ET caught up with the Mexican band, where they opened up about their new single and working with the Colombian singer.
Reik and Maluma have your new favorite summer jam!
The Mexican trio and the Colombian singer dropped their new collaboration, "Amigos Con Derechos," on Thursday, and ET got the scoop behind the creation of the song and music video.
The new single, which translates to "Friends With Benefits," has a very tongue-in-cheek, double-meaning twist, that is very much evident in the lyrics and visual. ET chatted with Jesús Navarro, Julio Ramírez and Bibi Marin ahead of the music video premiere to talk about the creation of the track, as well as the collaboration process with Maluma.
"We sent [the song] to Maluma and he loved it," Ramírez -- who wrote the song with Maluma, Servando Primera, Andrés Castro and The Rudeboyz -- tells ET. "We originally wrote a 'chanteo,' the rap part, just in case. We never knew it was going to be for Maluma. We just wanted to write a good song. But when we sent it to him, he wrote his own part and it was fun. I remember Jesús going into the studio and recording the demo. He loved it. It was a good sign that something was going to happen with this song."
"The lyrics felt like they made sense to do it with someone like Maluma," Navarro adds. "[He] was the first name to come into our minds. It happened really easily."
While the guys recorded the song individually, they reunited to shoot the music video in Miami in July. The video, which includes shots of all four singers, follows a couple's love story.
"It's one of those stories where people are going to argue about what the real story is because it's a little bit open-ended," Navarro explains. As for working with Maluma, the band agrees that the 24-year-old "Felices los 4" singer is "super cool, knows his craft" and is a total pro.
"We look at him, and his schedule, and his life, and how he's so excited, and you feel good for him. You feel happier for his success," Navarro says. "He takes his work very seriously. We were both very tired, we were both coming back from very long trips. We just got back from China and he was coming back from [tour], but he was very much a pro and we were very much appreciative of his work."
Meanwhile, ET caught up with Maluma earlier this month, where he opened up about how Latin music is currently impacting the world and how proud he is to be contributing to it.
"I think we’re making history. I think it’s the first time in history that Latin music and Latin culture is around the world the way it’s happening right now," he told ET. "And being part of it, it makes me proud. We have a huge responsibility behind us. But, I think that we're going to make it. We’re working for it and the best is yet to come."
See more in the video below.
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