Why Are All the Girls Crying in the Club?

It seems the girls can’t stop crying in the club in 2026. In the past few months, Karol G, Becky G, and Tokisicha have all released major albums, cementing their roles as powerful forces in Latin pop music. Tokischa finally shared her long-awaited debut, Amor & Droga; Karol surprised fans with No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto; and Becky G dropped her most unapologetic LP yet, Baraja Bendita. Though each release has its own focus and blend of genres, there’s one element they all share: a sad perreo song filled with dancefloor introspection.

Karol G, Becky G, and Tokisicha have used reggaeton rhythms to power some of their biggest releases to date, including club-ready perreo tracks with frenetic snares that you can’t help but move to. But with songs like “Perreo Llorando,” “Bebiendo Lágrimas,” and “Perreo Triste,” all three of them are taking a sound more typically associated with partying and pairing it with melancholy emotions instead. For these three, living it up can also mean dancing through the pain.

“The reason I decided to put the record out is simply so that people let themselves feel,” Karol told Rolling Stone recently. “Living is about feeling — feeling things, feeling every moment, and feeling it to the fullest.” Becky G and Tokischa are clearly inspired by a similar school of thought. Below, we break down each tear-filled track below and explore how some of Latin music’s biggest stars display the compelling duality of sad perreo.

Tokischa, “Perreando Llorando”

Tokischa pulls no punches on Amor & Droga as she showcases all of her dark thoughts. “You guys think I’m just a horny bitch? I have a lot of feelings,” the Dominican musician told Rolling Stone back in April. That’s apparent on “Perreo Llorando,” which translates, more or less, to “Crying While Twerking.” Tokischa tries to hide her heartbreak while out partying without much luck: “Tú me ve perreando, por dentro toy sufriendo/Moviendo el culo y llorando por dentro” (“You see me dancing, but inside I’m suffering/Shaking my ass and crying inside”), she sings atop a sexy, insistent beat crafted by Puerto Rican producer Súbelo Neo. “I like raw reggaeton. I want to feel that drum hit. I want to feel the bass,” Tokischa said. “I made this when I first came to Miami in 2021 and I saw how everything was sad … rich people with all the money in the world, all the Gucci, and everything is still sad.” Rather than run from that sadness, she leaned into it.

Karol G, “Bebiendo Lágrimas”

On No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto, Karol G traces all of the messy phases of heartbreak. By the time the Colombian superstar gets to the third track, “Bebiendo Lágrimas,” which translates to “Drinking Tears,” she’s sorely disillusioned by love, writing it off entirely as she drinks to forget her ex. The result is a sassy cut that expertly weaves in sorrowful lines like “Porque hoy hasta las lágrimas me vo’a tomar para olvidar” (“Because today I’m even going to drink tears to forget”) over thumping bass with the help of her trusty producer, Ovy on the Drums. “The message of that song is, ‘I’ve reached my limit in matters of love. I’m burying it, and at least for now, I’m going to enjoy my peace, myself, being alone, enjoying who I am — my career, my friends,” Karol told RS. She also revealed that it was one of the first tracks she wrote for the album, which makes sense considering it’s not the only sad perreo track to appear on No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto: “Maybe” and “Con Quién Andará?” also pair lovelorn lyrics with classic reggaeton beats.

Becky G, “Perreo Triste”

“I made a decision to be the most vulnerable I had ever been in my music,” Becky G recently told Rolling Stone. “It was almost like I hit a hidden artery or a vein, and it just bled such rawness.” That emotional depth is all over her latest effort, Baraja Bendita, especially on “Perreo Triste,” which translates to “Sad Twerking.” The Mexican singer paints the picture of dancing with someone new to get over an ex but just like with Tokischa and Karol, the sadness envelops her. “Toy borracha y no me deja de doler/Me duele, pero me hago la que no contra la pared” (“I’m drunk and it won’t stop hurting/It hurts me but I act like it doesn’t against this wall”), Becky sings over a rousing reggaeton beat. It’s like an inverse version of Robyn’s “Dancing on My Own,” but make it perreo.