Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana (transl.Nobody Knows What Will Happen Tomorrow, stylized in all lowercase letters) is the fifth solo studio album (sixth overall) by Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny. It was released on October 13, 2023,[1] through Rimas, following the release of his previous record Un Verano Sin Ti (2022). It contains guest appearances from Arcángel, Bryant Myers, De la Ghetto, Eladio Carrión, Feid, Ñengo Flow, Young Miko, and others. To promote the album, Bad Bunny embarked on the Most Wanted Tour in 2024.
Background and singles
His fourth studio album Un Verano Sin Ti was released on May 6, 2022, and went on to top the US Billboard 200 for 13 non-consecutive weeks, becoming his most successful album to date.[2] Additionally, it was widely regarded as one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2022 by the end of the year.[3] In December 2022, he announced that he would take an extended break throughout 2023 which eventually resulted in a five-month long social media break.[4] During this break, Martínez remained active by headlining his Coachella 2023 set and releasing a collaboration with Grupo Frontera titled "Un x100to".[5]
He returned to social media on May 15, 2023, and announced the lead single "Where She Goes" only three days later.[6] The track blends "elements of dembow and Jersey club" and proved another commercial success for the singer, reaching the top-ten in ten countries.[7] The second single and "possible last song" of 2023 "Un Preview" was released on September 26, and poses a "small preview of what is coming" in 2024, according to the musician himself.[8]
A first allusion to the album title was made at the end of the music video of "Where She Goes" with a billboard displaying the phrase "Nadie sabe...".[9] In early October, similar billboards reading "Nadie sabe si será este año o el próximo" ("No one knows if it will be this year or next") by Spotify appeared in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina.[10] The shortened title would then occupy his biography section on Twitter on October 8. In addition, the musician would wipe his Instagram account and post a tracklist of 22 songs, each described as "fuego".[5] In an interview for the October 2023 issue of Vanity Fair, it was revealed that the album would be released in fall 2023. Fluctuating between Los Angeles and Puerto Rico, he has been "experimenting with a new musical mood", citing music of the 1970s across genres "in both Spanish and English" as his main influences. The artist also promised the next album, set to be his most personal yet, to not sound like its predecessor, as he is "always going to look for a way to do something new".[11] On October 9, Martínez shared an album trailer and announced the full album title along with its release date.[12]
On review aggregator Metacritic, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar received a score of 82 out of 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Lucas Villa of NME called the album "a sonically diverse odyssey" and wrote that Bad Bunny "returns to his Latin trap roots while exploring genres like Jersey club, drill, and house music", although felt that "the trap on an album this long does get monotonous, but he shines brightest when he goes off the beaten path".[17] Isabella Herrera of Pitchfork felt that the material on Nadie Sabe is "just as horny and cavalier" as Bad Bunny's best work and "functions like a rap homecoming", finding it "bloated but thematically focused, centered on some of Benito's favorite topics: fucking, counting racks, his love of Puerto Rico".[18]
Thania Garcia of Variety wrote that the first half of the record "is much more theatrical and pensive" compared to the handful, which described as a "flaring trap bangers that shape up its ending". Garcia also pointed out that the rapper reflections in the lyrics sometimes become "juvenile" and that "he addresses pretty much every headline about him".[19]
Suzy Exposito of Los Angeles Times noticed that the rapper "has been hunkered down on the defensive too long" from the world, and that "the cold, brutalist tower he's built in Nadie Sabe stands in contrast to the wellspring of rich, modern-day Puerto Rican storytelling" of the previous works.[20]
Commercial performance
Bad Bunny claimed his third No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Oct. 28), as Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana earned 184,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending October 19, according to Luminate. Almost all of the album's opening week was driven by streaming activity of its songs with all 21 eligible songs charting on the Billboard Hot 100.[21]
"Fina" interpolates "Pa' Que Retozen", as written and performed by Tego Calderón.
"Vou 787" contains samples of "Vogue", as written and performed by Madonna.
"No Me Quiero Casar" contains samples of "Hey Girl", as written and performed by Frankie Boy, and "Al Natural" (remix), as written and performed by Tego Calderón and Yandel.
"Acho PR" contains samples of "Chévere", as written and performed by Voltio and Notch.
Charts
Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana
