Lambada (song)


"Lambada", also known as "Chorando Se Foi " or "Llorando Se Fue ", is a song recorded by French-Brazilian pop group Kaoma. It featured guest vocals by Brazilian vocalist Loalwa Braz, and was released as the first single from Kaoma's debut album Worldbeat. The video, filmed on Cocos beach in the city of Trancoso, in the state of Bahia, Brazil, featured the Brazilian child duo Chico & Roberta.
The song in Portuguese was a mix cover of the 1986 hit "Chorando Se Foi" by Márcia Ferreira and the Cuarteto Continental hit "Llorando Se Fue", released in 1984 through the Peruvian record label INFOPESA and produced by Alberto Maravi; both songs were adapted from the 1981 Bolivian song "Llorando se fue" by Los Kjarkas.
At the time of release, "Lambada" was regarded as the most successful European single in the history of CBS Records, with sales of 1.8 million copies in France and more than 4 million across Europe. It is one of the greatest-selling singles of all time, having sold more than 5 million copies worldwide.

Song information

The lyrics and music of Kaoma's "Chorando Se Foi " were an unauthorized translation of the song "Llorando se fue", originally composed, performed and recorded by the Bolivian Andean pop group Los Kjarkas in 1981. The song's lyrics and music had been lawfully registered in 1985 by the founding members of Los Kjarkas – Gonzalo and Ulises Hermosa – in Germany's Music and Authors Society, and the unauthorized copy by Kaoma led to a successful 1990 lawsuit by Los Kjarkas against Kaoma's producer Jean-Claude Bonaventure.
According to Gonzalo, Los Kjarkas had based "Llorando Se Fue" on a small, nostalgic Andean melody. Their song was written in a sad and slow Afro-Bolivian Saya rhythm.
Prior to Kaoma's 1989 release of the song, several covers of "Llorando se fue" had been released as dance tracks:
In 1984, an upbeat version of "Llorando Se Fue", introducing the accordion, was released by the Peruvian group Cuarteto Continental, whose arrangements were later copied by Kaoma. The first Portuguese translation and recording of "Llorando Se Fue" – as "Chorando Se Foi" – was released by Brazilian singer Ferreira in 1986 under her third album.
Nowadays, "Chorando Se Foi " is credited to the Hermosa brothers, Alberto Maravi, Márcia Ferreira and José Ari.
In France, the song was used in a television advertisement for Orangina.

Chart performance

"Lambada" became a worldwide summer hit, selling over 5 million copies in 1989 and was part of the Lambada dance craze. It reached No. 1 in eleven different charts, as well as No. 4 in both the UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart, No. 5 on the Australia ARIA Singles Chart, and in 1990 it reached No. 46 in the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of the best known Brazilian songs of all time.
"Chorando Se Foi " was the 37th best-selling single of the United Kingdom during 1989. In France, where it topped the chart for 12 weeks and sold almost two million copies, the single was No. 1 on the year-end list.

Music video

The music video for "Lambada" was filmed on stage on Tago Mago Island in the Mediterranean Sea and on Cocos Beach in the city of Trancoso, Bahia, Brazil. It featured the Brazilian child duo Chico & Roberta as love interests. As a semi-plot, Roberta's father does not want her to hang out with Chico, but Loalwa mends the situation among the three.

Motion picture

The song was licensed by producer Richard L. Albert for his film The Forbidden Dance after he saw Kaoma perform in a Los Angeles club. Not only was Kaoma's rendition used, but the song was also performed by Kid Creole and the Coconuts on screen, with English lyrics.

