Marina’s ‘Baby’ Collab With Clean Bandit and Luis Fonsi Could Be the Breakout She Deserves
English dance-pop trio Clean Bandit have become a hit-making machine over the past few years. They continue that trajectory with a new major collab, "Baby," featuring Marina (formerly Marina and the Diamonds) and Luis Fonsi.
Marina handles the bulk of the vocals, bringing to life the song's wistful lyrics about long-lost love. Fonsi's verse in Spanish is the perfect addition to the Latin-tinged track, which was released alongside a video today (November 2) after being first announced on social media at the start of the week.
Bonus: Australian singer Starley also stars in the video, playing the old flame that Clean Bandit member Grace Chatto just can't get over, despite standing at the altar with Luis Fonsi. Drama!
Watch, below:
"Baby" is Clean Bandit's latest single off their upcoming sophomore album (their first in nearly four years), What Is Love?, out November 30. The group's recent hits—"Rockabye" with Sean Paul and Anne-Marie, "Symphony" with Zara Larsson and the summer jam "Solo" with Demi Lovato—will also be on the new album.
Meanwhile, this isn't the first time Clean Bandit have teamed up with Marina. Last year, they released "Disconnect" featuring the Welsh singer-songwriter, a song they first performed in 2015 at Coachella. But "Baby" might be the thing Marina fans have been waiting for: The song that could finally see her break into the mainstream pop world, particularly on U.S. radio, in a way we've dreamed about for years.
Don't get it twisted: Marina's been releasing solid music and videos for nearly a decade, with an extremely loyal fanbase to show for it. While she's had a few minor hits in the U.K., in the U.S. she's been seriously slept on, especially at radio—despite making some aggressive bids with surefire hitmakers like Dr. Luke ("Primadonna Girl"), StarGate ("Radioactive") and Benny Blanco ("How to Be a Heartbreaker").
With the right exposure and push, we think "Baby" could be, and should be, a turning point in Marina's career, considering the song's trendy Latin-electro sound and top-of-their-game collaborators.
What do you think of "Baby"? Do you agree that it could see Marina reaching a new level?