After a brief but headline-grabbing retirement, Daddy Yankee is making noise again, this time with a powerful new message and a surprise celebrity cameo. The Puerto Rican trailblazer who lit the match for reggaeton's global explosion is officially returning to music, and fans are all ears.
His comeback track, a new single called "Sonríele"—which dropped on July 10 at 12:01 a.m.— is already turning heads for more reasons than one.
© CBS via Getty ImagesThe Comeback Nobody Saw Coming
Back in late 2023, Daddy Yankee, born Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez, ended his massively successful "La Última Vuelta World Tour" with an emotional surprise. He was retiring from music and devoting his life to God.
It felt like the end of an era for a genre that he helped catapult into the mainstream with the seismic hit "Gasolina" in 2004.
But Yankee didn't vanish completely. Since his retirement announcement, he's released a trio of spiritually-leaning tracks, including "Loveo," "Bailando En La Lluvia," and "En El Desierto." These songs reflect a different side of the artist, showcasing a calmer, more reflective persona rooted in his new faith-first lifestyle.
© Getty Images"DY Is Back": A Teaser Worth Watching
The comeback tease dropped as a cinematic video titled "DY Is Back." In it, Anthony Ramos, the talented Nuyorican actor known for his breakout in Hamilton and blockbuster roles in "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" and the upcoming "Twisters," pulls up in a car and tells Daddy Yankee to come outside.
Without skipping a beat, Daddy Yankee grins and declares, "I'm back!"
The teaser instantly made waves, especially given how silent Yankee had been on mainstream platforms since announcing his retirement. Pairing with Ramos, a fellow Puerto Rican voice rising in Hollywood, also sends a loud message of unity.
A New Sound Amid Real-Life Drama
While "Sonríele" marks a return to Yankee's signature charisma, it doesn't shy away from his recent personal struggles. The release comes after an intense public fallout with his longtime wife, Mireddys González. The couple's divorce, announced in December 2024, led to a legal war over $100 million in allegedly unauthorized withdrawals tied to his business accounts at El Cartel Records and El Cangris.
© Icon SportswireYankee sued González and his sister-in-law, Ayeicha González Castellano, citing financial betrayal. The case was eventually settled, but the damage to his personal brand was undeniable, at least for a moment.
Then came the bombshell. Yankee sold his entire music catalog to Concord for a jaw-dropping $217 million. That deal included global juggernauts like "Con Calma," "Despacito," and the eternal crowd-starter "Gasolina."
Many thought we'd seen the last of the Big Boss in his old form between the catalog sale, the divorce headlines, and his self-imposed exile from secular music. But "Sonríele" suggests otherwise.
© Mary DeCiccoThe title itself means "Smile at it," which could be a nod to facing life's hardships with strength, optimism, and grace, something Daddy Yankee has had to master both spiritually and personally over the last year.
Daddy Yankee helped build the house where reggaeton now lives. With "Sonríele," he's proving that evolution doesn't mean erasure, it means elevation.
So, hit play, smile through the noise, and watch the icon rewrite the rules once again.
