is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Spanish singer-songwriter Bad Gyal. It was released on 26 January 2024 through

Universal Music Latino Universal Music Latin Entertainment, a division of Universal Music Group, is a record company specialized in producing and distributing Latin music in Mexico, the United States, and Puerto Rico. UMLE includes famous Latin music labels such as Uni ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. The album was produced by a wide array of producers such as Merca Bae, Caleb Calloway,

Nely "el Arma Secreta" Josias de la Cruz (born March 19, 1987), professionally known as Nely "El Arma Secreta", is a Puerto Rican reggaeton producer, introduced in the genre by Luny Tunes. Biography Nely was born and raised in Puerto Rico. His parents are from the Do ...

Scott Storch Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. He started off as a keyboardist for the group the Roots. Early life Storch was born on Long Island, New York. He was raised in South Florida and Phila ...

, el Guincho, Mag, Jasper Harris, Nuviala, Fakeguido, Taiko, and

Sky Rompiendo Alejandro Ramírez Suárez (born May 23, 1992), better known as Sky Rompiendo, Sky Rompiendo el Bajo or just Sky is a Colombian producer, songwriter and DJ. He gained recognition working with reggaeton artists like Anitta, J Balvin, Ozuna, Maluma ...

, among others. It features collaborations with Myke Towers, Anitta, Tommy Lee Sparta,

Ñengo Flow Edwin Rosa Vázquez Ortiz (born October 15, 1981), known professionally as Ñengo Flow, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. He was born in the Río Piedras district of San Juan and grew up in Bayamón where he started in the music business. ...

Tokischa Tokischa Altagracia Peralta Juárez (born 17 March 1996) known mononymously as Tokischa, is a Dominican rapper, songwriter and sexual content creator. After working for the renowned photographer Raymi Paulus, she was offered to enter the musi ...

, Young Miko, Morad, and Quevedo. After releasing several

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

s and

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s (EPs), ''La joia'' is Bad Gyal's fifth release overall. It is supported by eight singles: "Sexy", "Sin carné", " Real G", " Chulo pt. 2", "Mi lova", "Give Me", "Bota niña", and "Perdió este culo"; all of them were released between July 2022 and January 2024. The album peaked at number one in Spain, being her highest charting album in the country.

Background

Prior to ''La joia'', Bad Gyal released the three-song EP '' Sound System: The Final Releases'' on 9 December 2021. In early 2022, she travelled to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

to work with different producers for what would become her debut album. She recorded with producers she had worked in previous singles such as

(" Zorra" and "Slim Thick"),

Supa Dups Dwayne Chin-Quee, better known as Supa Dups, is a Jamaican record producer, a drummer, and selector based in Miami, Florida. He is a member of the Black Chiney sound system. His father is a second generation Chinese Jamaican, and his mother ...

("Nueva York (tot*)"), and

("Judas"). In February 2023, she gave concerts in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

at the

Palau Sant Jordi Palau Sant Jordi (, en, St. George's Palace) is an indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, it was ...

and the WiZink Center, respectively. During said concerts, she revealed the name of the album as a "gift for the fans" and shared a potential tracklist, which included possible collaborations with Argentine singer Nicki Nicole and Puerto Rican rapper

, these collaborations ended up being the non-album single "Enamórate" with the former and the album track "Bad Boy" with the latter. In an interview with '' V'', she commented that "what my fans can expect this year is my debut album that will have songs that'll make them move. It'll have a lot of different genres, and it'll be a mix of styles and experiments hatI always like to do." In November 2023, the album was announced to be released on January of the following year through a teaser video uploaded to Bad Gyal's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel. Later in the year, on 13 December, she announced via her

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account, the album's official release date, tracklist, cover, and featured artists.

Promotion

On 22 May 2022, Bad Gyal embarked on a tour titled La Joia Tour, which started with a concert at the Auditori Atrium in Viladecans, Spain. The tour included concerts in several cities in Spain and the United States, as well as different countries of Latin America such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico, as a part of the Primavera Sound music festival. At the Latin American Music Awards of 2023, celebrated on 20 April 2023 in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, she performed " Chulo", making her first musical appearance at an international awards show. Through 2023, she continued performing concerts, later announcing several concerts through Spain, the United States, and Latin America, as a part of La Joia 24 Karats Tour, a continuation of her previous tour.

