Invicto

On Invicto, his fifth studio recording, Puerto Rico's gifted vocalist Tito "El Bambino" El Patrón, ups his own ante by including an ambitious array of styles. When the album's first single "Dame la Ola," was released in May of 2012 (six months before the release of the album), its meld of an infectious pop-bomba melody and skittering dance music production met with success: it hit the top spot on Billboard's Latin Songs, Latin Airplay, and Latin Pop Songs charts. Invicto doesn't hedge its bets, it plays to ERL Bambino's strengths as a ballad singer, a salsero, a pop singer, and a man who knows how to handle traditional styles to boot. Other stand-out tracks here include opener "¿Por Qué Les Mientes?" (with an impressive production technique that melds strings, horns, and organic percussion with electric basslines and synths), the salsa version of "Dame Lo Ola," (there are three), and the slick reggaeton of "El No Te Lo Hace Como Yo." Invicto reveals not only growth for El Bambino, but confidence that comes with mastery. [A digital version added bonus tracks.]