"Desesperados" () is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singers

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

Chencho Corleone Orlando Javier Valle Vega (born February 19, 1979), known professionally as Chencho Corleone or simply Chencho, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a member of the reggaeton duo Plan B Plan B typically refers to ...

for Alejandro's second studio album, '' Vice Versa'' (2021). It was written by Alejandro, Corleone, Jorge Cedeño Echevarria,

Nino Segarra Nino Segarra (born June 21, 1954) is a singer, composer, musician and musical arranger. Early years Segarra was born in Maricao, Puerto Rico into a family of musicians. He was always surrounded by many musical instruments and as a child, learn ...

, NaisGai, Colla, Kenobi, and Eric Duars, while the production was handled by Alejandro, Dulce como Candy, Dimelo Ninow, and NaisGai. 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 i ...

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 ...

and Duars Entertainment on December 9, 2021, as the fifth single from the album. A Spanish language

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...

song with elements of

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...

and

dembow Dembow is a Dominican musical genre that can be traced to a riddim that originated in Jamaican dancehall. When Shabba Ranks released "Dem Bow" in 1990, it did not take long for the dembow genre to form. Riddims were built from the song and th ...

, it is about two people who are apart, but still have love for each other, so they somehow try to get back together. The track 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 danceable and catchy rhythm and the singers' vocals. "Desesperados" was ranked among the 100 Greatest Reggaeton Songs of All Time by ''

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

''. It was nominated for Best Reggaeton Performance and Best Urban Song at the

23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards The 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held on Thursday, November 17, 2022, at the Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas to honour the best musical releases within Latin music released from June 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022. The nominations were a ...

. The song was commercially successful, reaching number one in nine countries, including Colombia and Spain, as well as the top five in several other countries such as Argentina and Mexico, and on '' Billboard''s Hot Latin Songs in the United States. It also reached the summit of 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 ...

charts, peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200, and became Corleone's first entry on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song has received several certifications, including Latin quadruple platinum 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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, released simultaneously with the song, was directed by Manson and contains erotic scenes. To promote the song, Alejandro and Corleone performed it on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

''.

Background and release

released his second studio album, '' Vice Versa'' on June 25, 2021. The album debuted at number one on ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums, giving Alejandro his first number one on the chart, and was ranked as the third-best album of 2021 and the best Spanish-language album of the year by ''

''. It featured a 17-second interlude, entitled "Track 4", consisting of electronic sounds and a robot voice repeating the word "loading". The following month, during an interview with

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 ...

, he explained about it: "Track 4 is a surprise. People still don't understand why I did that. It is a song that has no song. It's a surprise I have for you, but it's a song that's going to come out soon." The "hype" made by the interlude was noted by the media as "a good marketing technique". On November 17, 2021, Alejandro announced that he had set a release date for the track via Instagram. On December 9, 2021, "Desesperados" was released for digital download and

and Duars Entertainment as the fifth single from ''Vice Versa'' and replaced "Track 4" on the album. It marked the second collaboration between Alejandro and

, who had previously worked on " El Efecto" in 2019. In May 2022, during an interview with '' Billboard'', Alejandro called Corleone a "legend" and spoke about the collaboration: " ..I did my first collab with Chencho, it was in 'El Efecto'. It was like three years ago and it did really well. We have good chemistry, so people was like waiting for the next collab and I waited for my album to put 'Desesperados'

n it N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...

and you know, we got two of two right now."

Music and lyrics

Musically, "Desesperados" is a Spanish language

upbeat Up beat may refer to: *Upbeat, in music, the last beat in the previous bar which immediately precedes the downbeat *Anacrusis, a note (or sequence of notes) which precedes the first downbeat in a bar in a musical phrase * ''Upbeat'' (album), by t ...

song, with elements of

and

. The song was written by Alejandro, Corleone, Jorge Cedeño Echevarria,

, NaisGai, Colla, Kenobi, and Eric Duars. Its production was handled by Alejandro, Dulce como Candy, Dimelo Ninow, and NaisGai, and the track runs for a total of 3 minutes and 44 seconds. Lyrically, "Desesperados" which translates to "Desperate" in English, is about two people who are apart, but still have love for each other, so they somehow try to get back together. There is a very passionate affair between the two lovers who cannot even "be bothered to park their car before ripping their clothes off", while they have already reserved a hotel room. The lyrics include, "La primera vez que perriamos / No pudimos evitarlo y nos besamos / Que el momento no acabara" (The first time we lost / We couldn't help it and we kissed / That the moment wouldn't end).

