'Songland': Luis Fonsi finds his next hit single in PipoBeats's song 'Sway' and calls it 'musical caffeine'
Tonight on 'Songland' Season 2, four more aspiring songwriters pitched their tunes to Latin Grammy Award-winning singer, Luis Fonsi. The series that recently premiered, first saw Lady Antebellum arrive looking for the next hit single and found it with Madeline Merlo's 'Champagne Nights'.
Now back again for Episode 2, this week Luis Fonsi found his next Latin hit in PipoBeats's 'Sway'. Luis is a Latin recording artiste who is spoken about as one of the Godfathers in the Latin world. He is responsible for the single biggest hit, 'Despacito', and is currently at the top of his game.
Luis shared that he was looking for the perfect melody and track. It doesn't matter if it is English or Spanish. Luis said, "I'm looking for that 'Ahh moment' I want to hear that again."
The four budding songwriters who we met tonight were Dyson, from Plymouth, United Kingdom. She performed her song, 'Conditions' for judges/mentors — Ryan Tedder, Shane McAnally and Ester Dean — and guest artist Luis Fonsi.
Her song was based on a relationship she had a couple of years ago. Lauren Martinez, hailing from Alberquerque, performed her song, 'I Don't Want To Know'. It was about a situation-ship, and how they didn't want to where they stood or if they were seeing someone else.
Corri, who hailed from New Jersey, sang her song titled 'What If' for the judges. It was about a romantic relationship that ended abruptly. Pipobeats performed his song for the judges.
His song 'Sway' had the judges sitting in their chair and dancing to it. Luis shared that he could hear the different influencers. “I’ve never seen the band move like that,” Shane shared.
Corri was eliminated after the first round. Ryan worked with PipoBeats, Shane worked with Dyson and Ester worked with Lauren to refurbish their songs to the likes of Luis and make the needed changes whether it was in the lyrics or melody.
Ultimately it was PipoBeats's song that stood out amongst the other two. PipoBeats who hails from LA compares himself to Jekyll and Hyde. He reveals that his Spanish version is super energetic, and clubby. While his English version is more emotional. Though PipoBeats is from LA, his parents are from Chile.
The first time Luis heard PipoBeats perform, he called it "musical caffeine" and affirmed that he could hear the different influences. Luis shared that sometimes it gets a little clunky when one switched from English to Spanish, but his song just needs a little rearranging and polishing. Luis also revealed that it had a great verse and melody.
Though PipoBeats's vibe and the concept was a hit, he and Ryan had to focus on the arrangement and the guitar riff. They even tweaked the lyric and melody a little bit. After listening to the final three perform, Luis made his decision and went with PipoBeats's song 'Sway'.
Revealing why he chose the song, he shared it was right for him because it talks to him. He can hear himself sing. "I'm looking for that connection, and when I heard 'Sway' day 1 and day now when reworked, I feel reconnected."
Are you happy with Luis's choice? Let us know in the comments below. 'Songland' Season 2 airs every Monday night on NBC. Check your local listings for more information.