"Lambada", also known as "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)", or "Llorando Se Fue (Lambada)" (both meaning "crying, they went away" in Portuguese and Spanish, respectively), is a song by French-Brazilian pop group

Kaoma Kaoma was a French-Brazilian band formed around 1989 by French producers Jean Georgakarakos and Olivier Lorsac to promote the song "Lambada (song), Lambada". Loalwa Braz was hired to sing lead vocals, other musicians were Chyco Dru (bass), Jacky ...

. It features guest vocals by Brazilian vocalist

Loalwa Braz Loalwa Braz Vieira (3 June 1953 – 19 January 2017) was a Brazilian singer, best known for providing the lead vocals for the French-Brazilian recording act Kaoma for their 1989 cover of the hit "" (by Ulysses Hermosa, lead singer of the popula ...

and was released as the first single from Kaoma's 1989 debut album, ''

Worldbeat Worldbeat is a music genre that blends pop music or rock music with world music or traditional music. Worldbeat is similar to other cross-pollination labels of contemporary and roots genres, and which suggest a rhythmic, harmonic or textural co ...

''. The accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, filmed in June 1989 in Cocos beach in the city of Trancoso, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, featured the Brazilian child duo Chico & Roberta. Sung in Portuguese, it is a cover of the 1986 hit "Chorando Se Foi", by Márcia Ferreira, itself based on the Cuarteto Continental version of "

Llorando se fue "Llorando se fue" () is a Bolivian folk song recorded by Los Kjarkas in 1981 on the album ''Canto a la mujer de mi pueblo'' and released as a B-side of the "Wa ya yay" single in 1982. The song has been very popular in Latin America since the 1980 ...

" (the first upbeat version of the song introducing the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

), released in 1984 through the Peruvian record label INFOPESA and produced by Alberto Maraví; both songs were adapted from the 1981 Bolivian original song by

Los Kjarkas Los Kjarkas is a Bolivian band from the Capinota province in the department of Cochabamba, and one of the most popular Andean folk music bands in the country's history. Among the styles they play are Saya, tuntuna, huayno, and carnavales. ...

. At the time of release, "Lambada" was regarded as the most successful European single in the history of

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

, with sales of 1.8 million copies in France and more than four million across Europe. Overall, "Lambada" sold five million copies worldwide in 1989 alone, according to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. However, Kaoma did not credit the original songwriters, Los Kjarkas, leading to successful

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

lawsuits.

Background and release

The lyrics and music of Kaoma's "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)" were an unauthorized translation of the song "

", originally composed, performed and recorded by the

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

n Andean folk group

in 1981. The song's lyrics and music had been lawfully registered by the founding members of

, Gonzalo and Ulises Hermosa, in 1981 at the Bolivian Institute of Culture (IBC) and in 1985 at Germany's Music and Authors Society (GEMA). The unauthorized copy by Kaoma, which was credited to fictitious composer Chico de Oliveira, led to a successful 1990 lawsuit by

against Kaoma's producer Jean-Claude Bonaventure. In 1991, a French court ruled that co-writers Márcia Ferreira and José Ari were the authors of the Portuguese translation for Kaoma's version. Nowadays, "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)" is credited to the Hermosa brothers (as authors), Alberto Maraví, Márcia Ferreira and José Ari. According to Gonzalo,

had based "Llorando Se Fue" on a small, nostalgic

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

melody. Their song was written in a sad and slow

Afro-Bolivian Saya The saya is an Afro-Bolivian music and dance originating from the Yungas region. It is considered a key influence in the music of Bolivia. The artform is influenced by traditional Andean music. The term ''saya'' is of unknown origin, with some p ...

