Jennifer Lopez and Maluma Have Real Musical Chemistry on the ‘Marry Me’ Soundtrack
Marry Me is a fun, gaudy rom-com with a fun, gaudy soundtrack, successfully tapping the distinct musical styles of the film’s co-stars, Jennifer Lopez and Maluma, who perform together and solo throughout the LP. As Lopez put it to Billboard, “You can’t have a movie about two pop stars who are performing and not have a soundtrack.” And the Latin stars deliver with a 12-track LP filled with pop ballads, club-ready bangers, and a handful of reggaeton would-be hits.
Staying true to the movie’s nuptial theme, the soundtrack opens with an electric-guitar rendition of “Here Comes the Bride,” before delving into the title track, the earworm Maluma-J.Lo duet “Marry Me.” Like most of the songs on the album, the track is lyrically repetitive (“True love gotta ring, ring, ring/Church bells goin’ ring, ring, ring/You’re the queen, I’ll be the king, king, king”), but Lopez’s sugary vocals and the song’s cinematic production make it work. The ballad version of the song, on the other hand, falls flat.
In 2020, Lopez and Maluma’s sexy, all-Spanish single, “Pa’ Ti’,” gave fans the first taste of what the stars had to offer as a duo. That track is reprised here, capturing Lopez and Maluma’s onscreen chemistry perfectly and serving as one of the LP’s best moments. “Todo lo que tengo es pa’ ti, pa’ ti/Pase lo que pase estoy pa’ ti, pa’ ti,” they sing in the chorus. (In English: “Everything I have is for you, for you/Whatever happens, I’m for you, for you.”)
When singing solo, Maluma shines brightest on the slower “Segundo” and the more danceable cheater’s lament “Uno en Un Millón,” two reggaeton songs he co-wrote with his go-to producer Edgar Barrera shortly after he was cast for the film. Both tracks feel to be very much in the Colombian heartthrob’s wheelhouse.
Along with the piano-backed “On My Way,” which Lopez performed on several awards shows to promote the film, her best comes on “After Love Part 1,” the reggaeton-backed “Nobody’s Watching,” and the quintessential J.Lo track “Love of My Life.” “After Love” opens stripped down, with an acoustic guitar, before crescendoing into a club-ready banger. “I believe in love, even if it wasn’t meant for us,” she sings on the track. Despite its cheesy lyrics, meant to match the rom-com, “Love of My Life” showcases the singer’s powerhouse vocals, while the playful “Nobody’s Watching” seems made ready for radio.
Though lyrically shallow, and unsurprisingly so, the LP aids Marry Me’s storyline with its themes of longing, love-building, and deception. Maluma doesn’t take many risks, but he still delivers when he sticks to his known reggaeton tricks. For her part, Lopez owns the album’s ballads and bops — flashing her musical prowess and versatility at every turn.
