Reik
Mexican group Reik returned to their pop roots with Panorama, a 13-track album that honors their past while exploring more avant-garde compositions. It’s their first LP since 2009’s Ahora, but that album was mainly comprised of past hits with only a few new tracks.
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Released on May 10 under Sony Music Mexico, Panorama includes the previously debuted singles “Baja California,” “Abril,” “Gracias por Nada,” and “El Correcto” featuring Carin León, in addition to “Roomies,” “Te Odio,” “Vámonos a Mi Casa” with LAGOS, the album’s focus track “No Molestar” and its title track.
“I would say that we haven’t made an album like this since Des/Amor [in 2016], so it was super special. We genuinely felt like we had lost the muscle memory of how to make albums and how to work on them and release them,” says Reik’s vocalist, Jesús Navarro, to Billboard Español. “The first few weeks have been super overwhelming because at least I didn’t remember how much work it takes to try to release an album, but also promote it, add the finishing touches, and at the same time plan the tour, the music videos, the release, the promo… and it’s something we’ve done a thousand times before, just not all of them together in about 10 years.”
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After spending several years experimenting with Latin urban sounds, Reik, which also includes guitarists Julio Ramírez and Bibi Marín, teamed up with the MiSHNRZ, a duo of producers made up of Ismael Cano Jr. and Matthew Rey. “We put a lot of heart and also a lot of thought into it. We didn’t want to settle,” Ramírez says. “We really wanted to make this a very unique album.”
“I think it was very automatic,” adds Marín about their reunion to create a whole new album. “I think when it’s time to do something, you just do it… The gears of the machine were always well adjusted. Right now, we are very excited that everything is going, that we are in this new stage and we are happy.”
Reik spoke with Billboard Español on Thursday (May 16) from Houston, where they gave a concert as part of their Panorama 2024 U.S. Tour. Presented by Loud and Live, the 25-date tour began on May 11 in Orlando, Florida, and ends on June 10 in Seattle. (For more details, click here).
Below, Reik breaks down five essential songs from their album Panorama.
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“No Molestar”
Julio Ramírez: Now that I think about it, that was the easiest, oddly enough. It was super cool when this song was made, because the truth is that the album was mostly formed — I think we already had about nine songs or 10 — and we always wanted to keep everything in line with pop, to reclaim our sound… but change it a little so that it doesn’t seem like it’s the same from tracks 1 to 13.
And when “No Molestar” starts, wow! It happened that I was on the computer trying out sounds from the MiSHNRZ’s producer Ish (Ismael), and suddenly I said “That’s it!” They were the chords of the chorus, I remember. “TA ta ta.” So we immediately started humming the chorus and then we were like, “You know what? Let’s make a verse!” And we went to the first chords and we all got excited. For us it was a bit of a Bruno Mars vibe in the studio. We finished the lyrics and there is a video of everyone dancing, jumping, having an incredible time.
That feeling made us go like, “Wow, we got something special.” We always get emotional in the studio, but that song made us very emotional. And I love that we dared to include a super out-of-nowhere, French-ish arrangement at the end of the song; The Beatles’ “Michelle” was the inspiration. It was a treat for us, too.
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“Panorama”
Bibi Marín: “Panorama” was, according to me, the first song that came out of this new stage, of these new experiments that we were doing. And when I say experiments, I mean that it was a very consciously decisive moment, where we started looking for the new pop sound for Reik. It was already very clear to us that we didn’t want to continue experimenting with urban… so we said, “OK, pop, but how?” Because we don’t want to sound like we’re going to release an album that could well have come out in 2004 or 2005.
So it was the first time we got together with the MiSHNRZ, who wrote almost the entire album, produced almost the entire album, in short. We got together and the first experiment that came out was “Panorama” — so for everyone, it was very refreshing and very inspiring. It was a new, fresh sound, it was somewhat challenging, but at the same time it made us feel that we were going in a very good direction. Even though it was a somewhat “rare” song for Reik, it was still a very pop sound. So much so that it even gave the album its title, and it marked a little bit the direction in which we began to move musically.
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“Ojos Papel” (feat. Leo Rizzi)
Jesús Navarro: “Ojos papel” is a super special song to me. I believe Leo is one of the most special singers that we’ve heard in the new music scene in Spanish, and we are very aware of his existence. We had already made a track together on one of his albums — but it was a little strange because we were just out of the pandemic, and it was still difficult to travel, so we made this track and released it without having ever met in person. We just met at the [2023] Latin Grammys in Seville and we gave each other a very long hug, with a lot of emotion.
Only recently, when he was in Mexico City a few months ago, we got together to write with him, and this wonderful song came out. I think Julio hit the mark at the beginning of the session when he spoke with the entire team and they sort of agreed to let Leo take the lead in the session a little, so that we could get a song that was ours, but at the same time not characteristic, not what you would expect. I think the goal was achieved.
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“Roomies”
Bibi Marín: I’m going to say “Roomies,” because apart from the fact that it’s a song that I love, I think it’s the song that pays the most tribute and reference to our origins in two senses: One, musically, in terms that it is a super light, good-vibe pop song; [and two] like literally at the end of the song, the outro is the introduction of “Qué Vida la Mía” [from 2005]. The idea not only of the song, but of the entire album and of this stage, is yes, to make the statement that we are returning to our roots — to a super-pop pop — and what better way than using a little piece of one of our first songs. I think this song covers a lot of space there.