rhythm. Prior to Kaoma's 1989 release of the song, several covers of "Llorando se fue" had been released as dance tracks: *1984 – Cuarteto Continental from the LP ''Fiesta de Cumbias'' *1984 – Armonia 10 from the LP ''El Chinchorro, Vol. 2'' *1984 – Sexteto Internacional from the LP ''Mas Sexteto'' *1984 – Tropical Pingüino *1984 – Wilkins from the album ''Una Historia Importante – 15 Grandes Exitos'' *1984 – Chacalón y la Nueva Crema from the EP ''Llorando se fue/Llorando y sufriendo'' *1984 – Grupo Trebol from the LP ''Tropical Andino'' *1985 – Freddy Roland from the LP ''Chicha Up'' *1985 – Juan "Corazón" Ramón from the album ''Cada Día Mejor'' *1985 – Don Medardo y sus Player from the album ''Lo Mejor del Año, Vol.4'' *1985 – Vico y su Grupo Karicia from the LP ''Voz y sentimiento'' *1986 – Márcia FerreiraMárcia Ferreira Official site
Biography. marciaferreira.com.br *1986 – Los Graduados from the album ''Flor de un día'' *1986 –

Pastor López José Pastor López Pineda (15 June 1944, Barquisimeto – 5 April 2019, Cúcuta), better known as "El Indio Pastor" (Pastor the Indian), was a Venezuelan singer-songwriter who worked primarily in the style of Cumbia. Career and death He start ...

from the album ''Cumbia Universal'' *1987 - Paulinho do Sax *1987 – Sonora Andacollo from the album ''Norte Tropical – Lambada'' *1988 –

Los Hermanos Rosario Los Hermanos Rosario (''The Rosario Brothers'' in English) is a merengue band, originally consisting of brothers Toño Rosario, Pepe, Rafa, Tony and Luis. History Los Hermanos Rosario is an emblematic merengue music band from the Dominican ...

from the album ''Otra Vez'' *1988 – Ana Morena from the compilation album ''Baila Baila Baila, Vol. 2'' *1988 – Tropicalismo Apache from the album ''Exitos Quemantes'' *1989 – Los Flamers from the album ''Gran Reventon Gran, Vol. 5'' In 1984, an upbeat version of "Llorando Se Fue", introducing the accordion, was released by the Peruvian group Cuarteto Continental, whose arrangements (produced by Alberto Maraví) were later copied by Kaoma. The first Portuguese translation and recording of "Llorando Se Fue" – as "Chorando Se Foi" – was released by

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian singer Márcia Ferreira in 1986 under her third album. The French managers Olivier Lorsac (aka Olivier Lamotte d'Incamps) and

Jean Georgakarakos Jean Georgakarakos (aka Jean Karakos; 26 June 1940 – 22 January 2017) was a French-born Greek music producer, record label owner, and artist manager. Biography In 1960, he created the label Star Success and in 1964, followed this with a sec ...

formed the band Kaoma in France after Lorsac was exposed to

lambada Lambada () is a dance from the state of Pará in Brazil. The dance briefly became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in the Philippines, Latin America and Caribbean, Caribbean countries. It has adopted aspects of dances such as Maxi ...

in March 1988 during his visit to

Porto Seguro Porto Seguro (, Safe Harbor in English), is a city located in the far south of Bahia, Brazil. The city has an estimated population of 150,658 (2020), covers , and has a population density of 52.7 residents per square kilometer. The area that inc ...

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, Brazil. Lorsac and Georgakarakos bought the musical rights to over 400 lambada songs from the Brazilian music publisher Continental. Lorsac admitted he and Georgakarakos had heard a "remarkably similar" song by the Hermosa brothers, later recognized by French court to be Márcia Ferreira's hit cover version. In France of 1989, Kaoma's song was used in a television advertisement for

Orangina Orangina () is a lightly carbonated beverage made from carbonated water, 12% citrus juice (10% from concentrated Orange juice, orange, 2% from a combination of concentrated Lemon juice, lemon, concentrated mandarin orange, mandarin, and concentr ...

Chart performance

"Lambada" became a worldwide

summer hit In the entertainment industry, a summer hit is a song that is released and peaks in its popularity during summer. In some years, a single pop song will gain widespread international popularity during the summer season, becoming that summer's def ...

