The Neon 16 artist worked on the track in Chicago after the success of his viral hit “Plan”
Alex Ponce is still healing from heartbreak — and from betrayal. In an exclusive premiere with Rolling Stone on Thursday, the rising Ecuadorian star debuted the video for his new song “Traición,” which is about calling out a love that hurt him.
“I had the honor of making a sad song that helps us get through the type of betrayal that some of us have had to live,” he tells Rolling Stone about the track.
The video, directed by Desperdiciado, follows Ponce in a seemingly normal relationship. Soon, he begins to realize his partner might be hiding something. In the video, Ponce starts seeing the words “traición” or “betrayal” written on everything from a gallon of milk to the bathroom sink to the clothes in his dryer.
“Do you like feeling like the villain? Was the minute of oxytocin worth it? What was it like to lose the protagonist? Was that part of your job?” he sings in Spanish. “You know what word describes you? The word deception. It fits you like perfection.”
The new track follows the release of his 2023 album Ser Humano, which he led with the single “Plan” — his most streamed song on Spotify. Since releasing “Plan” in late March, he’s also dropped a sped-up version, an acoustic rendition, and a remake featuring León Leiden.
“I had the pressure to follow up my best song ‘Plan,’ so I went to Chicago with my producers and came up with ‘Traición,’” he tells Rolling Stone. “I think that this is my best song now.”
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The Neon 16 artist has been teasing “Traición” on social media over the last several days, performing it at a recent fan event in his native Ecuador, and sharing TikToks about the release (and his personal connection to the song): “POV: your ex who cheated is asking to see you,” he captioned one post.
“After four months of working so hard, I’m sharing a song that I love and I hope you do too,” he wrote on Instagram this week.
