Smooth vocal runs and a gentle acoustic guitar line are at the center of Trinidad Cardona's performance of "Dinero," a mid-tempo ballad about the intoxicating powers of an ill-fated romantic relationship that, despite its drawbacks, keeps drawing both people back for more.
In this episode of Press Play at Home, the rising R&B singer-songwriter homes in on the intimacy of his hit song, performing a rendition of the track in a bedroom, accompanied only by a guitar line.
Sitting on the edge of a bed and wearing lounge clothes, Cardona sings into a mic, surrounded by objects you'd expect to find in a bedroom: Clothes on the hangers, a record player on the drawer chest, flowers in a vase and a couple of bottles on the nightstand.
It's a fitting backdrop to represent Cardona's success story: The 23-year-old breakout performer found stardom by doing things his own way, without the support of a manager, press agent or label.
According to Billboard, he was supporting himself by picking up odd jobs on Craigslist and delivering food out of his banged-up 1993 Nissan Sentra when "Dinero" went viral on TikTok in 2021.
The song — which had actually already been out for three years, as Cardona released it in 2018 — became the No. 1 song on TikTok's viral chart, inspired more than two million creations by other users and earned more than 65 million streams across all platforms.
Meanwhile, Cardona's success continued to snowball; the up-and-comer has already racked up over 6 billion streams across all platforms.
Press play on the video above to enjoy the singer's easygoing bedroom rendition of "Dinero," and keep checking back to GRAMMY.com for more episodes of Press Play at Home.