Soundcheck: Latin Pop

In pop’s shape-shifting soundscape, every decade seems to have its defining genre to blast from every speaker, sell out historic arenas, and overtake the Top 10 with gusto. This, dear reader, is a cultural rite of passage: Each era gets its own soundtrack. Step back with us to the ’90s: The jeans were baggy, audiophiles amassed overflowing CD binders, and R&B syncopations, in all their ad-libbed glory, rattled our boom boxes. Stepping into the new millennium, our waistbands got lower, our legroom cinched tighter, and the optimistic futurism of synthy pop soundtracked the increasingly digital new era. The 2010s then gave way to maximalist EDM, underscored by mask-wearing DJs and pop-star crossover features. But today, the charts are more global, genre lines are blurrier, and Latin pop is commanding the airwaves — err, streaming.

The next gen of Latin pop is rapidly climbing the charts and overtaking the zeitgeist in turn. From genre-bending newcomers to artists showcasing what it sounds like when reggaeton’s dembow meets pop’s four-on-the-floor beats, these are the voices, sounds, and stories defining Latin music’s next era.