Natti Natasha Connected With Her Roots — and Romeo Santos — to Make a Bachata Album
When Romeo Santos tells you he wants you on his bachata record, you say yes. At least that’s what Natti Natasha thought when the king of bachata reached out about working together.
“I remember him telling me, ‘Listen, I’ve had this song for this and this time, and I feel like you would be perfect to sing this song,’” Natasha says, remembering hearing a demo of the track “Desde Hoy” with his vocals for the first time. “He felt like I was the person who could do it and I was like, ‘Why not?’”
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The Dominican stars met up in the studio and recorded the collaboration, and together, they ended up creating Natasha’s new album, Natti Natasha en Amargue, a collection of 10 songs co-written and produced by the Aventura icon. The album has been nearly four years in the making.
“[The idea] blew my mind because I’ve never really thought about doing a bachata project,” she tells Rolling Stone over Zoom. “I didn’t think about it. I just felt like it was something that I had to have in my career, for my fans, for myself… It’s me going back to my roots, and my fans knowing me in my deeper side. This is me talking about so many things in this raw way.”
Natti — whose last album Nasty Singles dropped in 2023 — says spending so much time with Santos in the studio taught her a lot about the importance of hard work and humility. She remembers during one studio session, things got hot — in the music and in the booth — after the air conditioning went out. Both covered in sweat, Natasha assumed Santos would want to pause the session and go home. Instead, he kept working. “He never had an excuse,” Natasha says. “I believe that when you’re in a good vibe in the studio, and when you’re creating, you don’t kill that vibe.”
Across the project, Natasha goes from deep-love tracks she dedicates to her partner Raphy Pina like “Quiéreme Menos” to música cortevena on tracks such as “Pinnochio” and “Escasez de Besos,” where Santos joins in for backup vocals.
“It’s about both despecho and being able to sing about how I’m deadly in love with someone,” Natasha says. Yes, she’s in a happy relationship today, but in the studio, it’s easy to tap into past pain. “It’s like you get a little bit pissed off again,” she says with a giggle. “I feel like that’s where I can get creative. It’s what allows me to interpret it with that pain in the voice.”
In many ways, Natasha views En Amargue as a new way for fans to “get to know” her versatility. “Who wouldn’t love his lyrics? It’s quality music,” she says. “The challenge keeps me alive. It keeps me with that adrenaline high.”
Natasha also has a soft spot for the album-making process since she was pregnant with her daughter Vida, who’s now 4. Natasha says it was surreal to play her favorite song, “Mi Loca,” live in front of her daughter during her album release event earlier this month. “She used to fall asleep in the car when I used to put the whole album,” Natasha says. “I don’t know if it’s real, but kids do get familiar with melodies and things that they feel safe with. She’s definitely a part of the album.”
Natasha plans to bring En Amargue on the road with a full live band and teases that she’ll play a mix of the bachata tracks and her iconic reggaeton tracks on the road. And even with a new album out, she promises she’s already working on the next project. “We’re always cooking. This is the first of many, many more. I learned to not be afraid to just try different things, and trust your gut,” she says. “I have nothing to lose.”
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