The long-awaited Kali Uchis album finally dropped on January 12, 2024. Uchis announced her pregnancy with Don Toliver, and the following day released the album. Colombian-American singer Karla-Marina Loaiza released her 4th studio album, Orquídeas. The album is primarily in Spanish making this her second Spanish album.
Uchis produces synth pop, reggaeton, and contemporary R&B. Uchis is very versatile and can put together several genres and languages (English and Spanish) in one album, whether it be with features or on her own.
Orquídeas has a total of 14 songs, and also includes 4 features with the biggest names in Latin Music; Peso Pluma, Rauw Alejandro, Karol G, and El Alfa & Jt. Her album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, and her song “Igual Que Un Angel” reached #1 on the Hot Latin Billboard Songs.
The meaning behind Orquídeas is orchids which is a type of flower that represents love, beauty and luxury, but can also represent femininity. Uchis has been inspired by the flower as she feels connected to it since the flower is also the national flower of Columbia which ties back to her roots. She hopes to redefine the way Latinas are seen in music through her album. As also a part of the release, her pregnancy played a part as the album was put together while going through her pregnancy, which brought the album all together according to her.
Throughout the album there is a mix of both upbeat, moving types of songs, but also calm and soothing ones which I think ties back to the overall theme of the album which seem to be about confidence, self-love, and feminism. All of the songs in the album were great, but the ones that stuck out the most to me were; “Igual Que Un Angel”, “Tu Corazon Es Mio”, “No Hay Ley Parte 2”, “Pensamientos Intrusivos”, and “Diosa”.
“Igual Que Un Ángel” – Featuring Mexican-sensation Peso Pluma, the song has so far been very successful in a sense where many people are pleased with the song, including myself. At first, the collaboration sounded a bit off since Peso Pluma has a very unique voice where I was not able to see whether his voice would fit with Uchis’. However, once I heard his part, I was mesmerized and he didn’t disappoint because their voices ended up fitting so well together. The theme of the song based off of the lyrics seems to be focused around a woman who is pretty much out of this world which can also tie back to the song title. “Todos quieren plata, otros quieren fama, un amor superficial. Pero ella quiere calma y no dañar su alma”, based on the lyrics it seems like the woman wants true love, not superficial things but nowadays everyone looks for money or fame and not superficial love which is why the woman is maintaining calm so she doesn’t end up hurting which translates to (Everyone wants money, others want fame, a superficial love, but she wants peace, not to harm her soul). This song is my favorite out of the album, as the rhythm to the song is enjoyable and overall very pleasing to the ear. A music video session was also released with the song, in which both Uchis and Peso Pluma are in a disco type of setting, which suits the song well.
“Tu Corazon Es Mio”- When I first listened to this song I added it to my library right away. The overall rhythm and beat to the songs is so good and enjoyable. The type of beat that it has is soothing and calm which is the type of music I mainly enjoy listening to. The lyrics to the song are also simple to understand and get the overall message of the song. It captures the commitment of being in a relationship and also talking about how being in a relationship can be beautiful as the bond that is created between the two is unmatchable. It also talks about how they should not focus or listen to what other people have to say about them because the ones thriving in a relationship are themselves, not the public. “Dicen que el amor en su juventud solo resulta en el dolor, what do they know? They’re miserable, broken and alone”. She promises to stick next to her partner through the hardships they face, which I think shows their unwavering love and emphasizes loyalty. “Bien o para mal, you know that I’ll always be by your side.” After giving this song many listens, my favorite part of the song is how she reuses the “na-na-na, y na”, it’s a catchy line and I think it brings the songs all together well. In addition to this, there was also a music video released with the song in which Don Toliver is part of the video as well where several clips of them together are shown embracing their pregnancy.
“No Hay Ley Parte 2”- This song was originally released back in 2022, but this time, it was incorporated into the album and features Puerto-Rican singer Rauw Alejandro. Although the original song is good by itself, I think that adding Rauw Alejandro’s verse was a good idea and it compliments the song very well. When I listened to the song at first I was not convinced, but after listening to it various times, it is now one of my favorites. “No hay ley” translates to “there are no laws”, which in this case it means that in the aspect of love there are no laws. “Hey, en el amor no hay ley y deja que nos miren si quieren”, in which Uchis is preaching about ignoring the criticism or judgment that they get on their relationship because regardless she’s going to keep on loving her partner. I love listening to Rauw Alejandro and listening to him in a song with Uchis is just too good, and I hope they feature each other more as their voices compliment each other. This feature is also my second favorite, I think that both artists gave it their all in this song.
“Pensamientos Intrusivos”- The beat to this song is so harmonious which is one of the reasons why I like it, and also has a calm, soothing beat, and is more of a ballad. The song is all about the emphasis on the desire for love and the deep emotions that come along with a relationship. “Pensamientos Intrusivos” means intrusive thoughts, in which Uchis talks about how she can’t stop thinking about a certain person, and is willing to make a commitment where she is willing to take on any challenges that can come in between her relationship. “Pideme la luna y hasta el cielo me ire”, from this lyric it is evident that she will do anything as her intrusive thoughts will encourage her to do it for that special someone. The lyrics to the song are very catchy and so is the melody, it’s one of those songs that get stuck in your head for the whole day. It’s a song I would replay over and over without getting tired of it.
“Diosa”- When playing the album in order, “Diosa” comes after “Pensamientos Intrusivos” in which there’s a transition in melody going from dance/club to a more soothingone. It caught me off guard when “Diosa” started playing because I was still expecting the previous track to keep on playing. “Diosa” translates to Goddess, which connects to the overall theme of the song. The theme is all about Uchis embracing her femininity and independence. Through the lyrics, it seems like Uchis is proud of her strength and power as a woman, who is very aware of her worth. “I guess I’m just spoiled, yo merezco todo lo mejor”, here she talks about how she deserves everything in the world because she is a goddess, a queen. The music video for this song is put together into the same music video for “Tu Corazon Es Mio”, it is incorporated in there, it being the second half of the video. I like this song because I love how she expresses femininity and how much self-love she has for herself because she knows she is that girl.
Uchis’ voice is very unique, whether she is singing in English or Spanish, regardless of the genre she is working with, she manages to do an amazing job and express herself freely. The rest of the songs in the album are also very good but these 5 are the ones that stuck out the most to me because they have an extra something to them.
I give the album a 9/10 because I do have some songs that I would skips from here and there. However, the album is very well put together and it’s bonus points since her songs are almost fully in Spanish. If you are a fan of artists like Sza, Steve Lacy, Karol G, or any of the artists she featured in this album, I would definitely say give the album a listen.
