"Obsesión" () is a song by Argentine singer Lali, taken from her fifth studio album, '' Lali'' (2023). The song was written by Lali, Galán, and its producer Mauro De Tommaso. It was released by Sony Music Argentina on 13 April 2022 along with the album as its eighth single. At the 26th Annual Premios Gardel, "Obsesión" won the Song of the Year award, marking Lali's third win in this category. She previously won in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

with " Sin Querer Queriendo" and in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

with " Ladrón". This achievement made Lali the first female artist, and the third overall, to secure three Song of the Year wins, joining the ranks of Abel Pintos and Vicentico. The song also competed in the Record of the Year and Best Pop Song categories.

Composition

"Obsesión" works as the opener to '' Lali''. It was written by the

self-proclaimed Self-proclaimed describes a legal title that is recognized by the declaring person but not necessarily by any recognized legal authority. It can be the status of a noble title or the status of a nation. The term is used informally for anyone declar ...

"Triunvirato del Pop", consisting of Lali, Galán and Mauro De Tommaso. Lyrically, the song narrates a breakup with someone with whom she had a

toxic relationship Psychological abuse, often known as emotional abuse or mental abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to a behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, ...

and who still chases her but she rejects. The song captures the intention of the album from the very beginning as the opening instrumental already resembles those popular early 2000s pop sounds. Among these, " Love Don't Cost a Thing" by

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

, " The Call" by the

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and " Bye Bye Bye" by

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were perceived as influences. The song's most notorious reference is a sample to

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

's " The Stop!" remix version of her 1998 song " (You Drive Me) Crazy" in the middle of its chorus. In the interlude, the song references

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (; born 19 April 1970) is a Mexican singer and record producer. Born in Puerto Rico to an Italian mother and a Spanish father, he is often referred to as Honorific nicknames in popular music, ''El Sol de Mexico'' ...

's 1996 song " Cómo Es Posible Que a Mi Lado" and a phrase said by Argentine pop icon

Moria Casán Ana María Casanova (born August 16, 1946), known by her stage name Moria Casán, is an Argentine actress and TV personality. Casán made her theatre debut in 1971 as a model in the show Nerón Vuelve in the theater El Nacional, and later became ...

in the TV show '' La Noche de Mirtha''. At the same time, Lali talks to someone on the phone, which coincides with the man that called her asking for forgiveness in her 2014 song "Desamor" from her debut studio album '' A Bailar''.

Music video

An accompanying music video directed by Lautaro Espósito and co-directed by Lali and Niko Sedano was released on 13 April 2023. The clip shows Lali and her dance coach with whom she had had a secret relationship but with whom she is not longer dating. In class, she notices, from the way he used to treat her, that she has a new relationship with one of her classmates. Heartbroken, Lali walks the streets of

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

while she performs a professional dance rotuine at the dance studio. The clip references the 1983 American

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

dance film A dance film (also known as screen dance) is a movie in which dancing is used to reveal inspirational challenges and the central themes of the film, whether these themes be connected to narrative or story, states of being, or more experimental and ...

Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer, Alex Owens, who aspires to become a professional ballerina, alongside Michael Nouri, who plays her ...

'' and features

Juan Minujín Juan Gervasio Minujín (born May 20, 1975) is an Argentina, Argentine actor and film director. He is the nephew of plastic artist Marta Minujín. Career Juan Minujín began his training as an actor with Cristina Banegas, Alberto Ure, Pompeyo A ...

as the dance coach.

Reception

Critical reception

Brenda Petrone Veliz of ''

La Voz del Interior ''La Voz del Interior'' is a daily Spanish language newspaper edited and published in Córdoba, capital of the province of Córdoba, Argentina and the second-largest city in the country. The newspaper is the leading daily in Córdoba, and one ...

'' wrote that "the single could be sung as a Spanish pop anthem along the Cheetah Girls". Moreover, it was written in

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 ...

that the song "paved the way for new generations of artists seeking to break barriers and conquer the world with their music. This surprising success demonstrates that passion, talent, and innovation are key elements in reaching the top of the charts and staying in the memory of listeners."

Commercial performance

Following the release of the album, "Obsesión" debuted at number 13 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 advertis ...

'' Hot Trending Songs chart. In Argentina, the song debuted at number 23 before peaking at number 20. "Obsesión" also charted on the

Uruguayan, Paraguayan and Argentine airplay charts. In the latter, it reached the number-one position across all formats (General, Latin and National).

Awards and nominations

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2023 songs 2023 singles Pop songs Latin pop songs Lali Espósito songs Sony Music singles Songs in Spanish Songs written by Lali Espósito