Chantaje

Background and release

Before collaborating with Shakira in "Chantaje", Maluma served guest vocals for the official remix of Carlos Vives and Shakira's 2016 song "La Bicicleta". Later, Maluma travelled to Barcelona in early September 2016 to work with Shakira, along with his production team. He confessed to Billboard that "he couldn't miss the opportunity to work with [her] again." The pairing was possible due to Sony Music, who proposed the idea for both artists working together again after the remix of "La Bicicleta". Maluma also commented about Shakira, stating: "It was an amazing experience. [...] She's a great artist, but she's also a composer. I learned a lot."

Before releasing the song, Shakira shared clues on her Instagram account on 25 October 2016, and if someone solved the mystery, they would get a personal message from the singer confirming the correct answer. The first photo had Shakira "wearing a magician's hat and holding a rabbit," which meant "Magic", name of both Shakira's and Maluma's first albums; the second photo had a drawing of a crown in a white board, meaning Maluma's crown tattoo; and the third photo was Shakira holding a poster with a photo of Alejandro Sanz (which stands for his nickname "Chan") + TA + G, which was the title of the track: "Chantaje". Later, the singer shared the artwork of the single, featuring both artists. Eventually, the song was released on 28 October 2016 through digital download by Ace Entertainment.

Composition

"Chantaje" was written by Shakira, Maluma, Joel Antonio López Castro, Kevin Mauricio Jiménez Londoño and Bryan Snaider Lezcano Chaverra. It was also produced by Shakira and Maluma with Chan "El Genio" (Rude Boyz) and Kevin Jiménez ADG. "Chantaje" is a Latin pop and reggaeton song, with tropical synths in its background. The song is built from a "pitched-up vocal" saying "Hola, mira" ("Hello, look"). Lyrically, the song is a chase "between a lustful man and an unattainable woman," where "he’s not sure where he stands with her, and she’s not exactly clearing things up." "Yo soy masoquista" ("I’m a masochist"), "he moans, and she responds," "Con mi cuerpo, un egoísta" ("With my body, an egotist"), adding: [...] "En esta relación, soy yo la que manda" ("In this relationship, I’m in command"). In the chorus, she warns him: "No soy de ti ni de nadie" ("I'm not yours or anyone else's").

Critical reception

Jon Pareles of The New York Times was positive, noting that "Shakira gets even more intense when she sings in Spanish, nervier and more committed," and calling the song "a sparse, insinuatingly catchy reggaetón battle of the sexes." Jeff Nelson of People named it "a sexy, buoyant jam," while Diana Martin of E! Online wrote that the song is "all sorts of sexy and infectious." Lucy Morris of Digital Spy admitted: "We may have no clue what the lyrics mean, but the song is infectious." Mike Wass of Idolator opined that the song "is instantly hummable regardless of your Spanish language skills and will have you moving before the end of the first verse. It’s a winner and has the potential to be a 'La Tortura'-sized crossover hit." Lucas Villa of AXS said that the song "plays to Shakira's strengths as a global seductress with a banger that's ready to make club-goers bend to its will."

Chart performance

In Spain, "Chantaje" entered the Promusicae chart at number eight and reached number-one the following week, becoming Shakira's eighth number-one single. In the United States, the song debuted at number-one on the Hot Latin Songs chart, "becoming only the 14th track to debut atop the chart in its 30-year history," as reported by Billboard's Amaya Mendizabal. It is also Shakira's eleventh number-one on the chart, and Maluma's first. With its first-week sales of 13,000 digital downloads, 1.6 million streams and 13.8 million audience impressions in the US, the song became the second highest sales week for a Spanish-language track in 2016. "Chantaje" also debuted at number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Shakira's 19th entry there and Maluma’s first. In its eighth charting week, the song managed to jump from number 65 to number 51, becoming her highest Hot 100 Spanish-language single after "La Tortura" (2005). In the same week, the song spent its eighth non-consecutive week at the top of the Latin Songs, matching the amount of time that "Hips Don't Lie" spent in 2006, while also becoming her second longest chart reign, spending eleven weeks at number one.

In France, the song debuted at number 36 on the week of November 11, 2016. Later, it fell to numbers 91 and 126 in the following weeks, before climbing once again to number 76. After spending three weeks climbing on the charts, "Chantaje" cracked the top-forty for the second time, going to number forty. Five weeks later, the song managed to climb from number 22 to number 14, becoming Shakira's fifteenth top-twenty single and highest since "Dare (La La La)" (2014). In Italy, "Chantaje" debuted at number 15 and peaked at number 11 for two weeks. In Netherlands, "Chantaje" managed to peak at number 20, becoming her highest charting single since "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)" (2010). In Switzerland, the song peaked at number 10, becoming Shakira's fifteenth top-ten single.

Music video

The music video was shot in Barcelona, on 13 and 14 October 2016, and it was directed by Spanish director and photographer Jaume de Laiguana, who has already directed various Shakira's music videos. The official lyric video to the song was released on 16 November, while the official music video was released on 18 November 2016. In the beginning of the music video, as described by Rolling Stone's Sarah Grant, "Shakira strolls through a bodega with her pet pig on a leash and her wild mane of hair hidden under a pink wig." "She then lures him in to an underground bar", as Billboard added, while also "swivel[ing] her hips from the top of the bar to the men's bathroom, where she winds, kicks and grinds solo amid the urinals."

The song earned 100 million views in just 19 days, breaking the previous 21 days record, and becoming the fastest Spanish video ever to do so. On 19 December 2016, the song became the seventh-fastest music video to reach 200 million views, doing so in just 31 days. In the first few months of its release, the video spent seven weeks receiving the most views over a 24-hourly basis on Youtube.

Salsa version

On 2 February, Shakira celebrated her birthday with a salsa version of "Chantaje" with Chelito de Castro.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.