"Adiós" () is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

for his tenth studio album, ''

A Quien Quiera Escuchar ''A Quien Quiera Escuchar'' (''To Those Who Want to Listen'') is the sixth Spanish album and tenth studio album by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. It was released on February 10, 2015, through Sony Music Latin. It won the Grammy Award for Best ...

'' (2015). The song was written by Antonio Rayo Gibo, Martin, and

Yotuel Romero Yotuel Omar Manzanares Romero (born October 6, 1976), mononymously known as Yotuel, is a Cuban singer, actor, and current lead singer and co-writer of the 2003 Latin Grammy Award-winning Platinum album-selling rap group Orishas. Among other rec ...

, while the production was handled by Romero,

Jesse Shatkin Jesse Samuel Shatkin (born 1979) is an American songwriter, producer and engineer. He has worked with Sia, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Fitz and the Tantrums and One Direction, among others. Shatkin was nominated in 2014 for Grammy Awards a ...

, and Rayo. It was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

by Sony Music Latin on September 23, 2014, as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the album. The single contained Spanish/French, English, and English/French versions, and was accompanied by numerous

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es. A world music-flavored

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

song, with a 1930s

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

vibe and a vibrant

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

beat, it is about "how difficult it is to say sorry, to betray an oath, an anniversary without promises, without even a single kiss". "Adiós" received widely positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, who complimented its

multilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

and "catchy" melody. It was nominated for Best Latin Dance Track at the 31st

International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs is an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards have been held every year since the conference's creation in 1985 e ...

. The song was commercially successful, reaching number one in Colombia, as well as the top 10 in Mexico and ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s

Hot Latin Songs The ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs (formerly Hot Latin Tracks and Hot Latin 50) is a record chart in the United States for Latin songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Since October 2012, chart rankings are based on digital sales, rad ...

Latin Airplay Latin Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It was established on October 20, 2012. This chart lists the 50 most-played songs on Spanish-language radio stations across the country as monitored by Niel ...

Latin Pop Airplay Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established b ...

, and

Latin Digital Song Sales The ''Billboard'' Latin Digital Songs, or Latin Digital Song Sales, is a record chart that ranks the best-selling Spanish-language digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard''. It wa ...

in the United States. An accompanying

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

, released on October 21, 2014, was directed by Ethan Ladder and filmed in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, the underground

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

Harvelle's. It depicts Martin playing five characters: a policeman, a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

, a

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...

, a

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

, and a singer. To promote the song, he performed it on several television programs and award shows, including the

15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards The 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards was held on November 20, 2014 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise. This was the first time that Latin Grammys has been held at this location. The main telecast was broadcast on Univision at 8:00PM EST. T ...

Background and release

On September 11, 2014,

announced that his new single, entitled "Adiós", would be released on September 23, 2014. He shared the artwork "bit by bit" on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

. One week later, ''

Milenio ''Milenio'' is a major national newspaper in Mexico, owned by Grupo Multimedios. It is published in 11 cities across Mexico, including Monterrey, Mexico City, Guadalajara, León, Pachuca, Puebla, Villahermosa, Tampico, Torreón, Toluca, and ...

'' confirmed that it is set to be the

from Martin's tenth studio album and would be premiered via Uforia radio stations in the United States and Puerto Rico, one day earlier than the song's original release date. On September 22,

EFE Agencia EFE, S.A. () is a Spanish international news agency, the major multimedia news agency in Spanish language and the world's fourth largest wire service after the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. EFE was created in 1939 ...

revealed that the single contains three versions, "Spanish, English and English with some words in French". In a statement, Martin expressed: "Adiós" was released for digital download and

by Sony Music Latin on September 23, 2014. In the same year, 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 ...

remix of the song, featuring American singer

Nicky Jam Nick Rivera Caminero (born March 17, 1981), known professionally as Nicky Jam, is an American singer and actor. He is best known for hits such as " X", " Travesuras", "En la Cama", "Te Busco", "El Perdón", "Hasta el Amanecer", and "El Amante"; ...

, was released on September 30, and a

ranchera Ranchera () or canción ranchera is a genre of traditional music of Mexico. It dates to before the years of the Mexican Revolution. Rancheras today are played in virtually all regional Mexican music styles. Drawing on rural traditional folk music ...

remix, featuring Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda, was released on November 10. On November 24, two

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s, titled ''Adiós (Dance Remixes)'' and ''Adiós (Flylife Remixes)'' were released, both including four remixes of the song. Another EP, containing the three original versions of "Adiós", as well as the mambo remix, was released on February 3, 2015. "Adiós" was included as the first track on Martin's tenth studio album, ''A Quien Quiera Escuchar'', released February 10, 2015, while a Turkish version of the song, featuring Turkish singer Ayşe Hatun Önal was included as the eleventh track on the Turkish edition. "Adiós" was also later added to Martin's

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, '' Esencial'' (2018).

