María (Ricky Martin song)

"María"
Single by Ricky Martin
from the album A Medio Vivir
Released November 21, 1995
Format CD single
Recorded 1995
Genre Latin pop
Length 4:23
Label Columbia
Writer(s) Luis Gómez Escolar, K. C. Porter, Ian Blake
Producer(s) K. C. Porter, Ian Blake
Ricky Martin singles chronology
"Te Extraño, Te Olvido, Te Amo"
(1995)		 "María"
(1995)		 "A Medio Vivir"
(1996)
Alternative cover

"María" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his third album, A Medio Vivir. It was released as a single on November 21, 1995 in Latin territories, and later in other parts of the world. "María" sold over 5 million copies[1] and became Martin's first international hit single.

Music videos

Three 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 a colorful barrio in Buenos Aires with the local people. The second version is set to the Spanish Radio Edit or 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. The last one was shot in France and directed by Memo del Bosque in 1998. Also set to the Spanish Radio Edit 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,[2] 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.

The song was featured in Just Dance 2014 and in the 12th series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Formats and track listings

UK CD maxi-single #1

  1. "María" (Spanglish Radio Edit) – 4:31
  2. "María" (Spanish Radio Edit) – 4:38
  3. "María" (Spanglish Extended) – 7:56
  4. "María" (Spanish Extended) – 8:10
  5. "María" (12" Club Mix) – 5:50
  6. "María" (Spanglish Dub) – 6:07

UK CD maxi-single #2

  1. "María" (Spanglish Radio Edit) – 4:31
  2. "María" (Spanish Radio Edit) – 4:38
  3. "Dónde Estarás" (Pablo and Javier's Moon Mix)
  4. "Volverás" (Album Version) – 4:52

US CD maxi-single

  1. "María" (Spanglish Radio Edit) – 4:31
  2. "María" (Spanish Radio Edit) – 4:38
  3. "María" (Spanglish Extended) – 7:56
  4. "María" (Spanish Extended) – 8:10
  5. "María" (Spanglish Dub) – 6:07
  6. "María" (Perc A Pella Mix) – 5:07

Charts and sales

Charts

Chart (1995) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Latin Songs[3] 6
US Billboard Latin Pop Songs[3] 2
Chart (1996) Peak
position
Finnish Singles Chart[4][5] 9
Finnish Top 50 Hits[4] 3
Finnish Airplay Chart[4] 4
Spanish Singles Chart[6] 11
US Billboard Hot 100[3] 88
US Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales[7] 28
US Billboard Tropical Songs[7] 8
US Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[7] 33
Chart (1997) Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart[5] 4
Belgian Flanders Singles Chart[5] 2
Belgian Wallonia Singles Chart[5] 1
Dutch Singles Chart[8] 5
French Singles Chart[5] 1
German Singles Chart[9] 3
Irish Singles Chart[10] 12
Norwegian Singles Chart[5] 11
Swedish Singles Chart[5] 3
Swiss Singles Chart[5] 3
UK Singles Chart[11] 6
Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[12] 1
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart[13] 93

Year-end charts

Chart (1997) Position
Belgian Flandres Singles Chart[14] 9
Belgian Wallonia Singles Chart[15] 4
Dutch Single Top 100[16] 29
French Singles Chart[17] 2
Swedish Singles Chart[18] 28
Swiss Singles Chart[19] 9
Chart (1998) Position
Australian Singles Chart[20] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[21] Platinum 70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[22] 2× Platinum 100,000*
France (SNEP)[23] Diamond 1,400,000[24]
Germany (BVMI)[25] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[26] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[27] Gold 15,000x
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[28] Gold 25,000x

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

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by
"Con te partirò" by Andrea Bocelli		 French SNEP number-one single
April 12, 1997 – June 7, 1997 (9 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Alane" by Wes
Preceded by
"Let a Boy Cry" by Gala		 Belgian (Wallonia) number-one single
May 10, 1997 – July 12, 1997 (10 weeks)

References

  1. ↑ Ricky Martin Vuelve. Billboard. Retrieved Feb 21, 1998. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ↑ Les Ventes & Les Certifications: Ricky Martin. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Maria - Ricky Martin. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 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.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 Ricky Martin - Maria (song). Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  6. ↑ Listas de Afyve. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Billboard Singles. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  8. ↑ Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  9. ↑ Single-Chartverfolgung. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  10. ↑ The Irish Charts. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  11. ↑ Top 75 Releases. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  12. ↑ Ricky Martin - Maria / The Cup of Life (song). Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  13. ↑ Ricky Martin singles sales ranking. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 1997". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  15. ↑ "Rapports Annuels 1997". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  16. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten - Album 1997". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  17. ↑ "Classement Singles - année 1997". Disque en France. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  18. ↑ "Årslista Singlar - År 1997". Grammofon Leverantörernas Förening. Retrieved 2011-04-18.
  19. ↑ "Swiss Year-end charts 1997". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  20. ↑ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 1998". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  21. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 1997". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "French single certifications – Ricky Martin – Maria" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  24. ↑ "InfoDisc : Les Certifications (Singles) du SNEP (Les Singles de Diamant)". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  25. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Ricky Martin; 'Maria')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  26. ↑ "Dutch single certifications – Ricky Martin – Maria" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  27. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  28. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Ricky Martin)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-09-28.