"Rabiosa" ( en, "Raging") is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

, taken from her ninth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

Sale el Sol ''Sale el Sol'' ( en, The Sun Comes Out, italic=yes) is the ninth studio album by Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira, released on 19 October 2010, by Epic Records. The album marks a return to Shakira's signature Latin pop sound after the e ...

''. It was written by

Armando Pérez Armando Christian Pérez (born January 15, 1981), known professionally by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper and businessman. He began his career in the early 2000s, recording reggaeton, Latin hip hop, and crunk music under a multit ...

Edward Bello Edward E. Bello Pou, better known by his stage name El Cata, is a Dominican singer and songwriter, who emerged in the music scene in 1999, born and raised in Barahona, Dominican Republic. Early life Bello is the second son of Maria Luisa Pou ...

, and Shakira, and released by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

as the third

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, on 8 April 2011. Two versions of the song exist; the English-language version, which features American artist

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

, and the Spanish-language version, which features Dominican artist

El Cata Edward E. Bello Pou, better known by his stage name El Cata, is a Dominican singer and songwriter, who emerged in the music scene in 1999, born and raised in Barahona, Dominican Republic. Early life Bello is the second son of Maria Luisa Pou ...

. It is heavily influenced by merengue and

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 ...

music. Shakira and El Cata, or Pitbull, sing about each other's

sex appeal Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, o ...

in the song. Upon its release, "Rabiosa" received generally favourable 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 ...

, some of whom deemed it one of the strongest tracks on ''Sale el Sol''. Commercially, the English version of the song became a worldwide success, peaking atop the

record charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...

of Portugal and Spain, and reaching the top ten in ten additional countries. In the United States, it was successful on the Latin record charts and peaked at number eight 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 ...

chart. "Rabiosa" was

certified 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 ...

double-platinum in Mexico and platinum in Italy and 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 ...

for the song was directed by Jaume de Laiguana and features Shakira enjoying herself in an underground party; scenes of her

pole dancing Pole dance combines dance and acrobatics centered on a vertical pole. This performance art form takes place not only in gentleman's clubs as erotic dance, but also as a mainstream form of fitness, practiced in gyms and dedicated dance studios ...

are interspersed throughout the video. Critics were positive towards the video, and many noted its similarity to the music video of Shakira's 2009 single "

She Wolf ''She Wolf'' ( es, Loba, link=no) is the eighth studio album and third English-language album by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira. It was released on 9 October 2009, by Epic Records and Sony Music Latin. As executive producers, Shakira and Am ...

". The video went viral on video-sharing website

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two days after its release and was later marked "Vevo Certified" by joint venture music video website

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 ...

for reaching more than 100 million views.

Background and composition

"Rabiosa" was written by American rapper

, better known by his stage name

, Dominican rapper

, and Shakira, for the singer's ninth studio album ''

'' (2010). The album marked the first time she worked with Bello, who is better known by his stage name

, and their collaboration started after Shakira expressed her desire to experiment with

merengue music Merengue is a type of music and dance originating in the Dominican Republic, which has become a very popular genre throughout Latin America, and also in several major cities in the United States with Latino communities. Merengue was inscribed ...

, saying "I grew up listening to merengue— that was a big part of my life, and I was missing it". Merengue is a type of music and dance originating in the Dominican Republic, and after being referred to Bello by Pitbull, Shakira travelled to the country and began recording sessions with him in his "tiny" studio in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

. Bello talked about his collaboration with Shakira, saying "If I was thinking that this little studio was going to be in the world’s vision at this time, I wouldn't believe it". Two versions of the song are present on the album; the English-language version features verses from Pitbull, while the Spanish-language version features El Cata. "Rabiosa" was chosen to be the third single from the album by

, and Shakira's official website revealed the artwork for the single on 18 April 2011, the day it was sent to radio stations. Both versions were released for digital download on 8 April 2011. Worldwide, the English version was released as a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

on 27 May 2011. Primarily an

uptempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

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 ...

track, "Rabiosa" additionally borrows influences from merengue and

music. In the song, Shakira and Pitbull/El Cata trade verses regarding each other's

. English and Spanish words are mixed together in various lines, such as when Shakira sings "''Oye papi'', if you like it mocha / Come get a little closer and bite me ''en la boca''". Jennifer Schaffer from ''

The Stanford Daily ''The Stanford Daily'' is the student-run, independent daily newspaper serving Stanford University. ''The Daily'' is distributed throughout campus and the surrounding community of Palo Alto, California, United States. It has published since the U ...