Singles

The single "Sexy" was released on 14 July 2022. It was followed by "Sin carné", released on 6 October 2022. Both songs entered the songs chart in Spain peaking at numbers 62 and 35, respectively. "Sin carné" was certified gold in Spain. A music video for this song was directed by Manson, who had previously directed the videos for "Candela", " Zorra", and " Aprendiendo el sexo"; and produced by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. " Real G", a collaboration with rapper Quevedo, was first teased during a concert in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

and released on 2 December 2022. It peaked at number 12 in Spain and was certified platinum in the country. The music video for the song was directed by Javier Peralvo and produced by Belledenuit. On 10 February 2023, "Chulo" was released. It peaked at number 16 in Spain, and was certified 3× platinum in that country. A remix for the song, titled " Chulo pt. 2", was released on 21 June 2023 featuring rappers

and Young Miko. Its music video was directed by Artasans and features the three artists in a limousine "having a wild girls' night out" in

. The remix was commercially successful in both the United States and Latin America. It peaked within the top ten in several countries, including Chile, Peru, and Nicaragua. It also peaked at number 33 and 89 at the

Hot Latin Songs The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, rad ...

and Global 200 charts, respectively, being her highest-charting single in both charts since "Karmika", a collaboration with Karol G and

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

. Additionally, the remix was certified platinum in the United States and gold in Mexico, being Bad Gyal's first single to be certified in any of the two countries. "Mi lova", a collaboration with rapper Myke Towers, was released on 7 July 2023. The single peaked at number 21 in Spain and was certified platinum in the country. "Give Me" was released on 15 December 2023 and peaked at number 49 in Spain. "Bota niña", a collaboration with singer Anitta, was released on 12 January 2024 and peaked at number 86 in Spain. The last single of the album, "Perdió este culo", was released along with the album on 26 January 2024. A music video was released for the song, directed by Félix Bollaín and starring Spanish actor Martiño Rivas. "Perdió este culo" peaked at number 15 in Spain.

Critical reception

Writing for '' Jenesaispop'', Jordi Bardaji gave ''La joia'' four out of five stars, listing "Perdió este culo", "Mi lova", "Give Me", and " Chulo pt. 2" as highlights. He wrote that in the album, Bad Gyal "stays absolutely true to herself, little by little tightening the nuts, taking a step forward without anyone noticing." In a review for ''

Mondo Sonoro ''Mondo Sonoro'', sometimes shortened to ''la Mondo'', is a Spanish magazine established in 1994 which focuses on current alternative, popular and indie music, as well as national emerging bands. Co-founded by Sergio Marqués and Jose Macarro in Ba ...

'', Pablo Tocino gave the album a score of six out of ten and described it as "concoction with better packaging than content, and with some moments of brilliance that in the end make it worth diving into many generic moments" and stated that it is a "good summary of her career in recent years." In a mixed review, Kitty Empire from ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' gave the album three out of five stars, calling it "one frisky Latin banger after another". In a negative review for ''

La Vanguardia ' (; , Spanish for "The Vanguard") is a Spanish daily newspaper, founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan (Spanish copy is automatically translated into Catalan). It has its headquarters in Barcelona and i ...

'', Esteban Linés gave the album two out of five stars and described it as "linear and repetitive", stating that Bad Gyal's proposal "swings between different sensory inputs, starting with the visual, then the textual and with the strictly musical input not always in a preeminent place."

Commercial performance

''La joia'' debuted at number two at the Spanish Albums chart, being her highest charting album in the list, surpassing the 2021 EP ''

Warm Up 'Warming up' is a part of stretching and preparation for physical exertion or a performance by exercising or practicing gently beforehand, usually undertaken before a performance or practice. Athletes, singers, actors and others warm up before s ...

'', which peaked at number five. Upon the release of the album, five tracks entered the Spain Song Chart: "Perdió este culo" at 15, "Bad Boy" at 51, "Skit" at 66, "Así soy" at 78, and "La que no se mueva" at 90. After three weeks at number two and one at number three at the Spanish Albums chart, the album finally achieved the top position in its fifth week, being Bad Gyal's first number one album in her home country. The album was also certified gold in the United States.

Track listing

Notes * signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Vocals

* Bad Gyal – vocals (all tracks) * Myke Towers – vocals (track 2) * Anitta – vocals (track 4) * Tommy Lee Sparta – vocals (track 5) *

– vocals (tracks 8, 9) *

– vocals (track 10) * Young Miko – vocals (track 10) * Morad – vocals (track 11) * Quevedo – vocals (track 14)

Technical

* Earcandy – mixing (tracks 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 13) * Mike Fuller – mastering (tracks 1, 3, 4, 9, 13) * Mag – mixing (tracks 5, 6) *

Colin Leonard Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

– mastering (tracks 5, 6, 10) *

Jaycen Joshua Jaycen Joshua is a mix engineer and music producer who owns the revered Canton House Studios in Studio City, California. Joshua started his mix career in 2005 when he became partners with his mentor Dave Pensado and formed The Penua Project. Joshu ...

– mixing, mastering (tracks 7, 11, 12) * El Guincho – recording (track 7) * Brian Hernández – mixing, mastering (track 14) * Jorge Alamo – recording (track 14) * Xavier Martínez –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

(track 14) * Alejandro Adrián Silva Mateos – engineering (track 14) * Sergio Vicente – mixing assistance (track 14) * Esteban Higuita Estrada – mixing, mastering (track 15)

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joia, La 2024 debut albums Albums produced by el Guincho Albums produced by Nely Albums produced by Sky Rompiendo Albums produced by Scott Storch Bad Gyal albums Interscope Records albums 2020s Spanish-language albums Universal Music Latino albums