Music and lyrics

Musically, "Adiós" is an

up-tempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mu ...

world music-flavored

song, with a 1930s

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

vibe and a vibrant

beat. It was written by Antonio Rayo Gibo, Martin, and

, with its production being handled by Romero,

, and Rayo. The track "features an original sound and rhythmic influences from different parts of the world" and runs for a total of four minutes. Lyrically, "Adiós" which translates to "Goodbye", tells "how difficult it is to say sorry, to betray an oath, an anniversary without promises, without even a single kiss", with lyrics including: "Adiós / Te tengo que decir adiós / Me estoy volviendo loco /Loco, loco, loco, loco por tu amor" (Goodbye / I have to say goodbye / I'm going crazy / Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy for your love).

Critical reception

Upon release, "Adiós" was met with widely positive reviews from

. Haley Longman of '' OK!'' praised Martin's

and wrote that with "Adiós" he transformed it in a song form. Mike Wass of the website Idolator noted how the song's release in various languages was due to Martin's worldwide stardom. He further found the singer in a "sedate mood", similar to "

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

with a very exotic twist" and was more in favor of the Spanish version, noting how its chorus and instrumental breakdown were its key parts. A writer of Radio Corazón labeled the track "a great song about Goodbye". Jaromír Koc from musicserver.cz described its melody as "catchy" and stated that "the song sounds really fresh and a hit on the first listen". Also, an author of ''

El Espectador ''El Espectador'' (meaning "The Spectator") is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia, founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez on 22 March 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá. It changed from a daily to a weekly editio ...

'' labeled the track "a catchy song".

Accolades

Cadena Dial Cadena Dial is a Spanish radio station. The station belongs to the Spanish media group PRISA. It was founded in 1990 and broadcasts exclusively pop music in Spanish (and Catalan, in the case of Catalonia). On 7 April 2017 Cadena Dial began broadc ...

ranked "Adiós" among the "7 songs to overcome the return to the routine" in 2019. The song was nominated for Best Latin Dance Track at the 31st

Commercial performance

"Adiós" debuted at number 22 on the US ''

chart on October 11, 2014, becoming Martin's 41st entry on the chart. Additionally, it debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard''

Latin Digital Songs The ''Billboard'' Latin Digital Songs, or Latin Digital Song Sales, is a record chart that ranks the best-selling Spanish-language digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine) ...

chart, with a first-week tally of 6,000 downloads sold. Following the singer's performance of the song at the

, it climbed to number 9 on Hot Latin Songs November 23, 2014, giving Martin his 24th top-ten hit. Therefore, Martin broke away from a tie with

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

for the sixth slot of most top 10s, coming behind Luis Miguel,

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

Chayanne Elmer Figueroa Arce (born June 28, 1968), better known under the stage name Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, making him one of ...

Cristian Castro Christian Sáinz Valdés Castro (born 8 December 1974), known professionally as Cristian Castro or Cristian, is a Mexican pop singer. He is the son of actors Veronica Castro and Manuel "El Loco" Valdés, and nephew of actors Ramón Valdés ...

, and

Marco Antonio Solís Marco Antonio Solís Sosa (born 29 December 1959) is a Mexican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. Born and raised in Ario de Rosales, Michoacán, Solís began his musical career at the age of six, performing part of Los Hermanito ...

. "Adiós" also peaked at numbers number four and five on

and

, respectively. Besides the United States, "Adiós" peaked at number one in Colombia and reached the top-five in Mexico. In 2017, it was certified platinum + gold by the

Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON) (English: Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms, A.C.) is a non-profit organization integrated by multinational and national record companies in M ...

(AMPROFON), for track-equivalent sales of over 90,000 units in Mexico. In Spain's official weekly chart, the song debuted at number 37 on September 28, 2014. It subsequently peaked at number 12 on the chart issue dated December 14, 2014, giving Martin his 18th top-20 hit in the country. "Adiós" has since become Martin's longest-charting solo hit in Spain, spending 25 weeks on the chart. The track was also certified gold by the

Productores de Música de España Productores de Música de España (English: Spanish Music Producers, shortened as Promusicae) is the national organisation responsible for the music charts of Spain. It is a trade association that represents more than 90% of the Spanish recorded m ...

(PROMUSICAE), for track-equivalent sales of over 20,000 units in the country.

Promotion

Music videos

On October 3, 2014, Martin shared a video of himself on the set of filming "Adiós"

, announcing that the visual would be available on October 20, 2014. He exclusively premiered the video on Twitter on the specified date, and uploaded the music videos for both Spanish/French and English versions on his

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel the following day. It was set in early-1930s

Weimar Germany The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is als ...