Cover versions, samples and mentions

Owing to its huge success outside Brazil, "Chorando Se Foi " was also recorded by Kaoma in English and Spanish.
The song "Sochna Kya" from the 1990 Hindi film Ghayal copied the melody of "Chorando Se Foi ".
The Japanese singer Akemi Ishii released a cover version in Japanese on March 21, 1990. It peaked at No. 16 on the Oricon charts and was re-recorded in 2011.
Elephant Man released Hate Mi in 2004 which copies the melody of "Chorando Se Foi "
In France, "Chorando Se Foi " was covered by another group, Carioca, which peaked only at No. 22 on September 9, 1989 and remained in the charts for nine weeks. It was also covered, around that time, by other Brazilian singers, such as Fafá de Belém, whose 1985 album Aprendizes da Esperança was an early exponent of the lambada rhythm. In that same year, a cover by Regina appeared on the album Lambada Tropical and on the compilation albums Max Mix 9 and Hits '89.
In 1990, the experimental band Sun City Girls recorded a freak folk cover of "Chorando Se Foi ", entitled "The Shining Path", for their album Torch of the Mystics.
The Turkish singer Cengiz Coşkuner recorded a version of "Chorando Se Foi ", with lyrics written by Ülkü Aker, it featured on his album Seni Gidi Seni & Kapris Yapma, which was released in 1990. Another Turkish singer, Rüya Çağla, wrote and recorded a version for use as the title track of her album Lambada, also released in 1990.
The British girl group Spice Girls mention "Lambada" - either the song or the dance - in their 1997 hit single "Spice Up Your Life". They further used an excerpt from the song in a remix version as the final song on their reunion tour Return of the Spice Girls.
Danish Eurodance group Fem@le released a cover version of "Chorando Se Foi " in 2000. The Danish electronic dance music act Aycan released a remixed cover of the same song in 2006.
Ivete Sangalo recorded a live version of "Chorando Se Foi " as a bonus track for her album As Super Novas, released as its third single. She also recorded the song on.
Mariana Seoane recorded "Chorando Se Foi " in Spanish for her 2007 album Está de Fiesta... Atrévete!!.
Seikima-II frontman Demon Kakka recorded "Chorando Se Foi " in Japanese/Spanish for his 2008 album GIRLS' ROCK Hakurai.
Also, the Russian song "Lambada" uses the famous sample and was sung by Svetylana Svetykova Ft. Salsa Boys.
In 2010, the Reggaeton singer Don Omar recorded a Spanish version of "Chorando Se Foi ", entitled "Taboo" and included on his album .
The Jennifer Lopez single "On the Floor" sampled either "Lambada" by Kaoma, or the original "Chorando Se Foi " by Los Kjarkas. "On The Floor" reached No. 3 in the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2011, the Mexican singer Anahí recorded a live version of "Chorando Se Foi " as showcased in her MDWT Go Any Go tour of Brazil and Mexico.
A variation of "Chorando Se Foi " appears in the game Parasol Stars as the game's Boss Music.
The melody of "Chorando Se Foi " was also used as a theme for ice cream trucks.
The dance "Lambada" was also mentioned in season 1, episode 10, of The French Prince of Bel Air when character Geoffrey was accused of doing '...the forbidden dance'.
There is a Sinhalese cover version "Chorando Se Foi ", named "Adare Oba Ma Hata" and credited to Mariazelle Gunathilake and Piyal Perera.
Two Persian DJs, Amir Acid and Mehran created a Farsi version of "Chorando Se Foi ", with the original name.
Arezo Nikbin, an Afghan artist, created an Afghan version of "Chorando Se Foi " with the name "دل به دلبر می‌رسد جانم".

Formats and track listings

; 7" single CBS
  1. "Lambada" – 3:28
  2. "Lambada" – 3:48
  3. "Lambada" 1989 – 4:50
; 12" maxi CBS
  1. "Lambada" – 6:44
  2. "Lambada" – 3:48
  3. "Lambada" – 3:55
  4. "Lambada" 2019 – 6:00

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Lambada 3000 (Gregor Salto remix)

In July 2009, a new Summer remixed version of the track by house and latin jazz DJ Gregor Salto called "Lambada 3000" was released in the Benelux. Loalwa Braz, the original singer of the song, was asked to provide new vocals for the remix. The track became Salto's second Top 20 hit in the Dutch Top 40, and third entry in the chart, peaking at #12. Its music video was shot on Curaçao and premiered in June 2009.

Track listings and formats

Charts