I chose this song because it represents my two different identities (Ecuadorian and American). While a part of me does feel like certain mash ups (like Despacito) are in a sense cultural appropriation, I appreciate this as Usher and Romeo Santos stay in their respective specialties (R&B and Bachata), and it is a combination of who they are, yet there is an embracing of one another’s differences. Something I hope all multicultural people can one day do with their multiple identities. 

As a person that grew up dancing to Latin music, I appreciate the emphasis that it placed on bachata that keeps it a song that is meant to be danced to. I enjoy how the melody and beat has a mixture of bachata  and R+B elements to it. I feel that it makes it more accessible to a wider audience (R+B and Bachata lovers). I also appreciate that when Usher sings, there are subtle changes in his vocalizations that keep complements who he is his as a R&B artist (like the whispering, change in vocalization, and the Usher, baby). 

Terms used:

Bachata: is a genre of Latin American music that originated in the Dominican Republic in the first half of the 20th century with primarily Spanish influences and also remnants of indigenous and African musical elements, representative of the cultural diversity of the Dominican Republic population. Wikipedia

R&B: Also known as rhythm and blues is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when “urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat” was becoming more popular. In the commercial rhythm and blues music typical of the 1950s through the 1970s, the bands usually consisted of piano, one or two guitars, bass, drums, one or more saxophones, and sometimes background vocalists. R&B lyrical themes often encapsulate the African-American experience of pain and the quest for freedom and joy, as well as triumphs and failures in terms of relationships, economics, and aspirations. Wikipedia

Vocalization: This term specifically refers to the singing of vocalises. It can also take on a more general meaning of singing to vowel sounds or humming ( singing with closed lips). As with the vocalise, vocalization is most often done as an exercise for the voice, however, there are solo and choral compositions that employ vocalization. Occasionally, the melismas of Gregorian chant or the coloratura of 18th-century opera are referred to as vocalization, but this is not accurate. Melisma and coloratura are very different in both purpose and sound. A similar technique is also used in jazz music and is known as Vocalese.See also Vocalise; Vocalese. Free Music Dictionary 

Melody:A tune; a succession of tones comprised of mode, rhythm, and pitches so arranged as to achieve musical shape, being perceived as a unity by the mind. In a piece of music where there is more than one voice, or where harmony is present, the melody is the dominant tune of the composition. An arrangement of single tones in a meaningful sequence An organized succession of pitches. the horizontal dimension of music, referring to the organization of pitches (and in later centuries, particular rhythms) into a line. a succession of notes of varying pitch, which form a recognizable musical shape<br><br>A parade of notes, one following the other meaningfully.<br><br>An organized succession of pitches. Free Music Dictionary 

Beat: The regular pulse of music which may be dictated by the rise or fall of the hand or baton of the conductor, by a metronome, or by the accents in music. See conducting patterns.A throbbing that is heard when two tones are slightly out of tune. The English term for mordent, an embellishment consisting of the principal note and the note below it, resembling a short trill.The steady pulse of music. Beats form the basis of sense of musical time.(1) the pronounced rhythm of music; (2) one single stroke of a rhythmic accent.The beat or pulse in a piece of music is the regular rhythmic pattern of the music. Each bar should start with a strong beat and each bar should end with a weak beat. These may be known as the down-beat (strong, at the beginning of a bar) and the up-beat (weak, at the end of a bar). Up and down describe the gestures of a conductor, whose preparatory up-beat is of even greater importance to players than his down-beat.<br><br>The steady pulse of music. Beats form the basis of sense of musical time<br><br> 1) The steady even pulse in music. 2) The action of two sounds or audio signals mixing together and causing regular rises &.falls in volume. Free Music Dictionary