, selling over five million copies in 1989 and was part of the

Lambada Lambada () is a dance from the state of Pará in Brazil. The dance briefly became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in the Philippines, Latin America and Caribbean, Caribbean countries. It has adopted aspects of dances such as Maxi ...

dance craze ''Dance Craze'' is a 1981 documentary film about the British Two-tone (music genre), 2 Tone music genre. The film was directed by Joe Massot, who originally wanted to do a film only about the band Madness (band), Madness, whom he met during th ...

. It reached No. 1 in several European countries, as well as No. 4 on both the UK Singles Chart and

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

, No. 5 on the Australia

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, and No. 46 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. As of 1991, combined sales of the album and the single have reached one million records sold in Italy. "Lambada" was the 37th best-selling single of the United Kingdom during 1989. In France, it topped the chart for 12 weeks and sold 1.8 million copies.

Music video

The accompanying

for "Lambada" directed by Olivier Lorsac, was filmed in June 1989. in stage on Tago Mago Island (

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

, Spain) in the Mediterranean Sea and on Cocos Beach in the city of Trancoso, Bahia, Brazil. It featured the Brazilian child duo Chico & Roberta as love interests. As a semi-plot, Roberta's father does not want her to hang out with Chico, but Loalwa mends the situation among the three.

Track listings

7-inch single # "Lambada" – 3:28 # "Lambada" (instrumental) – 3:48 # "Lambada" (DJ Petro Panayoti aka Mixmaster Remix) 1989 – 4:50 12-inch maxi # "Lambada" (extended version) – 6:44 # "Lambada" (instrumental version) – 3:48 # "Lambada" (DJ Stigma-Berveni Remix) – 3:55 # "Lambada" (DJ Petro Panayoti Club Remix) 2019 – 6:00

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

"Lambada 3000" (Gregor Salto remix)

In July 2009, a new Summer remixed version of the track by

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

and

latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...

Gregor Salto Gregor van Offeren (born 21 April 1979 in Haarlem, Netherlands), better known as Gregor Salto, is a Dutch DJ and record producer. Discography Albums * 2014: ''Gregor Salto Ultimate Miami 2'' -REX Music EPs * 2016: ''Para Você EP'' PRS Chart ...

called "Lambada 3000" (billed as Gregor Salto & Kaoma) was released in the

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

. Loalwa Braz, the original singer of the song, was asked to provide new vocals for the remix. The track became Salto's second Top 20 hit in the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

, and third entry in the chart, peaking at #12. Its music video was filmed in May 2009, in

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

and premiered in June 2009.

Track listings and formats

Charts

Cover versions, samples and mentions

In France, "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)" was covered by another music group,

Carioca Carioca ( or ) is a demonym used to refer to residents of the City of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil and their culture. Like other Brazilians, ''Cariocas'' speak Portuguese. The ''carioca'' accent and sociolect (also simply called "''carioca''", ...

, which peaked only at No. 22 on 9 September 1989 and remained in the charts for nine weeks. It was also covered, around that time, by other Brazilian singers, such as

Fafá de Belém Fafá de Belém, born Maria de Fátima Palha de Figueiredo in Belém do Pará on August 9, 1956, is a Brazilian singer considered one of the great female singers of MPB (Musica Popular Brasileira). She took her stage name from the city of her ...

, whose 1985 album ''Aprendizes da Esperança'' was an early example of the lambada music genre. In the same year, a cover by Regina appeared on the album ''Lambada Tropical'' (credited to Chico Mendés) and on the compilation albums ''Max Mix 9'' and ''Hits '89''. In December 1989, the renowned Egyptian singer and composer,

Amr Diab Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab (, ; born 11 October 1961) is an Egyptian singer, composer and actor. He has established himself as a globally acclaimed recording artist and author. He is a Guinness World Record holder, the best selling Middle ...

