"Agua" ( English: "Water") is a song by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee featuring Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro on vocals and American musician and producer

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, record producer and composer. The co-founder of Chic, Rodgers has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million ...

on guitar, being their first collaboration with each other. It was released on March 24, 2022 simultaneously with Daddy Yankee's eighth and final studio album, ''

Legendaddy "Legendaddy" is the 19th episode of the How I Met Your Mother (season 6), sixth season of the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' and the 131st episode overall. It aired on March 21, 2011. Plot The gang goes to the house that Ted Mosby, Ted b ...

'', among various other singles from the record. It was accompanied by a music video directed by Dominican filmmaker Marlon Peña. It was written by Daddy Yankee, Rauw Alejandro, Nile Rodgers, American-Colombian singer David "Raey" Fajardo, Venezuelan singer Rafael "Reggi El Auténtico" Aponte, American singer Raúl "Rey Santana" Treviño, Gary Walker, Mexican producer Scott Summers, American-Nigerian producer Emmanuel Anene and American production duo Play-N-Skillz members Juan Salinas and Oscar Salinas. It was produced by Daddy Yankee, Play-N-Skillz and Scott Summers. It is a

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 ...

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

song with a

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

segment,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

electric guitar riffs and love lyrics. Daddy Yankee wanted to record a 1980s-inspired track and enlisted Rauw Alejandro due to the success of his single " Todo de Ti" (2021) and Nile Rodgers because of his involvement as producer and guitarist of several hits from that era. It has been praised by music critics as one of the album's best tracks—referred to as surprising, refreshing, alluring, irresistible and exciting—and was nominated for

Song of the Year Song of the Year may refer to: * Country Music Association Award for Song of the Year * Dove Award for Song of the Year * Golden Melody Award for Song of the Year * Grammis Song of the Year * Grammy Award for Song of the Year * Latin Grammy Awa ...

at the 23rd Latin Grammy Awards. Commercially, it reached number 189 on ''Billboard''s Global Excl. US chart, as well as number 12 in Panama, number 21 on the US

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 ...

, number 28 on ''Billboard''s Mexico Español Airplay chart and number 52 in Spain.

Background and composition

"Agua" was written by Daddy Yankee, Rauw Alejandro,

, David "Raey" Fajardo, David "Scott Summers" Macías, Emmanuel "Eman" Anene, Gary Walker, Play-N-Skillz members Juan and Oscar Salinas, Rafael "Reggi El Auténtico" Aponte, and Raúl "Rey Santana" Treviño. It was produced and programmed by Daddy Yankee, Play-N-Skillz and Scott Summers, recorded by Emmanuel "Eman" Anene, mixed by American audio engineer Luis Barrera Jr., and mastered by American engineer Michael Fuller. Nile Rodgers was recorded at 5020 Studio in Miami. Dutch company CTM Entertainment, whose Latin division is creatively directed by Play-N-Skillz, posted on November 18, 2021 an image depicting Daddy Yankee and Rodgers at a studio in Miami, announcing a "new single coming soon," which may suggest that "Agua" was recorded during that time. Daddy Yankee crossed an item off his bucket list by working with Rodgers, who he admired since his childhood and referred to him as a "musical eminence," while Rauw Alejandro posted that collaborating with Daddy Yankee for the first time was a "dream come true" and acknowledged him as one of his inspirations. 1:35:02–1:37:04 The song's concept was to record a 1980s-inspired track featuring vocals by Rauw Alejandro, who had recently achieved success with his

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

single " Todo de Ti" (2021), while also enlisting Nile Rodgers, who Daddy Yankee saw as the "creator" of iconic guitar sounds from the that era, such as

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

's " We Are Family" (1979), David Bowie's " Let's Dance" (1983) and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's " Like a Virgin" (1984). "Agua" has been described as a "1980s-inspired

" and "

pop" song with a

segment during Daddy Yankee's verse and has a length of three minutes and twenty-four seconds. Its love lyrics are performed by Daddy Yankee and Rauw Alejandro, while Nile Rodgers plays "funky" and "groovy" electric guitar

riffs A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accomp ...

during the chorus. Daddy Yankee also briefly

interpolates In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a n ...

the chorus of " Con Altura" (2019) by Spanish singer Rosalía, with whom Rauw Alejandro has a relationship.

