María (Ricky Martin song)

"María" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his third album, A Medio Vivir and written by Ian Blake, K.C. Porter and Luis Gómez-Escolar. 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 five million copies,[1][2] it was the second best-selling single in the world that year[3] and became Martin's first international hit single.

"María"
Single by Ricky Martin
from the album A Medio Vivir
ReleasedNovember 21, 1995 (1995-11-21)
Recorded1995
GenreLatin pop
Length4:23
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • K. C. Porter
  • Ian Blake
Ricky Martin singles chronology
"Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo"
(1995)		 "María"
(1995)		 "A Medio Vivir"
(1996)
Music video
"María" on YouTube

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as a "rousing tribal anthem", and commented that it "works extremely well within the confines of a house bassline, which is iced, contrasting with the original cut's flashy horns and rave-ish synths." He stated that "the chants are infectious and add fleshy fun to the spree of wriggling percussion."[4] Daily Record noted it as a "euro-pop hit" in the style of the "Macarena".[5] Music & Media called it a "excellent flamenco flavoured pop tune".[6]

"María" (Pablo Flores Remix) is ranked as one of the greatest latin pop songs of all time by Rolling Stone.[7] According to Billboard, this remix launched the Latin and dance music crossover of the '90s.[8]

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. The last version was shot in France and directed by Memo del Bosque in 1997. 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,[9] 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.

Charts and certifications

See also

References
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  2. "50 Greatest Latin Pop Songs". Rolling Stone.
  3. "Ricky Martin, sus 5 mayores éxitos". December 24, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  4. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. July 20, 1996. p. 57. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  5. "Chart Slot; Top 10 Singles Chart". Daily Record. September 26, 1997. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  6. "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. p. 22. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  7. "50 Greatest Latin Pop Songs: From 'Bonito' to 'Despacito'". July 9, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  8. "Hispanic Heritage 2020: The Beat Goes On With 11 Iconic Remixes". September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  9. Les Ventes & Les Certifications: Ricky Martin Archived October 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
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  21. "Íslenski Listinn NR. 233 Vikuna 7.8. '97 – 14.8. '97" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir. August 8, 1997. p. 22. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
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