Listening to DJ Khalid in 2022 — Pure Bachata Classics, No Surprises, No Exceptions

What does a world-famous DJ like Khalid actually play? The pure essence of bachata classics, without a single exception.

What does the world-famous DJ Khalid play? Every bachata music nerd wants to know.

The verdict: I'd call it "the pure essence of bachata classics" — no surprises, no exceptions allowed. The Sunday (19th) LaSalle set leaned that way too, but the Friday (17th) Bonita set was a full-on feast of bachata masterpieces.

DJ Khalid in Bonita, South Korea — the tracks Khalid played in Korea (0617)

It was like there's some kind of bachata music review board out there going "if you're not at THIS level of quality and reputation, you don't make the list!" — filtering with a strict, sky-high bar. A list of the greatest-of-the-great bachata tracks, the ones that have moved people and pulled them onto the floor across generations.

In a way, they're such obvious picks you might wonder if you really need a DJ flown in from overseas to hear them — but that unflinching strictness, not one exception or curveball, was the whole killing point of this list. No mellow little remixes, no quirky deep cuts, no middling so-so hits, no is-it-bachata-or-isn't-it tracks. Every single one was something everybody recognizes instantly, the songs that have sent us sprinting onto the floor on countless nights.

If you're just getting into bachata, these are probably the textbook tracks you need to hear over and over until you know them by heart. Every single one felt like running into an old friend, and as I listened, afterimages of the seasons and moments each song once ruled kept drifting through my head.

A few fun bits and pieces.

Khalid's signature — Hookah & Sheridan's

In DJing, the first track always carries special weight. Khalid picked this one as the opener on his first night at Bonita, and again as the first track after the bootcamp performance on the final night. Out of all of Khalid's countless remixes, this is the biggest hit and the classic.

TMI: when someone asked, I bet 100 won that he'd open with this track — and I nailed it. Goosebumps all to myself from the very first song ✌️😀😀

Alejandro's opener — Dec. 21

Alejandro, on the other hand, picked this Prince Royce track to open Saturday (18th) at Bonita and Sunday (19th) at LaSalle. Both Khalid and Alejandro dropped their own signature phrase into the intro, loading every social dancer onto the bus and driving them straight into the frenzy.

JR, whom Khalid loves a little too much (?!)

JR's tracks came up a lot. La Estrella showed up third in Khalid's opening sequence at Bonita. Midway through, JR's new track X Amanda came on. X Amanda is less popular than JR's older material, yet there it was, standing proudly on this list of classics. If anything on this list counts as a curveball, it's probably that one.

But amazingly, right after X Amanda he went straight into JR's Infinito. Two tracks by the same artist back to back! Does he love JR that much? JR is the king of deep, dark, minor-key bachata. I think he's the artist who's modernized amargue — the spirit of bachata music — better than anyone. It can get a little heavy, a little sunken. Which is exactly why picking two of his tracks in a row was so interesting.

X Amanda reappeared in Alejandro's Saturday set and in both Khalid's and Alejandro's Sunday sets. Personally I'd thought it sat a bit sideways from our sensibilities, but after hearing it that many times it now sounds totally familiar and honestly good;

Dani J's most-loved track, Entre Tú Y Mil Mares

It showed up as the first Dani J track in the Friday set, and on Sunday at LaSalle it was the very first song of the night. Khalid's favorite Dani J track — confirmed!!

Loved by both DJs: Prince Royce's Carita de Inocente (Remix) and Miki Den's Antojito

Both Khalid and Alejandro seem to love these. In the Prince Royce 2.0 era, Te Espero and this track are probably the two legends. And Antojito by Miki Den, a personal favorite of mine, got picked early by both DJs too.🎉🎉🎉

My first time hearing La Fama at a social — the remix version

La Fama obviously ruled the end of last year, but I'd never heard the remix version at a bar before. This time Khalid brought the remix with him. Sounded like the DJ Soltrix version, though it might have been a Khalid original remix.

Anyway, that grand, endless, pressure-packed intro dragged every move — existing and non-existing — out of everyone and turned it into Squid Game. Of course, our Squid Game skills have reached a seriously advanced level by now😆👏👏👏 There were quite a few of these tricky remixes.

The unchanging law of 2022 classics, and this darn Frio

Prince Royce's Te Espero and Romeo Santos's Sus Huellas made the list every single time, without exception. The King and the Prince dropped hall-of-fame bachata classics side by side — what a rich first half of 2022.

Turns out Khalid loves Frio too, the track Korea fell for. It's not even a big epic number, just quietly rolling along — and yet this darn Frio's popularity! It seems to be opening up a new world of clear, pure bachata.

For his own latest remix, he played Manana, his collab with Mr. Don.

When it's time to bring the hype, obviously ~

Korea or Spain, when it's time to bring the hype it's Sentimiento torito🎵🎤~ Pa' Que Me Perdones! And Montllieu's Comigo Esta Bachata too. At Bonita on Saturday, the later into the night it got, the more hip reggaetón/Latin pop remixes came out.

On his 2017 visit, DJ Khalid unfurled the whole world of the Khalid remix, centered on tracks he'd stamped with his own color. This time it feels like he brought the tracks that serve as bachata music's reference points.

Though the unfamiliar, heavy bachatón in the late-night slot and the endless full-length salsa tracks were a bit rough — the ends and beginnings of songs blurred together, and going straight into the next track was tricky. (Cue people dancing two songs in a row by accident, or splitting up thinking the song ended only to reunite when it turned out it hadn't, or realizing way too late that a new song had started and awkwardly bailing 1.2 songs in, lol)

Huge thanks to Khalid, Alejandro, the other dancers, and everyone who worked the event for giving us such a happy time chewing over old memories. Looking forward to another great event next year.

ps. After three straight days of running on real-deal bachata radiating that intense presence, now I'm missing the taste of home — the sweet, lyrical tracks we know from our own bars~ Hurry up, weekend… homegrown is best~~ homegrown is best~~ Say what you will, our own DJs are the best for us.