Between her acting career and her music career, Corina Smith has spent much of her life in the public eye. On menos triste más mami, the Venezuelan pop singer’s follow-up to her 2023 album triste pero siempre mami, she shows greater vulnerability as well as considerable strength via the project’s themes and performances. The opening title track reflects a transition from a bad relationship to the promise of a new one with someone who’s been there the whole time, a love hiding in plain sight. Even still, the scars from the prior breakup take time to heal, something she addresses beautifully on the balladic “cuando me extrañes”. That romantic push-and-pull drives many of her songs here, from the overwhelmingly positivity of “aquí seremos 2” to the endurance exercises of “moraleja” and humbling moments like “quédate esta noche”. Features from De La Ghetto and Lasso on “lowkey” and “mi ex no quiere a nadie”, respectively, add supporting perspectives without de-centring Smith’s valuable point of view.