'' described Shakira and Pitbull's vocals as "sultry" and "raspy," respectively.

Critical reception

The song received generally favourable reviews from

. James Reed from ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' appreciated Shakira's "sly and vampy" vocals, and termed "Rabiosa" an "irresistible merengue hybrid". Michelle Morgante from

Boston.com ''Boston.com'' is a regional website that offers news and information about the Boston, Massachusetts, region. It is owned and operated by Boston Globe Media Partners, the publisher of ''The Boston Globe''. History ''Boston.com'' was one of t ...

called the track a "new merengue-rock hybrid that lays down bare horn riffs over a driving beat in a groove that is irresistible". Jennifer Schaffer from ''

'' deemed it one of the "best tracks on the album", praising its dance beats and calling it an "undeniably sexy song you’d expect from a Shakira/Pitbull collaboration". 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 ...

'' also recommended the track, labelling it "giddy, rapid-fire Latin pop". Likewise, Mikael Wood from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' picked the song as a highlight from ''Sale el Sol''. Carlos Macias from Terra USA, however, gave the song a negative review, writing it off as a "cheaper version of " Loca"" and criticising Pitbull's collaboration. In 2014, Emily Exton of

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

placed the track on her list of Shakira's best duets, summarizing "It's been scientifically proven that Mr. 305 cannot ''not'' make a hit". At the 2011

Los Premios 40 Principales LOS40 Music Awards, formerly known as ''Premios 40 Principales'', is an award show by the musical radio station LOS40. It was created in 2006 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the worldwide station. History LOS40 is the ...

awards ceremony, "Rabiosa" was nominated for "Mejor Canción Internacional en Español" ("Best International Song in Spanish"). At the 2012

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

(ASCAP)

Awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

ceremony, Bello won an award for his composition of the song. At the 27th Annual

International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs is an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards have been held every year since the conference's creation in 1985 ...

, "Rabiosa" was nominated for "Best Latin/Reggaeton Track", but lost to

Sak Noel Isaac Mahmood Noell (born 12 April 1983), known professionally as Sak Noel, is a Spanish DJ, record producer, songwriter and music video director. He is best known for the international hits "Loca People", " Paso", "No Boyfriend (No Problem)" wit ...

's "

Loca People "Loca People" (also known as "Loca People (La Gente Está Muy Loca)" or "Loca People (What the Fuck!)") is a song by Spanish DJ and record producer Sak Noel. Dutch singer Esthera Sarita performed the female vocals in the song. It was released in ...

". At the 2012 Latin ''Billboard'' Music Awards, "Rabiosa" was nominated for "Canción del Año, Digital" ("Digital Song of the Year"), but lost to

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 ...

's "

Danza Kuduro "Danza Kuduro" (English: Dance Kuduro) is a Spanish/Portuguese song by Puerto Rican recording artist Don Omar featuring Portuguese–French singer Lucenzo from Don Omar's collaborative album ''Meet the Orphans''. The song is an adaptation of Lucenz ...

". At the 2012

Premio Lo Nuestro The Lo Nuestro Awards or Premios Lo Nuestro (Spanish for "Our Thing") is a Spanish-language awards show honoring the best of Latin music, presented by Univision, a Spanish-language television network based in the United States. The awards began in ...

awards ceremony, "Rabiosa" was nominated for "Colaboración del Año" (" Collaboration of the Year") and "Canción Pop Del Año" (" Pop Song of the Year"), and won in the latter category.

Chart performance

The English version of "Rabiosa" was a worldwide commercial success. In Austria, the song entered the Austrian Singles chart at number 36 and peaked at number six, spending a total of 17 weeks in the region. In both the Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia regions of Belgium, "Rabiosa" peaked at number five on the

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization ...

charts, staying on the charts for a total of 16 and 19 weeks, respectively. In this region, it was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

Belgian Entertainment Association The Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) is the organization that represents the interests of the music, video and video game industries in Belgium. It was founded in February 2008, when three organizations merged, namely IFPI Belgium, the loc ...

