Format CD
12" Genre Urban pop Label Columbia | Recorded 1995 Length 4:23 | |
Released November 21, 1995 (1995-11-21) | ||
"María" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his third album, A Medio Vivir. It was released as a single on November 21, 1995, in the United States, and later in other parts of the world. "María" sold over 5 million copies and became Martin's first international hit single.
Contents
Music videos
Four versions of the music video exist. The first uses the original track from the A Medio Vivir album and shows Martin performing the song on a stage at a concert, with some shots of him singing and dancing to the song in the colorful barrio of La Boca in Buenos Aires with the local people. The second version is set to the Pablo Flores Remix of the song and uses scenes and shots of the original video plus added takes of Martin performing in concert or at the barrio, close shots of locals dancing, etc. Both the original and the remix video were released in 1995. A third version, the least known, was filmed to the Pablo Flores Spanglish Remix in 1997. The last version was shot in France and directed by Memo del Bosque in 1998. Also set to the Pablo Flores Remix of the song, this version of the video is considered to be the official version, and is also the most popular.
Chart performance
In July 1996, Martin released the song as a CD single, his first in the United States. The song had a great success on the Hot Latin Songs airplay chart, peaking at number six, which coincided with the CD single sales placed him at number eighty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was remixed by Pablo Flores and Javier Garza.
"María" was Ricky Martin's first international hit song, peaking inside top ten around the world, including number one positions in Belgium Wallonia (ten weeks at the top), France (nine weeks), and Australia (six weeks). In the latter, it was released as a double A-side single with "La Copa de la Vida".
The single was certified Diamond in France after selling 1,400,000 copies, 2x Platinum in Belgium, Platinum in Australia, and Gold in few other European countries.
The song became the main theme of the Brazilian telenovela Salsa e Merengue in 1996 and was very well received from the Brazilian airplay.
Formats and track listings
"María" remixes were produced by Pablo Flores and Javier Garza, except for the UK only remixes by Deep Recess (12" Club Mix and 7" Radio Mix) and Disco Volante (Disco Volante Mix), and the 1998 remix by Jason Nevins.