Despechá

Album: Motomami + (2022)
Charted: 63
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Despechá translates as "despise" or "spiteful." Here, Rosalia hits the club with her girlfriends to get over a toxic relationship. She cuts the guy off and expunges her pain during a hedonistic night out. "There are many ways to be Despechá, in this theme it is from the freeness or the craziness, moving without reservations or regrets," Rosalia said.
  • "Despechá" is a danceable mambo track with merengue and electropop elements. Rosalia originally intended it to be a collaboration with the Dominican merengue singer Omega; she gives a shout-out in the lyrics to Omega and the Dominican merengue accordionist Fefita La Grande. "I'm grateful for having been able to travel in recent years," said Rosalia, "and have learned from music from other places including the Dominican Republic, where artists like Fefita La Grande, Juan Luis Guerra and Omega have inspired me and without them this song would not exist."
  • Rosalia wrote "Despechá" with:

    Her Motomami collaborators David Rodríguez, Noah Goldstein and Sir Dylan.

    Puerto Rico producers Chris Jedi, Dímelo Ninow and Gaby Music. Jedi, Ninow and Gaby Music also co-produced Lunay's "Soltera."
  • Rosalia first performed "Despechá" at the start of her Motomami World Tour on July 6, 2022 at the Recinto Ferial in Almería. It became an instant fan favorite and spread on social media, so Rosalia released the summery song as a single on July 28, 2022.
  • When Rosalia performed this song during her July 19 Madrid show, she asked the audience whether they preferred the title "Despechá" or "Lao a Lao" ("Side to Side"). The audience unanimously chose the first proposal.
  • This was one of five additional tracks included on Motomami +, the expanded version of Motomami.
  • "Despechá" topped the charts in Panama, Spain and Uruguay, plus Billboard's Latin Airplay. It was Rosalia's first #1 on the latter tally as a soloist, unaccompanied by any other act.
  • Rosalia teamed up with Cardi B for the remix. "She knows I love her music, and she always supports me too," Rosalia told Apple Music's Zane Lowe. "So I was like, 'This song is inspired in Mambo, it's inspired in música dominicana.' And she's Dominican, so who else is going to understand this better than her? You know what I mean? Her energy's super pure and strong. I think that everybody can feel that."

    Rosalia released the new version on December 16, 2022.
  • "Despechá" surpassed one billion streams on Spotify on June 9, 2024, making Rosalia the first Spanish artist to achieve this milestone with a solo song.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Wedding Bell Blues

Wedding Bell BluesSong Writing

When a song describes a wedding, it's rarely something to celebrate - with one big exception.

Desmond Child

Desmond ChildSongwriter Interviews

One of the most successful songwriters in the business, Desmond co-wrote "Livin' La Vida Loca," "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Livin' On A Prayer."

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Boy Bands

Boy BandsFact or Fiction

From NKOTB to 1D, how well do you know your boy bands?

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"They're Playing My Song

The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?