Reception

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 Latin editors selected "Agua" among the album's essential tracks, praising it as "one of the most surprising tracks on ''

'', taking Daddy Yankee completely out of his comfort zone." Writing for '' The New York Times'', Isabelia Herrera referred to the track as "one refreshing moment of adventure," while ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

''s Lucas Villa described it as "slick and alluring," an "irresistible pop-infused romp" and one of "the album's most exciting moments". "Agua" was also included among the record's highlights by Remezcla's Jeanette Hernandez, AllMusic's Thom Jurek and Spanish music website Jenesaispop's Jordi Bardají. The latter found its "succession of melodic and rapped hooks" to be "spectacular" and commended its synth-pop beat. Nile Rodgers' "classic disco guitar plucking" reminded Bajardí of his "essential contribution" on

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

's " Get Lucky" (2013). The Recording Academy included it on their "Essential Guide to Daddy Yankee" list.

Accolades

Commercial performance

Following the release of Daddy Yankee's seventh and final record, ''Legendaddy'', "Agua" debuted and peaked at number 21 and 189 on ''

''s

and Global Excl. US charts, respectively, on the week ending April 9, 2022, becoming the fourth highest-peaking song from the album on both lists. It also reached number 18 on ''Billboard''s

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 was ...

chart. In Spanish-speaking countries, the track peaked at number 12 in Panama, at 28 on ''Billboard''s Mexico Español Airplay chart and at 52 and Spain.

Music video

The music video for "Agua" was one of the nine that premiered simultaneously with the release of ''Legendaddy'' on March 24, 2022. It was directed by Dominican filmmaker Marlon Peña, with whom Daddy Yankee had previously worked with on music videos including " Mayor Que Yo" (2005), "

Shaky Shaky "Shaky Shaky" is a single by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee that was intended to appear on his unreleased studio album '' El Disco Duro''. The song was recorded in December 2015 as a freestyle during a recording session in Puerto Rico and later ...

" (2017), " Con Calma", "

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

" and " Que Tire Pa' Lante" (all 2019), as well as on clips for the ''Legendaddy'' tracks "

Rumbatón "Rumbatón" is a song by Puerto Rican rapper Daddy Yankee and the lead single from his seventh and final studio album, ''Legendaddy''. Described by him as "the album's flagship", the song was released on March 24, 2022, simultaneously with the rec ...

" and "La Ola". It depicts Daddy Yankee and Rauw Alejandro performing the track on coastal scenarios with dancers and luxury cars, with brief appearances by Nile Rodgers playing the guitar. The dancers were choreographed by Ukrainian choreographer Greg Chapkis, who also worked on ''Legendaddy''s music videos for the tracks "Rumbatón" and "La Ola" as well as clips for other Daddy Yankee songs including "Con Calma" and "Que Tire Pa' Lante" (both 2019).

Live performances

"Agua" was included in the setlist of Daddy Yankee's farewell concert tour, La Última Vuelta, in which Rauw Alejandro appeared on a holographic screen.

Credits and personnel

* Rauw Alejandro – vocals, songwriting *Emmanuel Anene –

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

, songwriting *Rafael Aponte – songwriting *Luis Barrera Jr. – mixing engineer, immersive mixing engineer *David Fajardo – songwriting *Michael Fuller –

mastering engineer A mastering engineer is a person skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distr ...

* Play-N-Skillz – producer, programming, songwriting *

– electric guitar, songwriting *Scott Summers – producer, programming, songwriting *Raúl Treviño – songwriting *Gary Walker – songwriting * Daddy Yankee – vocals, producer, programming, songwriting

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Rauw Alejandro, state=collapsed Daddy Yankee songs Rauw Alejandro songs Nile Rodgers songs 2022 songs Songs written by Nile Rodgers Songs written by Daddy Yankee Song recordings produced by Play-N-Skillz