"Tusa" is a song by Colombian reggaeton singer
Karol G
Carolina Giraldo Navarro (born 14 February 1991), known professionally as Karol G (stylized in all caps), is a Colombians, Colombian singer and songwriter. She is predominantly described as a reggaeton and Latin trap artist, but has experimente ...
and Trinidadian-American rapper
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...
. The song was released on November 7, 2019 by
Republic Records
Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...
,
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
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
, as the lead single from her third studio album ''
KG0516
''KG0516'' is the third studio album by Colombian singer Karol G, released on March 25, 2021, by Universal Music Latin Entertainment. Consisting of sixteen tracks, the album was preceded by the commercially successful and Latin Grammy-nominated s ...
''.
The song was written by Karol G, Minaj, Keityn, and Ovy on the Drums, and was produced by the latter.
"Tusa" peaked at number 42 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also became the first song by two lead female artists to debut at number one on the US
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 ...
chart. As well, the song debuted at number 56 on the
''Rolling Stone'' Top 100, later peaking at number 41. The song peaked at number one in various Spanish-speaking countries and is the longest-running number-one single on the
Argentina Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Argentina Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in Argentina for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' and ''Billboard Argentina'' magazines. It ranks the most popular songs in Argentina and i ...
, having spent 25 weeks at number one on the chart.
"Tusa" was nominated for two
Latin Grammy Award
The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...
s in the categories
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
and
Song of the Year. The song was certified in multiple countries, going onto become the highest certified song in Mexico by
AMPROFON and the 9th highest certified song by the
Latin RIAA, according to the database.
Background
"Tusa" is the first collaboration between Karol G and Minaj. On 6 November 2019, Karol G shared the artwork for the single on her social media, as well as snippets of the official music video. In an interview with ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', she told them how the collaboration came about:
"Tusa" is Colombian slang for the mixture of heartache and desire for revenge felt by a person when their partner breaks up with them.
While at a
Pollstar
''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017.
History and profile
Founded in 1981 in Fre ...
conference Minaj spoke on her part on Tusa. Minaj said "She had sent me another song, and she really loved it, and I tried to write to it but I couldn't, and instead of brushing her off, finally was like 'You know what, I love you, but I don't like this song. Could you send me something else?' And she sent me Tusa."
Composition
"Tusa" is a
reggaeton
Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico.
It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop m ...
song that is three minutes and 20 seconds in length.
It was written by the two artists alongside Keityn and Ovy on the Drums, with production being handled by the latter.
Lyrically, Karol G's verses tell the story of a woman who struggles to forget her former boyfriend, while Minaj's rap tells the man that the woman has moved on with her life.
Commercial performance
In the United States, "Tusa" debuted at number one on 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 ...
, becoming the first song by two lead female artists to debut atop the chart, and also the first song by a female act in a lead role to chart at number one since 2016, when
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...
's "
Chantaje
"Chantaje" (; English: "Blackmail") is a song by Colombian singer Shakira, featuring vocals by fellow Colombian singer Maluma. The song was released as a single to anticipate Shakira's eleventh studio album ''El Dorado'' (2017) on 28 October 20 ...
" featuring
Maluma
Juan Luis Londoño Arias (born 28 January 1994), known professionally as Maluma, is a Colombian singer, songwriter, and actor.
Born and raised in Medellín, he developed an interest in music at a young age, recording songs since age sixteen. ...
reached the top. It became Minaj's sixth entry on the Hot Latin Songs chart, and her second top 10, following 2017's "
Krippy Kush
"Krippy Kush" is a song by Puerto Rican rappers Farruko and Bad Bunny featuring Jamaican producer Rvssian. It was released by Sony Music Latin on August 3, 2017. The song was written by the two rappers, Rvssian, Franklin Martínez and Thomas Rich ...
" remix with Farruko,
Bad Bunny
Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (born March 10, 1994), known professionally as Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. His musical style is defined as Latin trap and reggaeton. He rose to prominence in 2016 with his song "Diles", wh ...
,
21 Savage
Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is a rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Born in London, he moved to Atlanta with his mother at age seven. He became known after releasing two m ...
and Rvssian.
On the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, the song debuted at number 78, and later peaked at number 42. "Tusa" also debuted at 56 and later peaked at number 41 on the ''Rolling Stone'' US Top 100 Songs chart on the week ending 30 January 2020, with 67,200 sales plus track-equivalent streams.
The song peaked at number one in numerous other countries. The song is the longest-running number one single on the
Argentina Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Argentina Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in Argentina for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' and ''Billboard Argentina'' magazines. It ranks the most popular songs in Argentina and i ...
, spending 25 weeks on the top of the chart.
In 2021, the single became the second-highest certified song in Mexico (
AMPROFON) after "
Con Calma
"Con Calma" (English: "Calmly") is a song by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee featuring Canadian rapper Snow. The single was released on January 24, 2019, by El Cartel Records alongside a music video directed by Marlon Peña and filmed in Los A ...
", and the second-highest certified song by a female collaboration by the Latin division of the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA), after "
Mayores
"Mayores" () is a song by American singer Becky G and Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny. Written by Mario Caceres, Servando Primera, Saul Castillo, Bad Bunny, and Patrick Ingunza, it was released by Kemosabe, RCA and Sony Music Latin as the lead si ...
".
The song became the longest running number one single on the Argentina Hot 100, spending 25 consecutive weeks atop the charts.
The song passed one billion streams on
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
.
Music video
An official music video for "Tusa" was released through Karol G'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 on 7 November 2019. It was filmed in Los Angeles and directed by American music video director Mike Ho.
As of March 6th 2022 the music video has been viewed over 1.3 billion times on streaming platform
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 ...
.
Live performances
On 8 December 2019, Karol G premiered "Tusa" at Pixel 4's Motion Sense Concert Series. Karol G performed the song on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...
'' on 10 January 2020.
Awards and nominations
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
*
List of ''Billboard'' number-one Latin songs of 2020
*
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets.
References
{{Nicki Minaj songs
2019 songs
2019 singles
Argentina Hot 100 number-one singles
Karol G songs
Nicki Minaj songs
Number-one singles in Spain
Spanish-language songs
Songs written by Karol G
Songs written by Nicki Minaj
Song recordings produced by Ovy on the Drums
Songs about heartache