"Danza Kuduro" (English: Dance
Kuduro
Kuduro (or kuduru) is a type of music and dance from Angola. It is characterized as uptempo, energetic, and danceable. Kuduro was developed in Luanda, Angola in the late 1980s. Producers sampled traditional carnival music like soca and zouk bé ...
) is a Spanish/Portuguese song by Puerto Rican recording artist
Don Omar
William Omar Landrón Rivera (born February 10, 1978), better known by his stage name Don Omar, is a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. On September 1, 2017, he announced that he would retire after a ...
featuring Portuguese–French singer
Lucenzo
Luís Filipe Fraga Oliveira (; born 27 May 1983), better known by his stage name Lucenzo (), is a Portuguese–French reggaeton recording artist and record producer. His parents emigrated to France, from Portugal. Lucenzo, when began his singing ...
from Don Omar's collaborative album ''
Meet the Orphans
''Meet the Orphans'' is the fourth studio album by reggaeton artist, Don Omar, released on November 16, 2010.[Vem Dançar Kuduro
"Vem Dançar Kuduro" (, en, Come Dance Kuduro) is a multilingual Portuguese/English dance hit single by Lucenzo, a France-based artist of Portuguese origin featuring France-based American artist Big Ali.
Lucenzo sings in Portuguese and Big Ali in ...](_blank)
", a Portuguese/English song. "Danza Kuduro" was released 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 on August 15, 2010, through
Machete
Older machete from Latin America
Gerber machete/saw combo
Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
,
VI. It became a hit in most Latin American countries,
[Danza Kuduro - Single by Don Omar & Lucenzo](_blank)
'' iTunes.com'' Retrieved 2010-08-18 and eventually all over Europe.
"Danza Kuduro" was number one on the
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 ...
, giving Don Omar his second US ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs number-one hit and Lucenzo his first.
A remake of the song is also featured in the 2011 movie ''
Fast Five
''Fast Five'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 5'' or ''Fast & Furious 5: Rio Heist'') is a 2011 American action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious'' (2009) and the fifth i ...
'' as an ending song and is on the film's
soundtrack album
A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...
. "Danza Kuduro" ended up being the most successful song with a significant number of verses in
European Portuguese
European Portuguese ( pt, português europeu, ), also known as Portuguese of Portugal (Portuguese: português de Portugal), Iberian Portuguese (Portuguese: português ibérico), and Peninsular Portuguese (Portuguese: português peninsular), refer ...
of the 2010s. The track ranked 43 on Rolling Stone`s Greatest Latin Pop Songs.
Kuduro
Kuduro (or kuduru) is a type of music and dance from Angola. It is characterized as uptempo, energetic, and danceable. Kuduro was developed in Luanda, Angola in the late 1980s. Producers sampled traditional carnival music like soca and zouk bé ...
is a style of dancing, as well as a musical genre, from
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
. In spite of the name, "Danza Kuduro" - just like "Vem Dançar Kuduro" - can't be considered straight-up Kuduro.
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian rapper Daddy Kall and singer
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
released a Brazilian version of the song, "Dança Kuduro", of the song with amended Portuguese lyrics.
Background
The song, written and produced by Lucenzo, is mostly sung in Spanish by Don Omar, except for Lucenzo's lone verse in European Portuguese. The verse is taken from Lucenzo's previously released song "
Vem dançar kuduro
"Vem Dançar Kuduro" (, en, Come Dance Kuduro) is a multilingual Portuguese/English dance hit single by Lucenzo, a France-based artist of Portuguese origin featuring France-based American artist Big Ali.
Lucenzo sings in Portuguese and Big Ali in ...
", featuring
Big Ali
Ali Fitzgerald Moore (born February 25, 1978), better known by his stage name Big Ali and formerly Breakingz and Grimer, is an American singer, rapper, songwriter and DJ born in New York. He has been based in Paris, France, since 2001. He is sig ...
.
Kuduro is a dance style practiced in the West African country of
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
. Originally designed to pay tribute towards the many disfigured and crippled people within the country due to the deadly civil war that ravaged the country and left landmines throughout the region. The dance is meant to not only pay tribute towards these handicapped individuals, but also incorporate their erratic and jerky movements into the flow of the moves. While Portugal once retained bloody control over the former colony the diasporic spread of the musically inspired dance craze has added to the feel of "world music" taking the concept of Kuduro from Brazil to Beijing.
