"Lo Siento" is a trilingual song that was recorded by South Korean boy band

Super Junior Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment in 2005. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their prominent ...

. The song features

Dominican-American Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United Stat ...

singer

Leslie Grace Leslie Grace Martínez (born January 7, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. For her work as a singer she has received three Latin Grammy Award nominations. She starred as Nina Rosario in Jon M. Chu's film adaptation ''In the He ...

and producers Play-N-Skillz; it was released on ''Replay'' (2018), a repackaged version of the band's eighth studio album ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

'' (2017).

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

Label SJ Label SJ is an exclusive label established by South Korean record label SM Entertainment for boy band Super Junior on November 6, 2015. History On 6 November 2015, Super Junior's 10th anniversary since their debut, SM Entertainment announced tha ...

and iriver released the track as the album's lead single on April 12, 2018. Daniel "Obi" Klein,

Charli Taft Charlotte Taft (born 3 September 1991) professionally known as Charli Taft, is a British singer and songwriter. She released her debut single "Pieces" in 2015 and has since been writing music for various Western artists and South Korean artists, ...

Andreas Oberg Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The ...

, and Juan "Play" and Oscar "Skillz" Salinas composed the song, and its lyrics were written in Korean, Spanish and English by Kenzie, Mario Caceres, Yasmil Marrufo, Grace, as well as Super Junior members

Heechul Kim Hee-chul (; born July 10, 1983), better known mononymously as Heechul, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, presenter and actor. He is a member of the South Korean boy band Super Junior and has further participated in its subgroup Super ...

and

Eunhyuk Lee Hyuk-jae (born April 4, 1986), better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer and television host. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Super Junior and its subgroups Super Junior-T and S ...

. The song describes

love at first sight Love at first sight is a personal experience as well as a common trope in literature: a person or character feels an instant, extreme, and ultimately long-lasting romantic attraction for a stranger upon first seeing that stranger. Described by p ...

; it marks the band's first collaboration with foreign artists and their first venture into

Latin pop Latin pop (in Spanish and in Portuguese: Pop latino) is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. Originating in Spanish-speaking musicians, Latin po ...

. A version of the song featuring

Kard A kard ( fa, کارد, kārd, knife) is the equivalent in the Persian language for knife. In the specialist jargon, Kard is considered a type of knife found in the Persianate societies like Persia, Turkey, Armenia and all the way to India. Mos ...

instead of Grace was released on the digital-download version of ''Replay''. In South Korea, Kard members Somin and Jiwoo promoted the song with Super Junior. A remixed version by Play-N-Skillz was released on the band's Latin-pop

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.

(EP) '' One More Time'' in October 2018. "Lo Siento" became the first song by a Korean singer to chart on the

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 ...

chart published by ''

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 ...

'', debuting at number 13. It also won the Best Collaboration award at the 2018 edition of the

Nickelodeon Mexico Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards Mexico is an annual awards show that awards entertainers with a blimp trophy, as voted by children on the Internet. The show is usually held in September and televised days later through Nickelodeon. Hosts Ed ...

. Lee Gi-baek directed the song's accompanying music video, which premiered the same day as the song's release. It was viewed over 20 million times on

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 ...

in the month after its release. Super Junior performed the song at KCON 2018 NY music festival and as part of their world tour Super Show 7, in which Grace appeared on its Latin-American leg.

Background and release

's album ''

'' and a special edition subtitled ''(Pause version)'' was released on November 6, and November 28, 2017, respectively.

announced that the album's repackage edition ''Replay'' would be released on April 12, 2018 to complete the

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

. The album's title track was described as a unique concept that is "180 degrees opposite" to the band's usual musical style. A teaser image was released on March 27, 2018, and it was announced new tracks "Lo Siento", "Me & U", "Super Duper" and "Hug" would be included on the repackaged album. It was also confirmed "Lo Siento", a

Latin-pop Latin pop (in Spanish and in Portuguese: Pop latino) is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. Originating in Spanish-speaking musicians, Latin p ...

song, would be 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 ...

. The single included only seven of the eleven members of Super Junior;

Leeteuk Park Jeong-su (born July 1, 1983), known professionally as Leeteuk (), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, presenter, radio personality and actor. He debuted as the leader of the boy band Super Junior in November 2005 and since then has part ...

Yesung Kim Kang-hoon (born Kim Jong-woon; August 24, 1984), better known by his stage name Yesung is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, radio personality and television presenter. He debuted in 2005 as a member of Super Junior and its subgroups ...

Shindong Shin Dong-hee (born September 28, 1985), better known by his stage name Shindong (lit. meaning: "prodigy"), is a South Korean rapper, singer, dancer, host, radio personality and video director. He is best known as a member of Super Junior and i ...

