"Despechá" is a song by Spanish singer and songwriter

Rosalía Rosalia Vila Tobella (born 25 September 1992), known mononymously as Rosalía (, ), is a Spanish Pop music, pop and flamenco singer. She has been described as an "atypical pop star" due to her genre-bending musical styles. After being enthral ...

. It was released on 28 July 2022 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

as a single from ''Motomami +'', the deluxe edition of her third studio album ''

Motomami ''Motomami'' is the third studio album by Spanish singer Rosalía. It was released on 18 March 2022 through Columbia Records. Rosalía enlisted producers Noah Goldstein, Michael Uzowuru, Dylan Wiggins and Pharrell Williams as well as longtime ...

'' (2022). The song was written by Rosalía,

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

veterans

Chris Jedi Carlos Enrique Ortiz Rivera (born September 19, 1989), known professionally as Chris Jedi or Chris Jeday, is a Puerto Rican record producer. He is recognized for working with artists such as Arcángel, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Wisin & Yandel, Oz ...

, Gaby Music, and El Kagueto del Guetto, along with ''Motomami'' producers David Rodríguez, Noah Goldstein and Dylan Patrice. "Despechá" is a

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

track, with merengue and

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

elements, about "the joys of leaving work and toxic men behind to hit the club." A remix with American rapper

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

was released on 16 December 2022. The song was met with great commercial success upon release, earning the biggest streaming debut for a Spanish-language song by a female artist in

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

history. "Despechá" topped the charts in Spain, Panama and Uruguay, while also hitting the top ten in seventeen other countries. It became Rosalía's first solo entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and her highest charting single on the ''Billboard'' Global 200.

Background

In March 2022, Rosalía released her third studio album ''

,'' which saw a departure from the

new flamenco New flamenco (or ''nuevo flamenco'') or flamenco fusion is a musical genre that was born in Spain, starting in the 1980s. It combines flamenco guitar virtuosity and traditional flamenco music with musical fusion (with genres like jazz, blues, r ...

sound of its predecessor and an embracement of

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...

in an

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

and

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

key. The album met with commercial and critical success. To further promote the record, the singer embarked on the

Motomami World Tour The Motomami World Tour was the third concert tour by Spanish singer Rosalía (singer), Rosalía in support of her third studio album, ''Motomami'' (2022). Led by Live Nation Entertainment, the tour was officially announced on 18 April 2022. It ...

, scheduled to visit seventeen countries from July to December 2022. At the opening night of the tour in

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

, Rosalía unveiled three unreleased tracks, with a fourth in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

. Two of them have been confirmed to be discarded songs from ''Motomami'' while and one was specifically written for the tour. "Despechá" (at the time known as "Lao a Lao" by fans), is performed between a 4-minute classic reggaeton medley that blends Lorna's " Papi Chulo" and "

Gasolina "Gasolina" () is a song on Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee's 2004 album '' Barrio Fino'' (''Nice 'Hood''). Glory sings the line "dame más gasolina" ("give me more gas"), although she is not credited. The song was released as the album's lead ...

" with Rosalía's " TKN" and "

Yo x Ti, Tu x Mi Yo may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Yö, a Finnish rock band * "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)", a song by Chris Brown * ''Yo! MTV Raps'', a television show featuring rap music, later renamed as Yo! * "YO", an instrumental song by Linkin Park ...

"; and the unreleased track "Aislamiento". During the medley and "Despechá", Rosalía brought onstage twenty fans previously selected by her team to dance with her, making the performance a highlight within the show. "Despechá" became a fan favorite, and videos of the performance were shared on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

. On 12 July, Rosalía posted a TikTok video teasing the studio version of the song. During the 19 July show in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, the singer asked the audience whether they preferred the track to be titled "Despechá" or "Lao a Lao", with the audience preferring the former. After performing it at her show in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

on 27 July, Rosalía revealed that "Despechá" would be released on digital platforms that same night.

Composition

"Despechá" is a track with merengue and

elements that runs for two minutes and thirty-seven seconds. Described by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' as "a wonder of efficiency, flitting back and forth between two springy piano

chords Chord or chords may refer to: Art and music * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord, a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * The Chords (British band), 1970s British mod ...

as it rides an equally fleet percussive rhythm", the song is about leaving work and heartbreak behind to have fun with one's friends in the club and see life in the most

hedonist Hedonism is a family of philosophical views that prioritize pleasure. Psychological hedonism is the theory that all human behavior is motivated by the desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. As a form of egoism, it suggests that people ...

way possible. Lyrical references include

Fefita la Grande Manuela Josefa Cabrera Taveras (born September 18, 1943), known as Fefita La Grande, or La Mayimba, is a Dominican accordionist and the most recognized female performer of '' merengue tipico'', a more rural variation of merengue, the main musica ...

and Dominican singer

Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...

, who was originally featured on the track. About the song, Rosalía has stated that "there are many ways to be , in this theme it is from the freeness or the craziness, moving without reservations or regrets. This is the place from where I make music, from where I did it when I first started and where I will continue to until

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

says so. I'm grateful for having been able to travel in recent years and have learned from music from other places including the ominican Republic where artists like Fefita la Grande,

Juan Luis Guerra Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born 7 June 1957) is a People of the Dominican Republic, Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 28 Latin Grammy Awards, three Grammy Awards, ...

, and Omega have inspired me and without them this song would not exist."

Accolades

Music video

Rosalía shared a preview of the music video on 9 August 2022. The video itself premiered on the singer's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel the day after. It is the third music video in Rosalía's videography to be directed by Mitch Ryan, after "

Hentai Hentai () is a style of Pornography in Japan, Japanese pornographic anime and manga. In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exist in a variety of media, including artwork and video games (commonly known as ''eroge''). The developme ...

" and "Delirio de Grandeza". Inspired in the photographic collections ''Benidorm'' and ''Life's a Beach'', by

Martin Parr Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...

, as well as in Spanish ''

costumbrismo ''Costumbrismo'' (in Catalan: ''costumisme''; sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primarily in the Hispanic sce ...

'', it features Rosalía and her Motomami World Tour dance crew during a fun beach day in the Palma neighbourhood of Portixol, in

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

Credits and personnel

Production * Rosalia Vila – production, lyrics, composition; vocals, beat, vocal arrangement *

– production, composition, beat * David Rodríguez – production, composition, additional production * Noah Goldstein – production, composition, drums * Dylan Patrice – production, composition, piano * Gaby Music – production, composition * Dimelo Ninow – composition Technical personnel *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...

– mixing engineer * Zach Peraya – assistant mix engineer * Jeremie Inhaber – assistant mix engineer * Anthony Vilchis – assistant mix engineer *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey. Gehringer is known for having mastered recordings by popular artists such as AJR, Dua Lipa, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles, ...

– mastering engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Cardi B 2022 singles 2022 songs Columbia Records singles Music videos shot in Spain Rosalía songs Songs about dancing Songs about parties Songs written by Rosalía Songs written by Chris Jedi Songs in Spanish Songs written by Noah Goldstein