(BEA) for sales of 10,000 units. In France, "Rabiosa" entered the French Singles chart at number 94 and peaked at number six for two weeks, and spent a total of 33 weeks on the chart. In Italy, the song entered the Italian Singles chart at number nine and peaked at number six, spending a total of seven weeks inside the top 20 of the chart. In this region, "Rabiosa" was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

by the

Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

(FIMI) for sales of 60,000 units. In Mexico, the single was certified double-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 shipments of 120,000 units. In Spain, the song entered the Spanish Singles chart at number 23 and peaked at number one for a total of five weeks, and spent a total of 33 weeks on the chart. In this region, it was 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 shipments of 40,000 units. In Switzerland, after initially charting at number 28 on the Swiss Singles chart, "Rabiosa" peaked at number three and spent a total of 21 weeks on the chart. In this region, the

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 19 ...

(IFPI) certified it gold for selling 10,000 units. In the United States, "Rabiosa" was successful on the Latin record charts. It peaked at number eight on the US ''

chart, spending a total of 25 weeks on the chart. It also reached number eight on the

Latin Pop Airplay Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established b ...

chart, spending a total of 28 weeks on the chart. On the

Tropical Songs The Tropical Airplay chart (formerly known as Tropical/Salsa and Tropical Songs) is a record chart published by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine introduced in 1994. The first number-one song on the chart was "Quién Eres Tú (Luis Enri ...

chart, it peaked at number 13 and spend a total of 20 weeks on the chart.

Music video

The accompanying

for "Rabiosa" was directed by Jaume de Laiguana and was shot on 24 April 2011, in Barcelona. Laiguana had also directed the videos for the two previous single releases from the album, "Loca" and "

". The music video premiered on Shakira's official website on 7 June 2011, and the English-language version was made available for digital download on 8 June. The Spanish version was made available for digital download a day later. The video begins with Shakira walking into an underground party while sporting a brown

bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) ...

haircut. Amidst "a party full of silly-string and confetti-flinging fun", she begins dancing and flirting with a man, and at one point lies in a bathtub full of colourful balls. Scenes of Shakira

while wearing a black string bra and knickers and sporting her normal long blonde hair are inter-cut throughout the video. The video ends with Shakira doing a

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while holding onto the pole, and back inside the party she

crowd surf Crowd surfing is the process in which a person is passed overhead from person to person (often during a concert), transferring the person from one part of the venue to another. The "crowd surfer" is passed above everyone's heads, with everyone's ...

s away. Neither Pitbull or El Cata appear in both versions of the video. Upon its release, the music video went viral on video-sharing website

two days after its release and was the most-viewed video of that day, gaining almost four million views in less than 48 hours. Critical reception towards the video was favourable. Jeff Benjamin from ''

'' commented that Shakira continues "the fantasies that she started in her "

" video" and praised Shakira's brunette hairstyle, concluding that "the Latin songstress brings the heat both musically and visually". Becky Bain from

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

found Shakira's pole dancing sequence similar to the video of

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

' 2007 single "

Gimme More "Gimme More" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, '' Blackout'' (2007). It was released on August 31, 2007, by Jive Records, as the lead single from the album. "Gimme More" was recorded in 2006 during Spears' ...

", but joked that it is "not terribly depressing and certainly not shot in about 15 minutes". Ann Lee from ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' also found the video similar to the one for "She Wolf" and commended Shakira's pole dancing ability, noting that she "ups the raunch factor" and "gets pulses racing". Sadao Turner from

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and '' ...

.com praised Shakira's "phenomenal" figure. The video was marked " Vevo Certified" by joint venture music video website

for reaching more than 100 million views on YouTube.

Formats and track listing

* CD single (English version) # "Rabiosa" - 2:50 # "Rabiosa" (C. Berg remix) - 3:57 * Digital download (English version) # "Rabiosa" - 2:50 * Digital download (Spanish version) # "Rabiosa" - 2:50 * Remixes EP (English version) # "Rabiosa" - 2:50 # "Rabiosa" (C. Berg remix) - 3:57 # "Rabiosa" (7th Heaven radio edit) - 3:34 # "Rabiosa" ( The Crew Remix) - 3:48 # "Rabiosa" (Club Junkies Club remix) - 6:28

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2011 singles 2010 songs Dancehall songs Spanglish songs Shakira songs Pitbull (rapper) songs El Cata songs Songs written by Shakira Songs written by Luis Fernando Ochoa Song recordings produced by Josh Abraham Songs written by Josh Abraham Songs written by Jim Jonsin Songs written by El Cata