Siwon Choi Si-won (; born 7 April 1986), known mononymously as Siwon, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, model, and actor known for his work as a member of South Korean boy group Super Junior. Choi committed as special representative of UNICEF K ...

and Donghae. Other band members did not participate for various reasons; Kyuhyun and

Ryeowook Kim Ryeo-wook (born June 21, 1987), better known by the mononym Ryeowook, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and musical actor. He is best known as a member of boy group Super Junior and its subgroups, Super Junior-K.R.Y. and Super Junior-M ...

were carrying out their

mandatory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

while

Kangin Kim Young-woon (born January 17, 1985), better known by his stage name Kangin (lit. meaning: "strong benevolence"), is a South Korean former singer, actor, television host and radio personality. He is best known as a former member of Super Jun ...

and

Sungmin Sung-min, also spelled Seong-min, is a Korean unisex given name (predominantly masculine). Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 27 hanja with the reading " sung" and 27 hanja with the reading ...

were on hiatus. Although Heechul appeared in the teaser image,

announced he would not participate in the album's promotion because of health issues. In a separate interview, Heechul said he had been having difficulties performing on stage since the release of "

Sorry, Sorry Sorry, Sorry may refer to: * ''Sorry, Sorry'' (album) , a 2009 album by Super Junior ** "Sorry, Sorry" (Super Junior song), from the 2009 album ''Sorry, Sorry'' * "Sorry, Sorry" (Femi Kuti song), from the 1998 album ''Shoki Shoki'' *"Sorry Sorry", ...

" (2009) due to a leg injury. The song's release also marked

's return to the band's line-up. The single is the band's first collaboration with foreign artists; it was produced by Play-N-Skillz and features Dominican-American singer

. It is also the first collaboration between a Latin artist and K-pop band. Grace's part in the collaboration came from the recommendation of Play-N-Skillz. According to Grace: In another interview, Grace praised Super Junior's approach to the collaboration, saying the band were "open to learning about atinculture, and why we use certain sounds". On April 6, 2018, it was announced a special version of "Lo Siento" featuring

would be released on the digital download version of ''Replay'', and that Somin and Jiwoo of Kard would join Super Junior's promotion of the song in

South Korean music programs Music programs of South Korea are broadcast weekly, with different artists performing on the shows to promote their music. South Korea's largest broadcasting companies each have their own show, which are broadcast on different channels. SBS has ...

. In October 2018, Super Junior released a remixed version of the song titled "Lo Siento (Play-N-Skillz Remix ver.) (Feat. Leslie Grace)" as the fifth track on their Latin-pop EP '' One More Time''.

Composition and lyrics

"Lo Siento" was originally composed by Daniel "Obi" Klein,

and

engaged producers Juan and Oscar Salinas, under their working name Play-N-Skillz, to produce the track for Super Junior. "Lo Siento" is a

song with an addictive melody and a

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

rhythm. It has also been described as a

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

pop song, and has elements of Spanish guitars and subtle

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 ...

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

. It is composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

and has a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 95 beats per minute. Tamar Herman of ''

'' described the song as a "bold, upbeat dance track". The song's lyrics are in Korean, Spanish and English. Most of its lyrics were written by Kenzie, and Super Junior members

and

write the rap parts. The Spanish lyrics, including the chorus, were written by Grace in collaboration with Mario Caceres and Yasmil Marrufo. The song's title ''lo siento'' is a Spanish phrase that means "I'm sorry". The song's lyrics describe a couple who fall in love at first sight and later decided to take a slow approach in their relationship.

Reception

s Tamar Herman stated "Lo Siento" stands out from other Latin-pop songs in the K-pop scene because it is a "full-fledged international production that was crafted by different songwriters". Jang Woo-young, writing for ''SpoTV News'' praised the song's composition, stating it is impressive "various guitar sounds harmonizes rhythmically with Rhodes electric piano in different sections" of the song. Yoon Gi-baek from ''Sports World'' stated the song stands out because it "maintains the Latin vibe, yet it did not lose the identity of Super Junior". He also commented on the song's lyrics, saying "the masculine sexiness that only uper Juniorcan show is permeated throughout the lyrics"; that the Korean lyrics are an excellent fit with the Spanish lyrics; and that the Spanish lyrics sound poetic, making them enjoyable to listen to. ''Electronic Times'' writer Park Dong-seon said along with other K-pop songs released in early 2018, "Lo Siento" "reveal sophisticated refreshing looks with light yet elegant choreography and delicate emotional line of vocals". ''

Paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...

'' placed "Lo Siento" at number 10 in its top-20 K-pop songs of 2018, calling it "one of the year's most unexpected but greatest collaborations". The song was placed at number 11 in ''Billboards 20 best K-pop songs of 2018, which were chosen by music critics. The publication stated the song is a "true representation of the diverse music industries rom whichall of the artists involved come from".

