"Tusa" is a song by Colombian reggaeton singer Karol G and Trinidadian-American rapper Nicki Minaj. The song was written by Karol G, Keityn, Ovy on the Drums and Nicki Minaj, and produced by Ovy on the Drums. It was released as a single by Republic Records, Universal Music Latino and Universal Music Group on 7 November 2019. The song peaked at number 42 on the US Billboard Hot 100; becoming Minaj's 106th entry on the chart and Karol G's 4th. It also became the first song by two lead female artists to debut at number one on the US Hot Latin Songs chart. The song debuted at number 56 on the Rolling StoneTop 100. The song peaked at number one in numerous countries and is the longest-running number-one single on the Argentina Hot 100, having spent 25 weeks at number one on the chart.
Background
"Tusa" is the first collaboration between Karol G and Minaj. On 6 November 2019, Karol G shared the artwork for the single on her social media, as well as snippets of the official music video. In an interview with Billboard, she told them how the collaboration came about:
Composition
"Tusa" is three minutes and twenty seconds long. It was written by Karol G, Keityn, Ovy on the Drums and Nicki Minaj, with production by Ovy on the Drums. "Tusa" is Colombian slang for the mixture of heartache and desire for revenge felt by a person when their partner breaks up with them. Lyrically, Karol G's verses tell the story of a woman who struggles to forget her former boyfriend, while Minaj's rap tells the man that the woman has moved on with her life.
Commercial performance
In the United States, "Tusa" debuted at number one on the Hot Latin Songs, becoming the first song by two lead female artists to debut atop the chart, and also the first song by a female act in a lead role to chart at number one since 2016, when Shakira's "Chantaje" featuring Maluma reached the top. It became Minaj's sixth entry on the Hot Latin Songs chart, and her second top 10, following the 2017's "Krippy Kush " with Farruko, Bad Bunny, 21 Savage and Rvssian. It became Karol G's second number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart and Minaj's first No.1 entry on any Billboard Latin chart. On the US Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number 78, becoming Karol's fourth chart entry and Minaj's 106th entry. It peaked at number 42 on the Hot 100. "Tusa" also reached number 41 on the Rolling Stone US Top 100 Songs chart on the week ending 30 January 2020, with 67,200 sales plus track-equivalent streams.
Music video
The music video for "Tusa" was released through Karol G's YouTube channel on 7 November 2019. It was filmed in Los Angeles and directed by American music video directorMike Ho. It has since accumulated over 934 million views with 7.9 million likes.
