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] 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)
Format
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"
(1996)		 "María"
(1995)		 "Diana"
(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."[3] Music & Media called it a "excellent flamenco flavoured pop tune"[4]

"María" (Pablo Flores Remix) is ranked as one of the greatest latin pop songs of all time by Rolling Stone.[5]

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,[6] 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

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[50] Platinum 70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[51] 2× Platinum 100,000*
France (SNEP)[52] Diamond 1,400,000[49]
Germany (BVMI)[53] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[54] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[55] Gold 15,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[56] Gold 25,000^
Summaries
Worldwide 5,000,000[1]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone


See also

References
  1. Ricky Martin: Vuelve. Billboard. February 21, 2008. p. 11. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  2. "50 Greatest Latin Pop Songs". Rolling Stone.
  3. "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. July 20, 1996. p. 57. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  4. "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. p. 22. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  5. "50 Greatest Latin Pop Songs: From 'Bonito' to 'Despacito'". July 9, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  6. Les Ventes & Les Certifications: Ricky Martin Archived October 30, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  7. "Australian-charts.com – Ricky Martin – The Cup of Life / Maria". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  8. "Austriancharts.at – Ricky Martin – Maria" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  9. "Ultratop.be – Ricky Martin – Maria" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  10. "Ultratop.be – Ricky Martin – Maria" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  11. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 3371." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  12. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. September 13, 1997. pp. 72–73. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  13. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. June 21, 1997. p. 51. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  14. "Ricky Martin: Maria" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  15. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 205. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  16. "Lescharts.com – Ricky Martin – Maria" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Ricky Martin – María". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  18. "Top 10 Hungary" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
  19. "Íslenski Listinn NR. 233 Vikuna 7.8. '97 – 14.8. '97" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir. August 8, 1997. p. 22. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  20. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – (Un, Dos, Tres) Maria". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  21. リッキー・マーティンのシングル売り上げランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  22. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 29, 1997" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Ricky Martin – Maria" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  24. "Charts.nz – Ricky Martin – Maria". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  25. "Norwegiancharts.com – Ricky Martin – Maria". VG-lista. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  26. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  27. Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  28. "Swedishcharts.com – Ricky Martin – Maria". Singles Top 100. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  29. "Swisscharts.com – Ricky Martin – Maria". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  30. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  31. "Ricky Martin Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  32. "Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  33. "Ricky Martin Chart History (Hot Latin Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  34. "Ricky Martin Chart History (Latin Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  35. "Ricky Martin Chart History (Latin Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  36. "Ricky Martin Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  37. "Ricky Martin Chart History (Tropical Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  38. "Jaaroverzichten 1997" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  39. "Rapports annuels 1997" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  40. "The Year in Music: 1997" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  41. "Classement Singles – année 1997" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  42. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  43. "Single Top 100 Van 1997" (PDF) (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  44. "Jaaroverzichten – single 1997". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  45. "Årslista Singlar – År 1997" (in Swedish). GLF. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2016.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  46. "Swiss Year-end Charts 1997". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  47. "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1997 wg sprzedaży" (in Polish). Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  48. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 1998". ARIA. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  49. "Les Meilleures Ventes Tout Temps de 45 T. / Singles" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  50. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  51. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 1997". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  52. "French single certifications – Ricky Martin – Maria" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  53. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Ricky Martin; 'Maria')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  54. "Dutch single certifications – Ricky Martin – Maria" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved December 8, 2016. Enter Maria in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  55. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  56. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Ricky Martin; 'Maria')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
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