While the pandemic stalled the careers of many upcoming artists, it may have worked to Nicki Nicole's advantage. Signed to Sony Music Latin after her 2019 breakthrough with "Wapo Traketero," Nicole and the label seemed to have spent most of 2020 carefully designing her path to international stardom via the usual stream of solo singles and collaborations with urbano artists from different markets, a promotional campaign that included appearances on The Tonight Show and NPR's Tiny Desk (in both instances a first for an Argentine artist), and culminating with the release of Parte de Mí, her sophomore album but her first for a multinational. Judging by the numbers alone -- 350 million streams and counting -- the campaign was a resounding success. Artistically, however, the verdict is still out. Parte de Mí makes a deliberate effort to showcase Nicole against many different settings, from dance-oriented to more confessional material, in a seamless mix of R&B, trap, dub, reggaeton, and more, with the overall mid-tempo flow of the album spruced with instances of both aggressive rapping and vulnerable balladry. It also, of course, includes featurings, by Puerto Rico's Rauw Alejandro and Mora, Spain's Delaossa and Ptazeta, the U.S.'s Snow Tha Product, Chile's Mon Laferte, and Argentina's Dread Mar I, Tiago PZK, Bizarrap, and Trueno. The productions are uniformly sharp, and Nicole's vocal stylings work pretty much the same in any sonic context. By the same token, the end result is a bit faceless. Contrary to other artists to whom she may aspire to be compared, such as Billie Eilish or Rosalía, for all of her attitude and star charisma, Nicole has yet to develop a distinctive or even local identity. Lyrics, almost all of them about failed relationships, are thankfully devoid of gratuitous vulgarity but surprisingly inconsequential for a freestyler. And while the conscious choice -- shared by most South American or even Spanish urbano artists -- of adopting the accent and language of a person born in Puerto Rico or Miami may help Nicole fit seamlessly into the worldwide Latin scene, it also denies her of cultural specificity, and after a while, it can become grating to many a native Spanish speaker, too. Listening to Parte de Mí, it is hard not to notice a greater potential being restrained by formulas and mannerisms. Nicole has a captivating voice and she can actually sing, but instead of trying to make the most of it, the mandatory extreme vocal processing transforms her higher register into thin synthesizer lines, rendering the lyrics unintelligible in the process. Highlights such as the undeniably catchy viral hit "Colocao", the fully developed choruses of tracks like "Baby", and especially the amalgam of South American rhythms in the acoustic-flavored "Perdido" (not a single but easily the best song here), hint at a real talent. But whether it will become a unique talent is something to be seen. ~ Mariano Prunes, Rovi

1		Parte de mí
2		Darling
3		Sabe
4		Si vos me lo pedís
5		Pensamos
6		Verte
7		Ll (interludio)
8		Colocao
9		Toa la vida
10		Perdido
11		Dangerous
12		Baby
13		Me has dejado
14		Mala vida
15		Tengo to
16		Dame

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