Commercial performance

"Lo Siento" is the first K-pop song to chart on ''Billboard''

chart, debuting at number 13 on the chart released for the week of April 28, 2018. It also debuted and peaked at number two on the

World Digital Song Sales The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—with the issue dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-specific s ...

chart for the week of April 28, 2018. It stayed for three weeks on the chart, positioning at number 12 and 18 the following weeks. In South Korea, the song did not enter the

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based o ...

but it peaked at number 77 on the component Mobile Ringtone Chart issue dated April 15–21, 2018.

Promotion and live performances

Label SJ revealed a teaser for "Lo Siento" music video on April 10, 2018, and released the single and its music video on April 12. The music video was filmed in March 2018 at

Namyangju Namyangju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. To the east is Gapyeong County, to the west is Guri City, and to the north is Pocheon City. Namyangju-si was originally a southern part of Yangju-gun, but was separated into Namyangju-gun ...

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, and was directed by Lee Gi-baek of Tiger-Cave. The music video depicts sensuous settings by using vivid colors and colorful neon signs that complement the song's lyrics. It also portrays scenes in which a sexy, provocative woman acted by model Jess seduces the band members. Music magazine ''

'' described it as the sexiest music video ever released by the band. The music video was viewed on

more than 10 million times in four days, and 20 million times by the end of April 2018. In the week following its release, Super Junior promoted "Lo Siento" with

on South Korean music programs including ''

M Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...

'' on April 12, ''

Music Bank Music Bank may refer to: * ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS **''Music Bank World Tour The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show '' Music Bank'' by the Korean Broa ...

'' on April 13, ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. ...

'' on April 14, and ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...

'' on April 15, 2018. On April 12, Super Junior appeared on the home-shopping program ''Super Market'' and performed "Lo Siento" after selling 7,000 units of face mask sets amounting to

₩ The won sign , is a currency symbol. It represents the South Korean won, the North Korean won and, unofficially, the old Korean won. Appearance Its appearance is "W" (the first letter of "Won") with a horizontal strike going through the cent ...

900 million in 55 minutes. The band performed "Lo Siento" with Leslie Grace, who appeared as guest along with Play-N-Skillz, during the Latin-American leg of the band's world tour Super Show 7 in April 2018. They performed to a combined audience of 35,000 during their shows in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

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 ...

;

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

;

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

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 ...

; and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. They also promoted the song on Mexican talk show ''Montse y Joe'', in which they performed a

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

version of "Lo Siento". At some venues, Super Junior promoted the song without a featured artist; these venues were

Cotai Cotai (; pt, Zona do Aterro de Cotai) is a piece of newly reclaimed land on top of Seac Pai Bay between Taipa and Coloane islands in Macau, that has made two independent islands become one island, since 2005. The word (a portmanteau of Coloan ...

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, in May;

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Philippines, in June, and

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

, Thailand, in November 2018. On June 22, 2018, Super Junior appeared on ''

Good Day New York ''Good Day New York'' is a morning show airing on WNYW Fox 5 (channel 5), hosted by Rosanna Scotto and Bianca Peters. It is a Fox owned-and-operated television station in New York City, owned by the Fox Television Stations subsidiary of Fox Cor ...

'', in which they taught the song's choreography to the hosts. The next day, they performed the song with Grace at KCON 2018 NY festival at

Prudential Center Prudential Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the men's basketball program of Seton Hal ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. The event was televised in South Korea in a special episode of ''M Countdown'' that aired on July 5, 2018. Super Junior also performed "Lo Siento" with label-mate

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

in SM Town concerts on July 29 and 30, 2018, at SM Town Live 2018 in Osaka, Japan; and on January 18 and 19, 2019, in SM Town Special Stage in Santiago,

. On August 11, 2018, they performed the song with Kard at the 2018 K-Flow Concert in Taiwan.

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of '' Replay'': Recording *SM Big Shotrecording, digital editing *SM LVYINrecording *SM Yellow Tailmixing *Sterling Soundmastering Personnel *

, Donghaevocals **

vocals,

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

, rap making **

vocals, lyrics, rap making *

vocals, lyrics * Kenzielyrics, vocal director *Mario Cacereslyrics *Yasmil Marrufolyrics * Daniel "Obi" Klein

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, producer *

composition,

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

composition, guitar * Play-N-Skillzarrangement, producer **Juan "Play" Salinascomposition **Oscar "Skillz" Salinascomposition *Lee Min-gyu

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

digital editing Digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital ...

*Lee Ji-hongrecording *Goo Jong-pil (Beat Burger) mixing *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Accolades

Release history

References

{{authority control 2018 songs 2018 singles Super Junior songs Leslie Grace songs SM Entertainment singles Korean-language songs Spanish-language songs Macaronic songs Songs written by Kenzie (songwriter) Song recordings produced by Play-N-Skillz Songs written by Andreas Öberg Songs written by Charli Taft