When thousands of fans listened to "Someone Who Loved You" from Karol G's new album and began commenting that the song reminded them of Selena Quintanilla, they were more right than they imagined: the track was co-written by Pete Astudillo, one of the closest songwriters to the Queen of Tex-Mex.
Astudillo is the man behind classics like "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" and "Amor Prohibido," and he also recorded the duet "Siempre estoy pensando en ti" alongside Selena. His name now appears in the credits of "Alguien Que Te Amaba," alongside Karol G and producer Édgar Barrera, one of the most awarded Latin composers, with 29 wins at the Latin Grammy Awards.
The story of how this collaboration came to be is as beautiful as the song itself. It was Karol G herself who asked Barrera to reach out to Astudillo because she wanted to work with him. Barrera located him through social media, and upon receiving the proposal, the musician accepted without hesitation.
The result is a heartbreak cumbia with an unmistakably Texan sound that is part of "No Me Arrepiento de Sentir Tanto," the sixth studio album of the Colombian artist, released on August 7.
Astudillo himself couldn't contain his emotion and expressed it on Instagram days after the premiere: "I have no words to explain the emotion I feel when listening to this song. Forever grateful to @karolg and @edgarbarrera for their trust, the opportunity, and for believing in me. This is a dream come true."
The connection between Karol G and Selena is neither new nor casual. The Colombian paid tribute to Selena at a concert in Texas in 2023, where she sang "Como la Flor" and declared that Selena was her idol. That same year, she released "Mi ex tenía razón", a cumbia with a Texan aesthetic that she explicitly dedicated to Selena on social media.
The curious thing is that many fans sensed it before knowing the truth. The most popular comment on the visualizer on YouTube, with thousands of reactions, simply stated: "THE BEAT REMINDS ME OF SELENA QUINTANILLA." Another user wrote: "In another life, this song is a collaboration with the queen Selena Quintanilla." And a more attentive fan revealed the secret before it went viral: "Everyone says it reminds them of Selena, but what no one knows is that this song is by Pete Astudillo, who once sang with Selena."
The song also hides a much-discussed sentimental nod. The line "And the pink summer is now a winter" is a direct reference to "Verano Rosa," the collaboration that Karol G recorded with her ex-boyfriend Feid, which has become a symbol of that relationship. Many fans interpret the entire album as a narrative of that breakup, with "Alguien Que Te Amaba" serving as the definitive closure.
The album debuted at number one on iTunes in the United States and accumulated 16.6 million streams on its first day on Spotify, according to tracking data from the platform. For Pete Astudillo, who was inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame in 2019, this collaboration represents an unexpected and emotional return to the heart of Latin music.
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