Chantaje


"Chantaje" is a song by Colombian singer Shakira, featuring vocals by fellow Colombian singer Maluma. The song was released as a single to anticipate Shakira's eleventh studio album El Dorado on 28 October 2016 by Ace Entertainment. The song was written by Shakira, Maluma, Joel Antonio López Castro, Kevin Mauricio Jiménez Londoño and Bryan Snaider Lezcano Chaverra. It was produced by Shakira, Maluma, Chan "El Genio" and Kevin Jiménez ADG. Maluma and Shakira previously collaborated on a remix of Carlos Vives' single "La Bicicleta".
"Chantaje" is a pop and reggaeton song. Lyrically, the song was considered a "battle of the sexes", where the male protagonist is not sure where he stands with his lover, and the female protagonist does not exactly clear things up. The music video for "Chantaje" was filmed in Barcelona, Spain, with video director Jaume de Laiguana, Shakira's long-time collaborator. Commercially, the song topped the Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Spain, Uruguay, and US Billboard Latin Songs charts, while also reaching the top five in nine additional countries. It became the most successful Latin single of the decade by a female artist in the United States. The track is also certified Platinum or higher in ten countries, including Diamond in France and Mexico.
The song was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Urban Fusion Performance at the 18th Latin Grammy Awards.

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 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 + 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" and Kevin Jiménez ADG. "Chantaje" is a pop and reggaeton song, with tropical synths in its background. The song is built from a "pitched-up vocal" saying "Hola, mira". 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", he says, and she responds, "Con mi cuerpo, un egoísta", adding: "En esta relación, soy yo la que manda". In the chorus, she warns him: "No soy de ti ni de nadie".

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."
Billboard included Chantaje among the 50 essential Latin songs of the 2010s decade.

Commercial Performance

In the United States the song became the second track to ever debut atop Billboard Top Latin Songs after Shakira's and Maná's "Mi Verdad", after the chart became a multi-metric chart. 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. The single was "only the 14th track to debut atop the chart in its 30-year history"Chantaje", as reported by Billboard. It is also Shakira's eleventh number-one on the chart, and Maluma's first. "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". 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. It has been certified 16× Platinum by the RIAA's Latin certifications program, denoting sales of over 960,000 units. According to the 2017 year-end Nielsen Canada report, the song has sold 177,000 units in the country. "Chantaje" went on to become the most successful Latin single of the decade by a female artist in the United States, according to Billboard.
In the United Kingdom, the single became the first Spanish song by a female artist in history to be certified Silver, for surpassing 200,000 equivalent units in the country.
In France, the song debuted at number 36 on the week of 11 November 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 ".
In Italy, "Chantaje" debuted at number 15 and peaked at number 11 for two weeks.
In Netherlands, "Chantaje" managed to peak at number 18, becoming her highest charting single since "Waka Waka ".
In Switzerland, the song peaked at number 10, becoming Shakira's fifteenth top-ten single.
In Spain, "Chantaje" entered the PROMUSICAE chart at number eight and reached number-one the following week, becoming Shakira's eighth number-one 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 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 her hips from the top of the bar to the men's bathroom, where she winds, kicks and grinds solo amid the urinals."

Reception

The music video 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 fastest Spanish video and the seventh-fastest overall to reach 200 million views, doing so in just 31 days. On 31 December 2016, the music video surpassed 300 million views and became the fastest Spanish video and the fourth-fastest overall to reach this milestone. On 11 January 2017, "Chantaje" surpassed 400 million views and became the fastest Spanish video and the third-fastest overall to reach this milestone. On 23 January 2017, the music video surpassed 500 million views and became the fastest Spanish video to reach this milestone. On 7 April 2017, it reached 1 billion views, becoming the fastest Spanish video to hit the billion visits landmark. It also became Shakira's second video to exceed the milestone. On July 10, 2017, "Chantaje" reached 1.5 billion views, becoming the first Spanish music video by a female artist and the second-fastest Spanish video overall to do so. It was Shakira’s first video to exceed this milestone. On 2 December 2017, it surpassed 2 billion views, becoming the third-fastest music video and the first Spanish music video by a female artist in history to hit this landmark. It was also the second-most viewed video on Vevo in 2017, after "Despacito". and the most viewed music video released in 2016. On 19 February 2020, "Chantaje" surpassed 2.5 billion views, becoming the first Spanish music video by a female artist, the third-fastest Spanish video and the ninth-fastest overall to reach this milestone. As of August 2020, the video has over 2.5 billion views on YouTube, making it the most viewed Spanish video by a female artist in history and the 28th most viewed YouTube video. Shakira, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are currently the only female artists to have multiple music videos with over 2.5 billion views each on YouTube.

Salsa version

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

Accolades

Live performances

Shakira performed "Chantaje" with Coldplay's lead vocalist Chris Martin at Global Citizen Festival Hamburg on 6 July 2017.
Shakira performed the song with Bad Bunny during the Super Bowl LIV halftime show.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade charts

Certifications

Release history