Lenier and the Nicaraguan group Costa Azul have jointly secured the top spot in Billboard’s latest New Music Latin fan poll with their collaboration “Maquillaje,” which captured over 93% of the vote in the weekly survey, released Friday, August 29 2025 .
“Maquillaje” emerged ahead of other notable entries, including Carín León & Kacey Musgraves’ “Lost In Translation,” Yeison Jiménez and Natalia Jiménez’s “Pedazos,” as well as new albums by Luis R. Conriquez, Hamilton, and Mau y Ricky. The fan poll also recorded Pablo Alborán and Indiara Sfair’s “Vámonos de Aquí” as a close second favourite.
The track itself came together spontaneously earlier this year when Lenier crossed paths with Costa Azul at a recording studio in Miami. Produced by J‑Prod and written by Lenier, the song blends urban-tinged romantic cumbia with his distinctive sugary yet raspy vocals, complemented by elegantly layered harmonies by Costa Azul’s vocalists Fred, Oscar, and Omar.
Its lyrics underscore a message of authenticity and openness in love: “The heart doesn’t need makeup/ Nor to invent a character, when it comes to love/ The heart is so crazy, so brave/ That it goes against the current, when it’s right,” they sing .
This collaboration carries particular significance beyond its sonic appeal: it represents a historic breakthrough for the Nicaraguan music scene, introducing Costa Azul, also known as “El Imperio de la Cumbia”, to a broader international audience for the first time.
