“You have to follow what you have in your mind,” Manuel Turizo tells Apple Music. “When I go to the studio, I’m not thinking to do the second version of ‘La Nota’ or the second version of ‘La Bachata’.” Indeed, the Colombian pop star didn’t seek to exploit the massive success of that latter hit by simply replicating it. Instead, as his third studio album, 2000, reveals, he saw it as an opportunity to further expand beyond his preceding musical boundaries. Thus, in addition to the thunderous yet catchy and romantic reggaetón he first burst onto the scene with, he introduces more genre flavours into the mix. From the R&B contemplations of “Vacío” to the clubwise pop-house of “De 100 a 0”, he strives to challenge any preconceived notions about the kind of artist he truly is. “You have to take this as a game,” he says. “You reached the next level—OK, what else? That’s how I live music.” Read more about some of Manuel Turizo’s favourite songs from his album 2000 below. “El Merengue” (feat. Marshmello) “That was influenced by the Latin music that I grew up with—you don’t remember, but it’s something that is inside you already when you’re alive. I wanted to continue to influence my audience, or maybe the people who are only starting listening to my music, about where I come from, my roots. If you have Marshmello on the song, it’s not going to be a classic merengue—not traditional. It has the percussion, yes. It has the time, the tempo. But I was trying to make something different, to put another sauce in it.” “Jamaica” (feat. Beéle) “Beéle is from the coast of Colombia, too—not from the same town, but it’s very close. We have the same vibe; he’s my brother. We have done four or five songs together. ‘Jamaica’ is the second one to be released. It’s a very tropical sound. It’s not Afrobeats at all but has that style, that influence.” “Verte de Nuevo” “That song I started in my house; I was in the living room. I didn’t have a beat or a rhythm or anything. I just started to think about things to say and the story. It has the dembow of reggaetón, but I wanted to try to change it a little bit, to make it a little bit different. Not the classic one from Puerto Rico; I have too much respect for Puerto Rican reggaetón. The lyric is very sentimental, too. I’m saying that, since the last time, I don’t know anything about you, and I want to see you again.” “La Bachata” “It’s always a surprise when you have a song that becomes a hit. You feel something, of course, when you are creating or when you’re in the studio recording, but, in reality, you love everything that you release. If I decide to release something, I just love that song. I vibe with it; I want to give it to my people. And the people decide. Every artist has songs that are not huge songs, but anyways you love them, and you like them. So, every time it surprises you.” “Vacío” “It’s the super-personal story about Manuel. That song came out one day talking with some friends that work in music and with my brother Julian. We are blessed with all the opportunities we have in the music industry; that is not easy. But when you work a lot to reach something, you start losing other things. You start losing time with people that you love. Sometimes it’s kind of hard to divide your life in the two worlds. So, when you stop for a moment, you see everything that has been happening.” “Éxtasis” (feat. Maria Becerra) “When we did that song, it was like just something special, like when you are in that hot moment with a girl. I’d imagined a girl that could sing it in a very sensual way, and Maria has it. It’s one of my favourite songs on the album. I feel the contrast, the two voices, with a man and a woman. It sounds amazing in a song with the different layers. It’s fire.” “Te Olvido” “I’m very into the lyrics of Wisin & Yandel. That was really the music that I liked to listen to when I was listening to reggaetón, things that make me feel something. I wanted the album to have that one, because it’s the most similar to what the people think Manuel Turizo is. I say that because people put you in a box very fast. And after that, I start showing the whole picture that is a mixture of many different things.” “De 100 a 0” “I’m very influenced by EDM-type music. That is not commonly done in Spanish. When I released it, I started thinking with my brother Julian, who did it with me, let’s give the opportunity to one of the people who follow my career. We started on TikTok: ‘Whoever of you that do the best version of “De Cien a Cero”, the people are going to decide, not me.’ And two guys from Venezuela killed the song. They really know how to complement the voice of the other one. When I saw that those were the guys that won, it was amazing. They really sing.”