, filmed in

, the underground

Harvelle's, which opened its doors during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

in 1931, and directed by Ethan Ladder. Martin portrays five characters in the video: a policeman, a

, a

, and a singer. The visual also features several female

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

dancers, lap danceing to a few men in the crowd. Martin stated about the early-1930s: "There is something about that era and the style that I love." Writing for his website, Andy Towle praised Martin's different roles for being "each more dashing than the next", while Sophie Schillaci from ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...

'' described the video as "sexy" and "

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

". As of September 2018, the Spanish/French version has received over 100 million views on YouTube.

Live performances

On November 20, 2014, Martin performed the song at the 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, along with "dancers in

corset A corset is a support garment commonly worn to hold and train the torso into a desired shape, traditionally a smaller waist or larger bottom, for aesthetic or medical purposes (either for the duration of wearing it or with a more lasting effe ...

s and

garter A garter is an article of clothing comprising a narrow band of fabric fastened about the leg to keep up stockings. In the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, they were tied just below the knee, where the leg is most slender, to keep the stocking ...

belts", doing

Charleston dance The Charleston is a dance named after the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson, which ...

moves. On February 1, 2015, he gave it a performance, surrounded by 40 contestants from the auditions of 2015 edition of the American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

, ''

Nuestra Belleza Latina ''Nuestra Belleza Latina'' (English: ''Our Latin beauty'') is an American reality television beauty pageant that has been broadcast on Univision from 2007 through 2016, 2018, and 2021. Reunion specials have been conducted in the years 2010, 2016, ...

''. On February 10, 2015, he performed "Adiós", "

Disparo al Corazón "Disparo al Corazón" ( en, "Shot to the Heart") is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin, released on January 13, 2015 as the second single from his Grammy Award–winning Spanish-language album, ''A Quien Quiera Escuchar'' (2015) ...

" and "

Livin' la Vida Loca "Livin' la Vida Loca" () is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his fifth studio album and English-language debut, ''Ricky Martin'' (1999). The song was written by Draco Rosa and Desmond Child, while the production was handl ...

" on the Honda Stage at the iHeartRadio Theater. The following day, he performed the English version of "Adiós" on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...

''. Kevin Apaza from

Direct Lyrics MRC II Distribution Company L.P., doing business as MRC (formerly Media Rights Capital), is an American film and television studio. Founded by Mordecai (Modi) Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, the company funds and produces film and television programming. ...

praised Martin's "showmanship" and stated: "He killed it." One day later, he performed "Adiós", "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "The Cup of Life" on ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

''. "Adiós" was included on the

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

s for Martin's the One World Tour and the Ricky Martin en Concierto.

Track listings

*Digital download and streaming # "Adiós" – 3:58 # "Adiós" (English/French Version) – 3:58 # "Adiós" (English Version) – 3:58 *Digital download and streaming – mambo remix # "Adiós" (feat. Nicky Jam) ambo Remix– 3:52 *Digital download and streaming – ranchera remix # "Adiós" (Ranchera Remix) eat. Julion Alvarez y Su Norteño Banda– 3:51 *Digital download and streaming – dance remixes # "Adiós" (Supermatik Club Mix Extended) – 5:06 # "Adiós" (Supermatik Club Mix Radio Edit) – 3:43 # "Adiós" (Supermatik Mix Extended) – 5:08 # "Adiós" (Supermatik Mix Radio Edit) – 3:44 *Digital download and streaming – Flylife remixes # "Adiós" (Danny Verde Remix) – 6:47 # "Adiós" (Steven Redant Vocal Mix) – 6:43 # "Adiós" (Steven Redant Remix) – 6:43 # "Adiós" (

DJ Riddler Richie Pangilinan (born in Chicago, Illinois), better known as DJ Riddler or The Riddler, is an American dance music, dance DJ, Music producer, producer, remixer, Online streamer, streamer, music director and radio personality, formerly with Hous ...

Remix) nglish Version– 5:18 *Digital download and streaming – EP # "Adiós" – 3:58 # "Adiós" (English/French Version) – 3:58 # "Adiós" (English Version) – 3:58 # "Adiós" (feat. Nicky Jam) ambo Remix– 3:52

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. *

vocal, composer, lyricist, associated performer * Antonio Rayo Gibo composer, lyricist, producer, engineer, misc. prod., programmer *

composer, lyricist, producer, engineer, misc. prod., programmer *

producer, engineer, programmer * Isabel De Jesús A&R coordinator * Alex Gallardo A&R coordinator * Justin Hergert assistant engineer *

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...

mastering engineer * Antonio Baglio mastering engineer * Enrique Larreal misc. prod. * David Cabrera misc. prod. * Tony Maserati mixing engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adios (Ricky Martin song) Songs about parting 2014 songs 2014 singles Ricky Martin songs Nicky Jam songs Spanglish songs Song recordings produced by Jesse Shatkin Sony Music Latin singles Songs written by Ricky Martin Songs written by Rayito Number-one singles in Colombia Songs written by Yotuel Romero