"Bailamos" ( en, "We Dance") is a single by Spanish singer

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By th ...

sung in

Spanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is m ...

. The song was released in 1999 as part of the soundtrack to the film ''

Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John ...

'' (1999) and later 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 Iglesias's fourth and debut English-language album, ''

Enrique Enrique () is the Spanish variant of the given name Heinrich of Germanic origin. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Enric (Catalan), Enrico (Italian), Henrik (Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian), Heinrich (German), Hendrik, Henk (D ...

'' (1999). "Bailamos" reached number one on the

Spanish Singles Chart Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and it became a top-three hit in Canada, Hungary, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden. In both New Zealand and Spain, it was the second-most-successful single of 1999.

Background

"Bailamos" was written by

Paul Barry Paul James Barry (born 24 February 1952) is an English-born, Australian-based journalist, newsreader and television presenter, who has won many awards for his investigative reporting. He previously worked for the BBC on numerous programs, bef ...

and Mark Taylor and produced by Barry and

Brian Rawling Brian Rawling is a British record producer and songwriter. He is the managing director of publisher and production company Metrophonic. Rawling has produced singles and albums for artists such as Cher, with whom he won a Grammy in 1999 for his w ...

, the same team which wrote and produced

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

's hit "

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

". The track first appeared on a limited edition of his Spanish studio album '' Cosas del Amor'' and was released as a single in parts of Latin America and Europe. After attending one of Enrique's concerts in March 1999,

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his acting career starring as a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh ...

asked Enrique to contribute to the soundtrack of his upcoming movie ''

'' and "Bailamos" was chosen to appear. The song quickly became most requested on pop radio in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. Due to the song's popularity, it was released as a single throughout the world. In English, "''Bailamos''" means "''We Dance''" (''We Are Dancing''). In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the song was seen as part of a wave of crossover music from

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

n singers and a general increase in interest in Latin music, which was started by

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

's release " Livin' la Vida Loca" as well as

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound feature ...

's collaboration with

Matchbox 20 Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, ...

frontman Rob Thomas of " Smooth". The success of "Bailamos" was a breakthrough for Iglesias, which enabled him to sign a multi-album deal with

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner ...

. The song would go on to appear on his debut English album ''

'', though slightly altered to fit with the sound of the album. The soundtrack version has a different arrangement in mix from the version of the album.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

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 adverti ...

'' wrote that the song "has all the makings of a smash, with or without the burgeoning Latin-pop explosion." He noted that "sporting a flamenco guitar and other Southwestern influences amid a contemporary shuffling beat, "Bailamos" moves along at a pace that's much more relaxed than ickyMartin's " Livin' La Vida Loca", but it is still lively enough to work up a bit of a froth on the dancefloor circuit, especially after it gets a tasty remix treatment, which is bound to be in the works. The hook here is as satisfying as lemonade on a hot summer day, thanks to songwriters

and Mark Taylor, the team behind

's worldwide smash "

"". He also added that Iglesias is "an enchanting and sensuous presence, and with this exceptional song he certainly seems poised for the greatest breakthrough of his career." The Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith called it a "bold" anthem, noting that it perhaps is one of "the most memorable cuts" of the album. Leah Greenblatt 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 ...

'' described it as a "horn-heavy invitation to the dance floor". Swedish newspaper ''

Expressen ''Expressen'' (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden, the other being '' Aftonbladet''. ''Expressen'' was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or "''Expressen'' to your rescue". ...

'' said that it "sounds like a mix" of

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling music ...

and

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

. Many alleged that the song sounds like The Dust in the Wind by Kansas.

Commercial performance

The track peaked at number one for two weeks on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became the 11th number-one single for Iglesias on the ''Billboard''

Hot Latin Tracks 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, ra ...

chart for one week. The single also peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

, while on the ''Billboard''

Adult Contemporary Songs The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

chart, it reached number 25. Internationally, "Bailamos" topped the

for five weeks and reached the top 10 in Walloon Belgium, Canada, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In New Zealand "Bailamos" was the second-most successful single of 1999, behind

Lou Bega David Lubega Balemezi (born 13 April 1975), better known by his stage name Lou Bega, is a German singer. His 1999 song " Mambo No. 5", a remake of Pérez Prado's 1949 instrumental piece, reached number 1 in many European countries and was ...

's rendition of "

Mambo No. 5 "Mambo No. 5" is an instrumental mambo and jazz dance song originally composed and recorded by Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado in 1949 and released the next year. German singer Lou Bega sampled the original for a new song released under ...

