"Ni Tú Ni Yo" () is a song recorded by American singer

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'', where she re ...

, featuring Cuban

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duo Gente de Zona. It was written by Alexander Delgado Hernández, Lopez, Jerickson Mendoza, Jimmy Abreu, Manuel Bolivar,

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gr ...

, Oscar "Oscarcito" Hernández, Randy Malcom Martínez Amey and Álvaro Farinas, while production was handled by Arbise "Motiff" González, Julio Reyes Copello, Anthony and Hernández. The song was released digitally on July 4, 2017, by Nuyorican Productions and

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 ...

. A

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and reggaeton song about "when love takes you by surprise", "Ni Tú Ni Yo" was praised by critics, who described it as a potential

summer hit In the entertainment industry, a summer hit is a song that is released and peaks in its popularity during summer. In some years, a single pop song will gain widespread international popularity during the summer season, becoming that summer's defi ...

. While failing to chart on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it charted moderately worldwide, reaching the top forty in countries such as Poland, Finland, Spain, Hungary, Switzerland and Venezuela. An accompanying music video for the single was directed by

Emil Nava Emil William Capper Nava (born 29 March 1985) is a British music video director. After leaving school at 16, Emil started his career as a chef. He shot to fame after directing Jessie J's song " Do It Like A Dude". He has since directed over 1 ...

. It depicts Lopez falling in love with a photographer played by

Khotan Fernández Khotan Fernández (born Khotan Fernández Tapajós on April 27, 1973) in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, is a Mexican actor sometimes simply known as Khotan. Early life Khotan Fernandez was born in Mexico city, the son of Brazilian actress/sing ...

, and features a cameo appearance by Anthony.

Background

In March 2016, it was confirmed by ''

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'' that Lopez had returned to

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical m ...

, having previously parted ways with the label in 2010. She signed a new long-term contract that saw her reunite with longtime mentor, L.A. Reid. In October 2016, ''

'' magazine confirmed that Lopez is working on her second Spanish album, which was originally set to be released in 2017 through

. Her ex-husband

serves as executive producer for the album. Anthony described the album as "some of the best work I've ever done and some of the best work that she's ever done", and of their collaboration said: "The fact that she put her career in my hands is a massive responsibility, but no one knows her like I do ... We've always been good friends from day one, you know." "Ni Tú Ni Yo" serves as the album's first single. The single's cover art features Lopez posing in front of a sea, clothed in a 1960s-inspired yellow gown custom designed by Michael Costello. Katie Skinner of ''

'' observed that the shot "fits Lopez's glamorous style and personality perfectly."

Composition

"Ni Tú Ni Yo" was produced by Oscar Hernandez "Oscarcito", Jimmy "JIMMIX" Abreu, Manuel "ManyBeat" Bolivar and Motiff. In English, the title translates to "neither you nor I". The track sees Lopez and Gente de Zona "pronounce their love for one another over a joyful production", which features a

beat and

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...

. Lopez commented that the song is "really about when love takes you by surprise — 'Ni Tú Ni Yo,' 'Not You, Not Me' really expected this to happen, you know? That's what it's about, it's one of those things that when love comes, it just comes, it doesn't announce itself, and then it just takes over — ha! — you know what I mean? That's what the song is about, which is why I love it so much." She revealed that the song mirrored her own relationship with boyfriend

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

Critical response

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'' writer Brittany Spanos called the song a "vivacious

track", noting that "Lopez's vocals stand out over the song's intricate guitars and horns."

MTV UK MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & ...

labelled it a "future smash hit" and wrote: "Here's hoping that 'Ni Tú Ni Yo' follows the international success of other Spanish bangers like ' Bailando' and '

Despacito "Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album '' Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fo ...

'." Mike Nied from

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echoed this sentiment, remarking that the song "may be a contender for the coveted title of Song Of The Summer", calling it a "potentially massive hit". Brooke Metz of ''

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'' said: "The song, with its fast pace, swinging trumpets and all-Spanish lyrics, creates the perfect soundtrack for beach days and summer nights."

Chart performance

"Ni Tú Ni Yo" peaked at number 24 in Spain, and was certified Gold by

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 ...

for sales of 20,000 units. In the United States, it sold 4,867 copies after two days, and later peaked at number 15 on the

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, ra ...

chart.

Live performances

Lopez debuted "Ni Tú Ni Yo" during her first concert in the

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at the

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amphitheater in April 2017. She was joined on-stage by Gente de Zona for the performance. Lopez and Gente de Zona officially premiered the song during her performance at

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

July 4 Fireworks Spectacular, which aired the same day. It took place before a live audience at Hunter's Point South. The song became available digitally immediately after the performance which received positive feedback on social media, as well as criticism towards Lopez for "performing a Spanish song in celebration of an American holiday". Lopez wore a high-cut, double-slit embroidered gown designed by Fausto Puglisi while performing "Ni Tú Ni Yo", which also drew criticism for its revealing nature. She performed an acoustic version of the song at the ''Stars Together For One Voice: Somos Live!'' concert/

telethon A telethon (a portmanteau of "television" and "marathon") is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other purportedly worthy cause. Most telethons f ...

in October 2017, which benefited victims of

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affect ...

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Music video

The song's official music video premiered on

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...

on July 11, 2017. Lopez shared an image from the set of the video shoot on June 13, in which she and Gente de Zona are featured wearing Caribbean-styled outfits. The music video was directed by

, and was shot in Islamorada, Florida Keys over two days. It features several product placements and cameos from Anthony, Mexican actor

, and actor/Sprint "Test Man" Paul Marcarelli. Lopez's outfits in the music video include a red wrap dress and a canary yellow gown. According to ''

'', set in Miami, the clip "tells the story of Lopez falling in love with a photographer she met through her manager (played by ex-husband Marc Anthony), while also enjoying life in a tropical paradise." The clip begins with a potential director pitching a tropical-themed idea for the song's music video to Lopez and Anthony. This is followed by Lopez "flirtatiously" posing for the photographer while donning a number of "elaborate fashions" and "sultry poses" on a beach, in front of a plain backdrop and amid tropical foliage.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Jennifer Lopez songs Spanish-language songs Gente de Zona songs Songs written by Jennifer Lopez Songs written by Marc Anthony Nuyorican Productions singles Song recordings produced by Julio Reyes Copello