During the middle of our big year-end round-up, Julieta Venegas dropped the video for “Tuve Para Dar,” the lead single from Los Momentos, her upcoming seventh(!) studio album. Well, we obviously had bigger things going on, like making sure you remembered that “Baby Tropical” is a powerhouse. Reaction to “Tuve Para Dar” was a bit muted, at least as far as the song was concerned (the video, on the other hand, is pretty memorable), hence the rush-release of “Te Vi,” a brighter, more conventional addition to the Venegas oeuvre.
And this one definitely delivers more than the constrained comeback single. “Te Vi,” like the best Venegas radio pop songs, delivers a saccharine melody backed by lyrics with enough pathos to fill a P.T. Anderson film. Here we have, ostensibly, yet another ode to the “friend zone,” but without all the whining or self-victimization that goes for most rejection-pop. “Te Vi” is about real people surprised, yet aware, that their feelings aren’t reciprocated and acknowledging the deep cut but not dwelling on it. Harsh, indeed—but, thankfully, the song is hummable.