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“Baja California”
Julio Ramírez: “Baja California” is a spectacular song to me. It became so important that we opened the album with that song, and we also open the Panorama Tour show with that song. We find the video spectacular. It was really nice to go back to where we grew up, to make the video with Ry [Shorosky], who is a really impressive director from Utah. It turned out beautiful, the vibe is incredible. And I think it was super cool to make this track — I’m going to talk about it on an author’s level — trying to make a pop that’s much cooler, much more daring.
I mean, in my eyes, the approach was how we would sound with a kind of The Weeknd or Harry Styles vibe, but with our own handwriting — and “Baja California” came out. I don’t know, I love that song, I love that we’re mentioning Baja, we’re mentioning Rosarito, but putting it in the context of a love story. I think it’s super cool. I hope people like it. It sets the mood for the whole album.
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A different kind of beat was heard at the 15th annual Live in the Vineyard event in Napa Valley: Salsa, Latin percussion and acoustic ballads in Spanish, performed by the likes of singer/songwriter Kany García, salsa star Luis Figueroa, alt/popsters Monsiuer Periné, pop trio Reik, mariachi singer Lupita Infante, Costa Rican songstress Debi Nova and pianist Arthur Hanlon. Nearly 20 Latin artists took part in Live in the Vineyard’s first ever Latin edition, programmed in response to the surge in Latin music’s popularity and visibility.
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The event, which allows rising and established acts to showcase new music in front of top tastemakers in synch and licensing, DSPs, radio and press, has had some 500 acts perform throughout the years in private showcases in Napa Valley vineyards. The long list includes the likes of Carrie Underwood, Jason Derulo, Alanis Morissette, Adam Lambert and Fergie, and the pay-off from performances has been strong enough that in 2017 Jacobs also launched a country-only event. Through it all, Latin acts had been far and in-between. But this year, organizers launched a Latin-only edition, and invited more than 25 music supervisors and executives who are specifically looking to place Latin music.
“I’ve had Latin acts here and there, but never officially launched a full-on Latin event,” says Bobbii Jacobs, the founder and president of FF Entertainment, which puts together Live in the Vineyard in partnership with experiential and entertainment agency Forefront. “But I’ve always followed my heart and taken time to listen to pop culture. I had this feeling in my gut with Latin.”
A little over two years ago, Jacbos decided to do something about it. She admittedly knew very little about the Latin music scene, but she hit LinkedIn and contacted Darlene Rodriguez, Senior Director of music licensing and merchandising at Sony Music Entertainment Latin.
“I messaged Darlene and I said, ‘Hi, this is who I am, I’m legit and I’d love to talk to you. And she emailed me back.”
In Miami, Rodriguez was intrigued. She called Jacbos back and found out she had booked many Sony artists before, but not from the Latin labels.
“I thought this would be perfect — because in my world, the most important thing is to give exposure to our Latin artists here in the U.S.,” says Rodríguez. “While our artists are big [outside of the] U.S. it’s important to have them establish a presence here in the U.S. with these music supervisors. What really clinched it is, Bobbii said, ‘You need to come and experience it.’”
Last year, Rodríguez went to Jacobs’ country music event and saw first-hand the power of having artists perform for a highly curated and attentive audience whose sole purpose was music discovery. She set to work, mining Sony’s roster to find the right artists, both from the U.S. and other countries, and also contacted colleagues at Sony Music Publishing U.S. Latin and Latin America.
Jointly, they decided that rather than focus on radio and DSPs, where they were well-covered, they needed help connecting with music supervisors and synching and licensing agencies. While the presence of music in Spanish has steadily grown on the Billboard, Spotify and YouTube charts, there is still a lack of Spanish-language music on mainstream TV and streaming service content, and there’s a lack of understanding of the different genres within Latin music.
“Our goal is to expose our artists and see them placed […] There’s a ton of competition and there needs to be a little more education of the Latin genres, so they think of us for all sorts of opportunities, not just the Mexican scene at a restaurant.”
“Our goal is to expose our artists and see them placed,” says Rodríguez. “That includes film, commercial, gaming, Zumba. It’s really just to make sure we place our artists’ music in all these different categories in the U.S. There’s a ton of competition, and there needs to be a little more education of the Latin genres, so they think of us for all sorts of opportunities, not just the Mexican scene at a restaurant.”
At the same time, convincing artists and managers to participate in Live in the Vineyard wasn’t automatic. While the event invites supervisors and executives to Napa and partners with local chefs and wineries to put together lunches, dinners and showcases, artists must pay a fee to participate. But Rodriguez –along with Caroline Abs, Sony Latin’s SVP of strategic market development for the U.S., and Amy Roland, VP of synch & new business for Sony Music Publishing U.S. Latin and Latin America — felt the investment was warranted.
“We want general market supervisors who use Latin music,” says Roland, who also invited artists who are signed to Sony publishing but release music independently, like Alih J. “My direct contacts are more in the Latin world, and this event gives me face time with people I mostly work remotely with. I’m excited.”
In the end, some 25 music supervisors and execs who had expressed interest in including Latin music in their projects attended two Latin artist-only events, and three events that featured both Latin and pop acts. And while Live in the Vineyard can’t compel music supervisors to place anything, “our track record is very successful,” says Jacobs. “We put you in front of influential people in the background of Napa, and the core is to break music no matter how big or small the artist is.”
“People are really here to discover new music,” adds Roland. “And given authentic music, my hope is they are going to consume it more.”
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