Critical reception
Amar Toor from Aol Radio Blog said that the song "showcases one of reggaeton's brightest stars at his absolute best.
..Don Omar's song is so infectious, it will likely get buried in your mind after just one listen -- and trust us, that's a very good thing".
Monica Herrera from ''
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 ...
'' said "The propulsive beat is laced with crowd-pleasing electric accordion runs, over which Don Omar sings and raps about a simple yet evergreen concept: dancing up a storm. The song wisely shifts him toward more tropical-leaning material-a move all too familiar in reggaetón's post-boom era-while letting him continue to explore new sounds and maintain his hold over Latin dancefloors around the world."
Allison Stewart from
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
said that the song "exemplifies what Omar and company do best: It's a sunny, up-tempo, utterly winning variation on Latin dance pop. 'Orphans' otherwise contains seemingly infinite variations on reggaeton, though there's nothing else as great as the standard genre track '
Hasta Abajo', which appears here in un-remixed form".
At the
Latin Grammy Awards of 2011
The 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards was held on Thursday, November 10, 2011, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and was hosted by Lucero and Cristián de la Fuente. The eligibility period for recordings to be nominated is July 1, 20 ...
, "Danza Kuduro" received a nomination for
Best Urban Song. It won the
in 2011 and 2012.
Commercial performance
The song debuted at number 48 on the ''
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 ...
''
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 ...
. One week later, the song debuted at number 34 on the
Tropical Songs
The Tropical Airplay chart (formerly known as Tropical/Salsa and Tropical Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine introduced in 1994. The first number-one song on the chart was " Quien Eres Tu" by Luis Enrique. Originally, ra ...
.
The song has become Don Omar's second number-one hit on the Billboard
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 ...
, and also topped the
Latin Rhythm Songs,
Latin Tropical Songs. On the Venezuelan Airplay Chart from the Record Report, the song also reached the top of the Latin Chart,
and peaked at number 2 on the main Top 100 Chart.
Due to heavy airplay and strong sales in the US, on the issue of May 21, 2011 the song debuted at number 82 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 93 on the
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
.
[Billboard Hot 100 - Issue Date: 2011-05-21]
Billboard. Retrieved 2011-05-12 It has sold over a million digital copies in the US by October 2012.
According to Universal Records, the single became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and on the
US Hot Latin Songs chart, and making the top 5 in
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
,
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
, and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
The single has found greater success especially in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
where it topped the charts for 10 straight weeks.
Music video
A
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 ...
was filmed on the Caribbean island of
St. Martin,
[Don Omar se tomará las pistas de baile con "Danza Kuduro"](_blank)
enlatino.com Retrieved 2010-08-18 and was directed by music video director Vincent Egret, who has directed most of Lucenzo's recent videos. Production/Post supervised by Frederico Panetta and his team (4brostudio) Marc-Olivier Jean, Anderson Jean, Dullin Jean, Fayolle Jean Jr. did the post-production of the music video. After Title Short Song Taboo By Don Omar In this The video shows the singers boasting of all the wealth of a millionaire. It portrays Don Omar inviting Lucenzo to a boat ride, and picking him up in a
BMW Z4
The BMW Z models are a line of roadsters manufactured by German automaker BMW. The Z stands for ''zukunft'' (German for ''future''), and has been produced in four different series with six generations consisting of roadster, coupé, sports car, ...
. Also there are scenes of women dancing around the two artists on the beach. Before the video premiere, a preview of the video was released on July 30, 2010, through Omar's
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 ...
account.
[Conoce la "Danza Kuduro" de Don Omar](_blank)
esmas.com Retrieved 2010-08-18
The full music video was premiered on August 17, 2010, through
Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
. There were more than 1 million views within the first few days of its release, making "Danza Kuduro" the #3 Most Seen Video in the World.
[El video Musical De "Danza Kuduro" Rompe en Vevo y es #3 Del video mas visto en el mundo](_blank)
MeettheOrphans.com Retrieved 2010-11-04. Since 2018 the music video for "Danza Kuduro" exceeded one billion views.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
All time charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2010 singles
Don Omar songs
Machete Music singles
Number-one singles in Austria
Number-one singles in Venezuela
Number-one singles in Italy
Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
Number-one singles in Spain
Number-one singles in Romania
Number-one singles in Switzerland
Number-one singles in Germany
Number-one singles in Sweden
Record Report Top Latino number-one singles
Songs written by Don Omar
2010 songs
Songs written by Lucenzo