Rhythm Divine

Album: Enrique (1999)
Charted: 45 32
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is an "I'll follow you anywhere" song, with Iglesias letting the lady know there's nowhere she can hide from his passion. All he needs is the rhythm divine to guide him, meaning his muse.
  • Songwriters have been known to follow up their hit songs with another that sounds just like it, and that's what happened here. The team of Paul Barry and Mark Taylor wrote "Bailamos," the first single from Enrique Iglesias' first English-language album, Enrique. The song was a massive hit, going all the way to #1 in America. So, they took many elements from "Bailamos" and worked them into another song, "Rhythm Divine," which was released as Enrique's next single. It didn't do nearly as well, stalling at #32 in the US.

    "It was probably too much of a follow-up," Taylor said in the Billboard Book Of #1 Hits. "It was the same kind of track, so much so that it didn't have the same magic."

    The writers redeemed themselves with the next song they wrote for Iglesias, "Be With You," which went to #1.
  • The music video was shot in Kuala Lumpur, where Iglesias playfully follows a girl who is being very evasive. She eventually disappears into the ocean, possibly because she's a ghost or a figment of his imagination.

    It was directed by Francis Lawrence, who went on to work on some of the Hunger Games films after making videos for the likes of Shakira ("Whenever, Wherever"), Lady Gaga ("Bad Romance") and Alanis Morissette ("Hands Clean").

    The girl in the video is Claudia Mason, a model who later appeared in the movies Celebrity and The Brass Teapot.
  • Iglesias recorded a Spanish version called "Ritmo Total" that was released in Latin markets.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.