I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)

Music video

The music video was first released on March 9, 2009 by Ultra Music on YouTube and was directed by David Rousseau and Produced by Alexandra Sdoucos. It features Pitbull, Nayer and models Sagia Castañeda, Maria Milian, and Angelica Casañas. It has received over 240 million views even though this particular upload is not available for worldwide viewership due to licensing restrictions in certain countries.

"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" was the number one most viewed music video on YouTube in 2009. The video received 82 million views, easily beating out the second and third most viewed videos both by Disney star Miley Cyrus, "The Climb" (64 million views) and "Party In The USA" (54 million views).

The official music video version (without the credits of "Ultra Music" at the start) was released onto Pitbull's official Vevo channel on May 25, 2011. It has received over 1.5 million views even though this particular upload is not available for worldwide viewership due to licensing restrictions in certain countries.

Composition

"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" is an uptempo syncopated hip hop groove with clear vocals on the chorus and a pop hook while combining Eurodance synths with a tribal house-oriented beat. The song is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 128 beats per minute and is written in the key of D minor. Pitbull's vocal range spans from C₄ to Bb₄. The song is a vocal mix of "75, Brazil Street" by Nicola Fasano Vs Pat-Rich, which itself samples "Street Player" by Chicago. For the release by Pitbull, the sample of "Street Player" was replayed by Mark Summers at Scorccio Sample Replays.

Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews with Billboard.com editor Michael Menachem giving the single a favorable review:

"Pitbull delivers some Little Havana to the club scene with "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)." The clever meshing of reggaetón with Euro dance music signals what looks like a multiformat smash. At the core is an acoustic guitar and a sizzling rhythm, with hot horns in the form of a sample that just keeps on giving: Chicago's "Street Player," which appeared in the '90s techno hit "The Bomb" by the Bucketheads. Mainstream radio missed out on Pitbull's previous single "Krazy," featuring Lil Jon, but "Calle Ocho" is already on the top half of the Billboard Hot 100, and the temperature on the street and in the clubs is rising".

Fraser McAlpine of the BBC also favored it. He said it was meant to be sexy given how Pitbull performed the verses, but is fun and 'more gigglesome than wrigglesome', and wondered if its effect would vary between listeners of different genders:

"I don't know if it has a different effect on The Ladies, but I'm basically fine with a pumped up dance version of a very familiar piece of music, with a funny man on the top shouting about how aroused he is and occasionally counting on his fingers."

Chart performance

"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" is Pitbull's first single to become an international hit. The single peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S for one week with the issue dated June 20, 2009 behind The Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow". The song became Pitbull's most highest-peaking single to date until "Give Me Everything" hit number one, also becoming third top 10 hit. It also reached number one on the French charts and number 4 on the Mainstream Top 40 radio. In the UK the single debuted at number 53 then raising to number 28 the following week, in the third week it reached number 13 and in the fourth week it reached number 9, giving Pitbull his first top 10 single in the UK. The following week it moved up again to number 7, peaking at number 4 a week later.

The song has also peaked at number 7 in Australia making it his first song to hit the top 10 there, while in Spain the song reached number one and has been certified 3x Platinum with sales over 120,000 units.

In New Zealand, the song peaked at number 3 and was certified Platinum, selling over 15,000 copies.

As of June 2011, "I Know You Want Me" has sold 3.2 million digital copies in the United States.

Album

1. "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" [Official Album Version] – 3:57

iTunes EP

1. "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" [More English Radio Edit] – 3:40
2. "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" [Radio Edit] – 4:04
3. "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" [More English Mix] – 3:03
4. "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" [More English Extended Mix] – 4:26

Promo CD

1. "I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]" (Radio Edit Cold) – 3:40
2. "I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]" (Radio Edit Fade) – 4:04
3. "I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]" (Spanish Bridge Version) – 3:03
4. "I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]" (More English Extended Mix) – 3:49
5. "I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]" (Why Is Being Calle Ocho To Me? Remix) – 6:56
6. "I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]" (Extended Mix) – 4:26
7. "75, Brazil Street" (Bonus Track) – 6:04
8. "I Know You Want Me [Calle Ocho]" (featuring Yomo) – 4:14