Jay Wheeler - GIRASOLES (2025) Hi-Res

“It’s like a thank-you note,” Jay Wheeler tells about GIRASOLES. “It’s like a letter saying I’m here for these people.” By “these people,” the Puerto Rican singer is referring specifically to his family, paying tribute to both his wife Zhamira Zambrano and their young daughter throughout this, his most personal project yet. Making the transition from R&B singing reggaetonero to full-fledged Latin pop star all but official here, he largely eschews the genre styles prevalent on his prior albums to push forward a more mature sound to match his grown-up lyricism.

Indeed, apart from “Nota” with Omar Courtz and “Verte Por Ahí,” Wheeler prefers a more balladic approach across these 15 tracks. Though hip-hop has long been part of his formula, the way he repurposes its rhythms and flows for “Dañao Pa Siempre” and “Roma” feels noticeably different from, say, 2023’s TRAPPii. Inspired by a car accident he survived, “Abrázame Fuerte” gets boosted by a spiritual element that corresponds with its melancholy, off-kilter synths. “In that moment, I only wanted a hug from God,” he says. “I only wanted to know that He come down and be like, ‘Everything is good, you are going to be fine.’”

While several of the themes here tend towards the universal, Wheeler’s familial dedications give GIRASOLES some of its most powerful peaks. Written prior to his daughter’s birth, “Aiunii” bursts with paternal hope towards what fatherhood could entail. “What I sang in the song, there are things missing, things I haven’t experienced in that song, but I know I’m going to experience them with her,” he says. “Now that I have her in my arms, it’s everything I sang, and even better, and there’s still more to come.”