15 Things You Didn’t Know – Billboard

After attending the Met Gala in New York and the Formula 1 World Championship in Miami, Bad Bunny went home to continue promoting his new album Un Verano Sin Ti.

Recently, he visited Puerto Rican comedian Chente Ydrach for a nearly three-hour beachfront podcast conversation, where Bunny opened up about his recent musical project. “This album is for everyone,” he said at one point in the interview. “My album is f—ing amazing and I don’t care what anyone thinks.”

Below, read 15 things you did not know about Un Verano Sin Ti.

1. A Promo Plan: All of Bad Bunny’s previous albums were released as a surprise, but Un Verano Sin Ti came with a plan. “This is the first album I announce with anticipation,” he said. “The whole concept was a new year and new vibes. I wanted to announce the album when the year started because I was confident in the project I was doing and wanted to pressure myself to release it this year.”

2. Many Years in the Making: The album was released May 6, but Bad Bunny says the idea for the album was born while he was working on 2020’s YHLQMDLG. “Since then, I was already planning the vibe for this album. From the beginning, I knew what I wanted to do,” he said.

3. The Album’s Concept: The album comes in two parts: Side A and Side B, and according to Bunny, it starts on a high and decreases to emotional tracks. “The album starts with a lot of energy, a lot of perreo, mambo, dembow, and suddenly there’s a bossa nova. It’s like when you go out to party, you’re excited but then you get drunk and sentimental.”

4. “Andrea”: Despite many speculations on social media and the news, Bad Bunny affirms that his song “Andrea” with indie duo Buscabulla was not inspired by the tragic case of Andrea Ruiz, who was a victim of femicide in Puerto Rico. “The song is about a woman who’s still alive and with the desire to grow, be free, be respected and understood,” he explained. “Anyone could be an ‘Andrea,’ and I love how women are identifying with the song.”

5. The Last Song: On that note, “Andrea” was the very last track that Bad Bunny added to the album after his producer MAG played him the beat in Miami and he “couldn’t stop thinking about it.” “I didn’t know what to do because I had so many songs on the album already,” he said. On Easter, Bunny video-called Buscabulla and invited them on the track.

6. Video Visualizers: All of the songs, except “Moscow Mule” and “Callaita,” dropped with a 360-degree video visualizer that shows Bunny and two of his friends hanging out at the beach. “Those are my real friends from childhood and high school,” he said. “I had such a good time on the beach that I even forgot the camera was filming us.”

7. “Me Porto Bonito”: His collaboration with Chencho Corleone was recorded right after he attended the Met Gala in New York. He admitted to even going to the studio in his same outfit and hairdo. “When I did that song, I didn’t have anyone in mind that’s not him. If it wasn’t with him, I wasn’t going to release the song.”

8. The Cover Art: Although the cover art was designed by L.A.-based artist and graphic designer Ugly Primo, Bad Bunny says the idea was all him. “I drew the heart during the pandemic lockdown, and I sent it to him. Out of the entire album, the heart was the first thing that I thought of.”

9. “Ojitos Lindos”: Bad Bunny sent Bomba Estereo the beat of the song and let them add whatever they wanted. “I just let them know what the vibe of the album was and that I wanted to keep ‘ojitos lindos’ in the lyrics.”

10. “La Corriente”: Originally, the song was going to be a solo track, but Bunny felt he needed someone on there and invited Tony Dize. “Everyone knows of his romantic reggaeton, but I wanted him to go back to his old-school sound.”

11. “Dos Mil 16”: “The last summer I had as a normal person was in 2016,” he recalled, and for his trap song, he went back to his emails to find an authentic, unreleased beat from that year as opposed to creating a new one. “That summer was special for me. I was catching Pokemons with my friends and had a nice connection with a girl I liked.”

12. The Recording Studio: For this album, Bad Bunny rented a beach house located on the east side of the island and made sure he had an ocean view because he wanted to feel the tropical ambiance.

13. “El Apagón”: “I was at the beach last year in Manati and I was listening to Ismael Rivera. At one point, I saw the view and I was like, ‘Wow, Puerto Rico is awesome.’ I wanted to do a nice song for Puerto Rico. It’s very patriotic, because I feel very proud of my island,” he said of the bomba-house fusion.

14. The Dominican Republic: During the interview, Bad Bunny shouted out the DR for supporting him at the beginning of his career, which is why he “wanted to do something special” on his album. “Despues de Ti,” a mambo, and “Titi Me Pregunto,” a dembow, were the result. The former was recorded in the DR with a live band, and the latter was inspired by traditional dembow but with his essence.

15. “Moscow Mule”: In the music video for the focus track “Moscow Mule,” Bad Bunny is seen as a merman, with his private parts censored. “I wanted to show an intimate, special moment,” he said. “We’re naked and having a good time and it feels like magic. Sex doesn’t matter. What matters right now is our connection. It’s about enjoying the moment and connecting our souls.”