Critical reception

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

. In his review for ''Billboard'', Jason Lipshutz described the track as "shiny", saying it "draws out both of their respective strengths while adhering to the contours of the full-length it's joining". He continued praising Alejandro's "vocal showcase" and Corleone's "especially animated" sound. ''Rolling Stone'' critic Lucas Villa described Alejandro's vocals as "smooth" and commented that the track successfully embodys both the reggaeton's "past and present". Los 40's Carolina Rodriguez Conza noted that its "series of reggaeton sounds and catchy rhythms" make the listeners "dance non-stop". In another article, she described it as "a single with pure sounds of the urban genre that left us speechless and wanting to hear more from Puerto Rico". Nadia Juanes from El Rescate Musical applauded the song for being "perfect for dancing at any party", while Raphael Helfand of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' described its rhythm as "infectious". An author of

Monitor Latino Monitor Latino (stylised monitorLATINO) is a singles chart founded in 2003 which ranks songs on chart based on airplay across radio stations in Latin American countries and Hispanic radio stations in the United States using the Radio Tracking Data ...

gave "Desesperados" a positive review, labeling it " great single" that "shines twice as much thanks to the collaboration" of Corleone on Alejandro's song. ''

¡Hola! ''¡Hola!'' is a weekly Spanish-language magazine specializing in celebrity news, published in Madrid, Spain, and in 15 other countries, with local editions in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Greece, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru ...

'' critic Rebecah Jacobs introduced Alejandro as "breakout Latin music sensation" and Ocio Latino staff named him a "phenomenon" in their respective reviews of the song. In 2022, Ernesto Lechner from ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the track as the singer's third-best song.

Accolades

In 2022, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked "Desesperados" as the 90th Greatest Reggaeton Song of All Time. The track has received a number of awards and nominations. It was nominated for Best Reggaeton Performance and Best Urban Song at the

Commercial performance

"Desesperados" became a global hit, peaking at numbers 13 and 10 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 and ''Billboard'' Global Excl. US charts, respectively. The song debuted at number 27 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Songs chart on December 25, 2021, becoming Alejandro's 26th entry. On April 2, 2022, the track reached its peak of number five, giving Alejandro his sixth top-10 hit on the chart. It also peaked at number one on both the

and

charts on July 2, 2022. Thus it became Alejandro's ninth crowning hit on both, as well as Corleone's first ever number one hit as a lead artist on a ''Billboard'' radio chart. "Desesperados" debuted at number 99 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the chart issue dated June 16, 2022, becoming Alejandro's third entry on the chart and Corleone's first. The following week, it climbed to number 98, and subsequently peaked at number 91 in its third week on the Hot 100. The song was certified quadruple platinum (

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 ...

) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for track-equivalent sales of over 240,000 units in the United States. Besides the United States, "Desesperados" hit the charts in several European countries, including Portugal and Switzerland, and was certified gold by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI), for track-equivalent sales of over 50,000 units in Italy. In Spain's official weekly chart, the song debuted at number seven on December 19, 2021. It subsequently peaked at number one on the chart for three consecutive weeks, becoming Alejandro's third number one hit in the country and Corleone's first. The track was later certified quintuple 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 300,000 units in the country. In Latin America, "Desesperados" experienced a huge commercial success. It peaked at number one in Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, and Uruguay, and reached the top 10 in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Latin America, Mexico, Panama, and Paraguay. In Mexico, the song was certified diamond 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 700,000 units. It was also certified gold by

Pro-Música Brasil Pro-Música Brasil (PMB), previously Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD) (English: Brazilian Association of Record Producers), is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market. Hi ...

for track-equivalent sales of over 20,000 units in Brazil.

Promotion

Music video

An accompanying

was released simultaneously with the song. The visual was directed by the directing team Manson. It depicts Alejandro and Corleone singing in nightclubs and "

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

flower fields". It also contains several provocative and erotic scenes, featuring women, black-and-white empty bedrooms, and luxurious cars. Cynthia Valdez from ''¡Hola!'' described the video as "colorful". It was nominated for Best Urban Music Video at the 2022 Latino Show Awards.

Live performances

Alejandro and Corleone performed the song on ''

'' on April 6, 2022. On November 17, 2022, Alejandro gave a live performance of "Lejos del Cielo", "Más de Una Vez", "Desesperados", and " Punto 40" at the 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. "Desesperados" was also 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 ...

for his the Vice Versa Tour.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

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. *

associated performer, composer, lyricist, producer *

associated performer, composer, lyricist * Jorge Cedeño Echevarria composer, lyricist * Nino Karlo Segarra composer, lyricist * NaisGai composer, lyricist, producer * José M. Collazo composer, lyricist, mixing engineer * Jorge E. Pizarro "Kenobi" composer, lyricist, recording engineer * Eric Pérez Rovira "Eric Duars" composer, lyricist * Dulce como Candy producer * Dimelo Ninow producer * Tayla Rene Feldman A&R coordinator * John Eddie Pérez A&R director * Sensei Sound mastering engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Footnotes

References

{{authority control 2021 songs 2021 singles Rauw Alejandro songs Chencho Corleone songs Songs written by Rauw Alejandro Sony Music Latin singles Spanish-language songs