"De Cora <3" (, also stylized as "De Cora 💙") is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer

Rauw Alejandro Raúl Alejandro Ocasio Ruiz (born January 10, 1993), known professionally as Rauw Alejandro, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. Referred to as the " King of Modern Reggaeton", he belongs to "the new generation" of Puerto Rican urban musi ...

and Colombian singer

J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. He has been referred to as the " Prince of Reggaeton" (from Spanish: "Príncipe del Reggaetón"), and is one of the best-sell ...

for Alejandro's debut studio album, ''

Afrodisíaco ''Afrodisíaco'' () is the debut studio album by Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro. It was released on November 13, 2020, by Sony Music Latin and Duars Entertainment. After releasing several projects including a mixtape, an extended play, and m ...

'' (2020). It was written by Alejandro, Caleb Calloway, Colla, Eric Duars, D'Alexis, and Balvin, while the production was handled by Calloway and Alejandro. The song 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 ...

Sony Music Latin Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC (often referred to as Sony Music Latin) is a record label owned by Sony Music. The label focuses on artists of Latin music. History In 1979, CBS Records (now Columbia Records) ended its partnership with C ...

and Duars Entertainment on November 12, 2020, as the fifth

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from the album. A Spanish language romantic urbano song, it expresses the feelings of someone who still misses his ex-partner, wishing her the best. "De Cora <3" received 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 rhythms and the contrast in the singers' vocals. The track was commercially successful, reaching number one in El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Puerto Rico, as well as the top five in Guatemala and Mexico. In Spain and on ''

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 ...

in the United States, it peaked in the top 20. The song has received several

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

s, including platinum in Spain. 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 simultaneously with the song, was directed by Gustavo "Gus" Camacho. It depicts the singers as two prisoners who go to a work camp, cleaning and trimming trees made of clouds, to make it rain for their beloved. To promote the song, Alejandro and Balvin performed it on ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28am ...

''.

Background and release

announced that he was working on his debut studio album ''

'' in February 2020. On October 13, 2020, he shared photos of himself along with

on social media, using the hashtag #Afrodisíaco, confirming that there would be a collaboration between the two singers on the album. On November 9, 2020, Alejandro revealed the album's track list, including his collaboration with Balvin, entitled "De Cora <3", as the sixth track. On November 12, 2020, the song was released for digital download and

and Duars Entertainment as the fourth single from ''Afrodisíaco''. During an interview with

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

, Alejandro talked about the collaboration:

Composition and lyrics

Musically, "De Cora <3" is a Spanish language urbano song, written by Alejandro, Caleb Calloway, Colla, Eric Duars, D'Alexis, and Balvin. Its production was handled by Calloway and Alejandro, and the track runs for a total of 3 minutes and 10 seconds. As Alejandro explains, "De Cora", which translates to "From Heart" in English, is a common phrase in Puerto Rico, when they "really mean something". "<3" represents a "little heart symbol" which used to be popular on SMS messages in the 2000s. Lyrically, "De Cora <3" is a romantic song about living with a young woman in a beautiful home, expressing the feelings of someone who still misses his partner. It talks about how you can wish your ex-partner the best, even if you are no longer with her. The lyrics include, "Extraño el sabor de tu boca / Extraño saborearte / A tu cuerpo le digo Picasso, porque tu eres arte / Me obligan a pensarte" (I miss the taste of your mouth / I miss tasting you / I call your body Picasso because you are art / They force me to think about you).

Critical reception

Alberto Palao Murcia from

Los 40 Los 40 (The 40, stylized as LOS40 and formerly ''Los 40 Principales'', es, Los Cuarenta) is a Top 40 music radio network and radio station brand in many Spanish-speaking countries from PRISA Radio. The station has its origins as a music show ...

gave "De Cora <3" a positive review, saying it "invites you to dance at all times thanks to its base". In 2022, Ernesto Lechner from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' ranked the track as Alejandro's 13th-best song, stating that he "sounds perfectly" next to Balvin. The critic continued praising "the contrast in their voices" as "spectacular", while describing the song's chorus and pre-chorus as "addictive".

Commercial performance

"De Cora <3" debuted and peaked at number 16 on the US ''

chart on November 28, 2020, becoming Alejandro's 12th entry and Balvin's 73rd. The song also peaked at numbers 19 and 11 on the

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 ...

and

Latin Rhythm Airplay Latin Rhythm Airplay is an airplay-only chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs being played on Hispanic rhythmic/hurban radio stations in the United States. The music typically heard on these stations include r ...

charts, respectively. In Spain's official weekly chart, the track debuted and peaked at number 18 on November 1, 2020. It was later certified platinum 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 40,000 units in the country. Additionally, "De Cora <3" reached number one in El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Puerto Rico, as well as the top 10 in Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Mexico. In Mexico, the song was certified platinum 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 140,000 units.

Promotion

Music video

An accompanying

was released simultaneously with the song. The visual was filmed in Colombia and directed by Venezuelan director Gustavo "Gus" Camacho, who had also directed the videos for Alejandro's previous singles "

Fantasías "Fantasías" () is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singers Rauw Alejandro and Farruko. It was written by Alejandro, Farruko, Eric Duars, Franklin J. Martinez, Ricardo Lloyd Johnson, and Windel Edwards, while the production was handled by Urbani M ...

", " Fantasías (Remix)", "

Elegí "Elegí" () is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro, American singer Dalex and Puerto Rican singer Lenny Tavárez, featuring Panamanian producer Dímelo Flow. It was written by Dalex, Isac Ortiz, Alejandro, Borris, Tavárez, Slow ...

", " Tattoo (Remix)", " Elegí (Remix)", and " Enchule". It depicts the singers as two prisoners who go to a work camp, cleaning and trimming trees made of clouds, to make it rain for their beloved.

Live performances

Alejandro and Balvin performed the song on ''

'' on November 23, 2020.

Track listing

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 ...

. *

associated performer, composer, lyricist, producer *

associated performer, composer, lyricist * Héctor C. López "Caleb Calloway" composer, lyricist, producer * José M. Collazo "Colla" composer, lyricist, mastering engineer, mixing engineer * Eric Pérez Rovira "Eric Duars" composer, lyricist, executive producer * Angel Ruben Díaz "D'Alexis" composer, lyricist * Amber Rubi Urena A&R coordinator * John Eddie Pérez A&R director * Jorge E. Pizarro "Kenobi" recording engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2020 songs 2020 singles Rauw Alejandro songs J Balvin songs Songs written by Rauw Alejandro Songs written by J Balvin Sony Music Latin singles Songs in Spanish