Music videos

The song was adapted into three different

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 devic ...

s: * The original music video for the song was shot in Miami. It has a montage of different scenes involving Iglesias, starting off with a scene of Iglesias in an apartment talking on the phone and later looking out of a window to the Miami skyline. Subsequent scenes involve Iglesias walking the streets and staring into a building as he watches two

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

dancers. * After the song was chosen to be part of the ''Wild Wild West'' soundtrack, a second video directed by

Nigel Dick Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is a British music video and film director, writer and musician from Catterick, England, now based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Britney Spears videos " ...Baby One More Time" and " Oops!... I Did I ...

was made. A portion of this video was shot in Mexico, while most of it shot in the backlot at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. In this video, Iglesias is depicted as a wanted man with the opening shot being a poster calling for his capture " dead or alive". Entering a sleepy Mexican town, he attracts several women who dance around him. Picking one out, they kiss until they are interrupted by people trying to claim the reward to which both Iglesias and his love interest manage to escape. The video also contains small snippets of scenes from the ''Wild Wild West'' film. * The third music video of the song is directed by

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...

, another famous music video director. Unlike the first two, this video is plotless and simply features Iglesias as a barman in a night club as he watches salsa dancers on stage. It is also intercut with shots of Iglesias interacting with the lead dancer played by

Staci Flood Staci Beth Codorniz Lavine Costa de Souza Flood (born December 10, 1974) is an American singer, dancer, and model best known for her lead dance roles in the music videos "Bailamos" by Enrique Iglesias (1999) and "Rock Your Body" by Justin Timb ...

. The video ends with Iglesias and Flood leaving the now-empty club.

Track listings

European CD single # "Bailamos" # "Nunca te olvidaré" # "Bailamos" (Groove Brothers remix) UK CD1 # "Bailamos" (album version) – 3:37 # "Bailamos" (The Groove Brothers remix) – 5:06 # "Bailamos" ( Fernando's Latin mix) – 5:30 UK CD2 # "Bailamos" (The Groove Brothers radio edit) – 3:25 # "Bailamos" (Davidson Ospina club mix) – 6:08 # "Bailamos" (video—Paul Hunter version) – 3:36 UK cassette single # "Bailamos" (album version) – 3:37 # "Bailamos" (The Groove Brothers radio edit) – 3:25 US CD and cassette single # "Bailamos" (album version) – 3:38 # "Bailamos" (Latin radio mix) – 3:45 US maxi-CD single # "Bailamos" ( Harry "Choo Choo" Romero &

Eric Morillo Erick Morillo (March 26, 1971 – September 1, 2020) was a Colombian-American disc jockey, music producer, and record label owner. Having produced under a number of pseudonyms, including Ministers de la Funk, The Dronez, RAW, Smooth Touch, RBM, D ...

vocal mix) – 6:29 # "Bailamos" (Fernando G. Latin mix) – 5:30 # "Bailamos" (Ospina Club Anthem mix) – 6:08 # "Bailamos" (Pablo La Rosa techno dub) – 6:13 # "Bailamos" (Mijangos Recycled dub) – 9:23 # "Bailamos" (album version) – 3:38 US 12-inch single :A1. "Bailamos" (Harry "Choo Choo" Romero & Eric Morillo vocal mix) – 6:29 :A2. "Bailamos" (Fernando's Latin mix) – 5:30 :B1. "Bailamos" (Mijangos Recycled dub) – 9:23 :B2. "Bailamos" (album version) – 3:38 Australasian CD single # "Bailamos" # "Bailamos" (Groove Brothers radio mix) # "Nunca te olvidaré" # "Bailamos" (Groove Brothers remix)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Cover versions

In 1999, Japanese singer Hideki Saijo sang the Japanese version of "Bailamos" under the title "Bailamos ~ Tonight We Dance" and has a remix version of the same song in 2000 under the title "Bailamos 2000". A year after the "Bailamos" release, in 2000,

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles " Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

sampled the melody of the refrain in his song "Tiger Bone" featuring

Mr. Vegas Clifford Smith (born December 29th, 1974), better known as Mr. Vegas, is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Biography Clifford Smith was born in Kingston in 1974.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide to Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Gu ...

on his debut studio album ''

Stage One ''Stage One'' is the debut studio album by dancehall artist Sean Paul. It was released on 28 March 2000. Putting the CD in a CD-ROM drive gives access to the "Haffi Get De Gal Ha (Hot Gal Today)" music video and a link to the 2 Hard Records w ...

''. The use was uncredited, changing the lyrics from "Bailamos... let the rhythm take you over, bailamos... te quiero, amor mio" to "Tiger bone... when mi drink it and rub on a piece a stone... di gal dem bend up, when mi sen up". American Idol auditionee William Hung covered the album for his 2004 album ‘Inspiration’ albeit was quite negatively received.

References

{{Authority control 1999 singles 1999 songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Enrique Iglesias songs Fonovisa Records singles Interscope Records singles Universal Music Group singles Music videos directed by Nigel Dick Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director) Number-one singles in Spain Song recordings produced by Brian Rawling Song recordings produced by Mark Taylor (record producer) Songs about dancing Songs written by Mark Taylor (record producer) Songs written by Paul Barry (songwriter) Songs written for films Spanglish songs