, introduced a fresh perspective to Lambada's melody. He released �
Leily
�� from the album Shawakna, reimagining the melody with a unique oriental essence. His innovative approach introduced new melodic elements, harmoniously blended with contemporary arrangements. The song "Sochna Kya" from the 1990

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

film '' Ghayal'' copied the melody of "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)". Also in 1990, American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

band

Sun City Girls Sun City Girls was an American experimental rock band formed in 1979 in Phoenix, Arizona. From 1981, the group consisted of Alan Bishop (bass guitar, vocals), his brother Richard Bishop (guitar, piano, vocals), and Charles Gocher (drums, voca ...

covered the song with the title "The Shining Path", for their album '' Torch of the Mystics''. Japanese singer Akemi Ishii released a cover version in Japanese on 21 March 1990, which peaked at No. 16 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

charts and was re-recorded in 2011. Turkish singer Cengiz Coşkuner recorded a version of "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)", with lyrics written by Ülkü Aker, and it featured on his album ''Seni Gidi Seni & Kapris Yapma'', which was also released in 1990. Another Turkish singer, Rüya Çağla, wrote and recorded a version for use as the title track of her album ''Lambada'', also released in 1990. In 1990,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

DJ Aling Choi Ling Ling released a cover version "人生嘉年華" ("Carnival of Life") in

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

. The song was used in 1994 in the

Arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

'Best of Best' by the Korean company SunA. Jamaican musician

Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man known for his severe physical deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "The Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital, ...

released "Hate Mi" in 2004, which copies the melody of "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)". Brazilian singer-songwriter

Ivete Sangalo Ivete Maria Dias de Sangalo Cady (; Dias de Sangalo; born 27 May 1972) is a Brazilian singer, actress, and television personality. Referred to as the "Queen of Brazil", her contributions to music have made her one of the most celebrated entert ...

recorded a version of "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)" for her 2005 album ''As Super Novas'', released as its third single, becoming no. 1 in Brazil; she also recorded the song on her second live album in 2007. Mexican singer

Mariana Seoane Mariana Seoane (born Mariana Alejandra Seoane García on June 10, 1976, in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican actress, model and singer. Biography Seoane was born June 10, 1976, from an Argentinian mother and a Cuban-Mexican father, Seoane demo ...

recorded "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)" in Spanish for her 2007 album ''Está de Fiesta... Atrévete!!''. Japanese band

Seikima-II is a Japanese Heavy metal music, heavy metal band, formed in 1982. Throughout their career they have had numerous lineups, with lead singer Demon Kakka the sole constant member. The group has sold over 10 million records in Japan alone. The ...

's frontman

Demon Kakka , previously known as , is a Japanese musician, songwriter, entertainer, journalist, sumo sportscaster, commentator, actor and Voice acting in Japan, voice actor. He first gained fame in the 1980s as vocalist of the Heavy metal music, heavy meta ...

recorded "Chorando Se Foi (Lambada)" in Japanese/Spanish for his 2008 album ''GIRLS' ROCK Hakurai''.

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

's 2011 single "

On the Floor "On the Floor" is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez for her seventh studio album, '' Love?'' (2011). Featuring American rapper Pitbull, it was released by Island Records on February 8, 2011, as the lead single from the album ...

" samples either "Lambada" by Kaoma or the original "Llorando Se Fue" by

. "On the Floor" reached No. 3 in the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

Don Omar William Omar Landrón Rivera (born February 10, 1979), known professionally as Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is also known as the " King of Reggaeton" by music critics and fans alike. The ...

's 2011 single Taboo (Don Omar song) samples either "Lambada" by Kaoma or the original "Llorando Se Fue" by

References

{{Authority control 1989 debut singles Kaoma songs CBS Records singles Epic Records singles Number-one singles in Austria European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Italy Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Portugal Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland Songs in Portuguese 1989 songs Songs involved in plagiarism controversies fr:Llorando se fue#Version de Kaoma

Background and release

Chart performance

Music video

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

"Lambada 3000" (Gregor Salto remix)

Track listings and formats

Charts

Cover versions, samples and mentions

See also

References