 01, which includes Nodal’s first collaborative effort with Peso Pluma on “La Intención” and the flirty cumbia “Un Besito Más” with darling newcomer Estevie. The former hit No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart last March.
Below, Billboard editors rank all six tracks on PA’L CORA EP. 02.
Nodal teamed up with Jonaz on this amusing mariachi and electronic music mash up. The hyped-up aura in “Botox en el Cora” will have people singing at the top of their lungs and jumping to the beat — all while leaving any sorrows or heartbreak behind. “Botox in the heart, I’m not going to ask for forgiveness again/ Botox in my heart, so it doesn’t wrinkle I sing you this song,” Nodal and Jonaz bond in the chorus.
After two very public breakups (Belinda in 2022 and Cazzu in 2024), Nodal has released a song for the exes, basically saying “cry me a river.” Joining forces with Mexican-American rapper Snow Tha Product, the artist passionately sings about a relationship that didn’t work out: “You know what, my love? Things weren’t complicated, you just weren’t the one […] I wanted everything with you, and I can’t deny that I can’t forget you.” He later admits in the mariachi-pop tune, “Of course it hurts me, the memories weigh me down/ But I’ll take what we lived with me to the funeral.”
Off the bat, this sounds like a mariacheño song through and through, with Nodal sounding very much at home. But there’s a slight edge to “Bésame Ya” thanks to Nunca Jamas, a group from Sonora that fuses alternative rock with regional Mexican music. This is a dream collaboration, two very eclectic acts coming together, but its was perhaps played too safe. A more alternative, punk approach to it would’ve made this song really take off.
A pop song at its core, laced with Nodal’s signature mariacheño arrangements, “El Retrovisor” offers a positive outlook at life. “All my life I can see it, I see it passing by without any resentment, everything was left in the past/ I see it passing by in my rear-view mirror,” Nodal sings. With such honest and relatable lyrics about moving on and healing, this soulful track has anthem potential.
The opening track often sets the tone for a record but here, one song can’t speak for such an eclectic set. “A Solas” is reflective, somber even, as Nodal reflects on loneliness after the end of a relationship. A delicate, yet commanding, piano tune accompanies Nodal in this powerful four-minute track. “I don’t even trust my shadow, only a few will understand,” he sings, as his striking vocals soar over the piano. “Even my mind betrays me, when the heart is close to forgetting.”
Thriving on a cacophony of sounds, from norteño accordions to punchy salsa trumpets, “Contigo Al Cielo” is bold and explosive. Sonically, its riveting and the lyrics are swoon-worthy. “I won the lottery and I didn’t have to play. You gave light to my life and nothing will take that away … if they close Heaven for me, it’s ok, I already have it with you,” Nodal sings with a joy that’s almost infectious.