One year ago, on November 2, 2018, the British electronic music band Clean Bandit released their single, ‘Baby’, featuring Marina (previously known as Marina and the Diamonds) and Luis Fonsi. The song is a mix of various styles that results in a latin pop-house banger: it combines the electronic sound in charge of the trio Clean Bandit, Fonsi’s latin-rhythm, and the operistic voice of Marina.
‘Baby’ talks about Marina’s sensation of sadness and nostalgia, who still has feelings for her ex, but admits at the same time that it’s an impossible love because she is ‘already someone else’s’. Simultaneously, Luis Fonsi (in the background vocals, singing in Spanish), tries to convince her that what she’s feeling for him is not love (eso no es amor), repeating constantly along the song that she deserves better (mereces mejor), and declaring her his intentions (quiero tu calor).
The song is talking about the very weird, intriguing feelings involving such an odd situation; The bitterness of surviving the marriage of someone you hadn’t let go of completely, and the helplessness in face of this finality, all wrapped up in a sense of injustice and cruelty. There’s a duality in the song, between the rhythm suggesting an upbeat, happier tone, and the tale of the lyrics, sad and melancholic, yet liberating.
Genius.
In the video, directed and edited by the bandits, the story changes a little bit: Grace Chatto takes the main role and, while she’s getting married in a church with Fonsi, the romance of her adolescence (the guest starring Starley) observes the ceremony from the distance. Then, Chatto starts to remember her and the adolescent relationship they maintained at a summer camp, surely regretting, at the same time, her current situation (gave my heart to another lover, don’t know how I ever let you go).
The track, which peaked the 15th position in the Official Charts, is included in Clean Bandit’s second studio album ‘What Is Love?’, and in Marina’s fourth studio album ‘Love + Fear’. However, the song wasn’t as successful as their previous singles such as Solo (featuring Demi Lovato) or Symphony (featuring Zara Larsson). We can point one main reason for that: the song was dropped in November rather than the summer, and we think that a latin-pop record fits better in this period of the year (summer) because of the vibes which always transmits this sort of genre.
Finally, we encourage you to listen to the acoustic version of the song, also worth a listen and way more intimate than the original. Hope you’ll like it!