The new year comes with an endless amount of opportunities for new collaborations between Latin artists. Last year was packed with unprecedented collabs, such as Grupo Firme and Camilo — whose “Alaska” peaked at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Regional Mexican Airplay chart — and Christina Aguilera and Ozuna‘s “Santo,” part of her Latin Grammy-winning album Aguilera.
While 2023 may have just started, we already have a few dream collabs in mind that we’d love to see happen over the year. For starters, ever since Karol G and RBD‘s Anahí took the stage together over the summer in Mexico City — where they performed the Mexican group’s anthem “Sálvame” — fans have hoped that there could be more to their team-up. A new version of “Sálvame”? A whole new heartbreak track featuring Karol? After all, the Colombian hitmaker is a self-described RBD fan. And with news of RBD’s recently teased comeback, this could be the perfect moment for Karol and RBD to collaborate.
Meanwhile, Manuel Turizo‘s “La Bachata” has taken the world by storm — and even Coldplay‘s Chris Martin has acknowledged the song’s force, calling it “the best song at the moment in the world” during his concert in Bogotá, Colombia, in September. After Martin gave the song its flowers, Turizo joined the band onstage to sing an acoustic version of his track, which peaked at No. 1 on the Latin Airplay chart in October. Given that Martin is a big fan of Turizo and vice versa, it wouldn’t be totally wild if we saw the colombiano collaborating with Coldplay in the near future.
From Christian Nodal and Cazzu to Silvana Estrada and Angela Alvarez, here are our Latin editors’ picks for dream collaborations in 2023:
-
Bizarrap & Bad Bunny
Why It Would Work: Argentine hitmaker Bizarrap has made a name for himself with his innovative “Bzrp Music Sessions,” including the global smash “Vol. 52” alongside Spanish rapper Quevedo. Not only has Biza teamed up with coveted Argentine collaborators such as Paulo Londra, Cazzu, Duki, and Nathy Peluso, but he’s also gone international, reeling in popular rappers such as Nicky Jam, Residente, Snow Tha Product and Eladio Carrión.
Now, we know Bad Bunny recently told Billboard his plans to focus on his self-care for 2023 — but if he were to drop any first single of the year, a BZRP Music Session would not be too shabby an option. We can already imagine the fiery collab the two artists would birth.
-
Christian Nodal & Cazzu
Image Credit: Omar Vega/FilmMagic Why It Would Work: In 2022, we hoped for the Spanish-Boricua power couple Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro to drop a collaboration. Since that never happened, we’re moving on to another set of lovebirds: Christian Nodal and Cazzu. The regional Mexican singer and Argentine artist, who made their relationship official during the 2022 Latin Grammys, have already shared the stage and paired their vocals on mariachi tunes.
For our dream collab, however, we imagine Nodal and Cazzu steering away from rancheras and urban, and instead dropping a romantic rock song — as both artists have expressed being roqueros at heart.
-
Grupo Firme & Christina Aguilera
Why It Would Work: Christina Aguilera has been returning to her Latin roots with her recent Spanish-language projects, such as her Latin Grammy-winning album Aguilera, which marked her first Spanish full-length since Mi Reflejo (2000). The LP featured regional Mexican songs “La Reina” and “Cuando Me Dé La Gana” with Christian Nodal. Aguilera not only paid tribute to ranchera music, which has long inspired her, but performed those songs with such pathos that we were left wanting more of her in that genre. If she’d want to continue in the traditional route, a collab with norteño/banda ensemble Grupo Firme would be the most obvious choice. Plus, she’d be teaming up with another powerful vocalist in Eduin Caz.
-
Karol G & RBD
Why It Would Work: Karol G is a self-declared RBD fan, citing the Mexican group’s heartbreak song “Sálvame” as one of her lifelong anthems. Over the summer, the Colombian star surprised fans at her concert in Mexico City, where she invited RBD’s Anahí to perform the track together. Onstage, the two artists even rocked pink cowboy hats resembling the one Anahí wears in the song’s music video from the early 2000s. It marked Anahí’s return to the stage after 11 years — since that moment between the two, fans can’t help but think that a collaboration between Karol and RBD or just Anahí could be in the works, particularly with new RBD projects expected to be announced in the upcoming days. The collab could simply be a new a version of “Sálvame” or a whole new heartbreak song — either way, we’ll take it.
-
Manuel Turizo & Coldplay
Why It Would Work: Turizo and Chris Martin already performed together during Coldplay’s concert in Bogota last year, so this collab totally makes sense. Ahead of introducing the Colombian artist at his show, Martin mentioned they were going to sing “the best song at the moment in the world,” referring to Turizo’s Tropical Airplay-topping hit “La Bachata.” The acoustic version was beautiful — but we can only imagine that both artists have kept in touch and that a new collaboration is in the works.
-
Rauw Alejandro & Dua Lipa
Why It Would Work: Rauw Alejandro is a chameleon who smoothly oscillates between genres — but it’s safe to say his dance anthem “Todo De Ti” is one of his most memorable songs, and it’s certainly one of his biggest hits to date. The groovy dance-pop banger, a departure from his urban-leaning urban sound, peaked at No. 2 on the Hot Latin Songs chart in 2021. When it comes to dance royalty, Dua Lipa comes to mind as an ideal partner for Alejandro. One can only dream, but it would be fun to see these two come together to create the ultimate bilingual dance song. Plus, she’s already collaborated with two other Latin superstars in Bad Bunny and J Balvin, so it wouldn’t be totally out of the box for her.
-
Romeo Santos & Prince Royce
Image Credit: John Parra/GI for Sony Music Latin Why It Would Work: As much as people want to pit these two Dominican kings against each other, it’s impossible! Romeo Santos and Prince Royce have been very supportive of each other’s careers — and let’s not forget the time that Royce joined Santos at his Yankee Stadium concert in 2014. The two stunned the crowd with a rare performance of Santos’ “Odio,” where Royce performed Drake’s part of the track.
Now let’s be real: Each act is leading a successful bachata career on their own, but a track between these two bachateros is long overdue. We don’t want a reggaetón fusion track. We don’t want a romantic ballad. We want a pure, traditional bachata bop.
-
Shakira & Feid
Why It Would Work: Shakira has always been one to collaborate with some of the hottest acts of the moment: We’re all witnesses to the magic she’s created with Beyoncé, Rihanna, The Black Eyed Peas, Maluma, Camilo, Rauw Alejandro and Ozuna. For 2023, it’d be ideal for Shak to join forces with one of Colombia’s “it” guys, Feid. Not only would their vocals be an interesting blend, but we can picture this track as a bonafide reggaetón jam about finding empowerment and strength after a heartbreak. We’re already imagining the viral TikTok dance, too!
-
Silvana Estrada & Angela Alvarez
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/GI for The Latin Recording Academy Why It Would Work: The 25-year-old Silvana Estrada and 95-year-old Angela Alvarez took the stage together at the 2022 Latin Grammys to accept their shared award for best new artist. It was a special and emotional moment for the audience, and the two women who stood onstage seemed moved (and somewhat shocked) by the decision. While Estrada and Alvarez are generations apart, musically, they’re more similar than one might think. Both do acoustic-leaning music that honors the traditional sounds of their respective home countries, Mexico and Cuba — and Latin America overall. A collab between these two would just feel right.