"Desesperados" (transl. "Desperate") is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singers Rauw Alejandro and Chencho Corleone for Alejandro's second studio album, Vice Versa (2021). It was written by Alejandro, Corleone, Jorge Cedeño Echevarria, Nino Segarra, NaisGai, Colla, Kenobi, and Eric Duars, while the production was handled by Alejandro, Dulce como Candy, Dimelo Ninow, and NaisGai. The song was released for digital download and streaming by Sony Music Latin and Duars Entertainment on December 9, 2021, as the fifth single from the album. A Spanish language reggaeton song with elements of cumbia and dembow, it is about two people who are apart, but still have love for each other, so they somehow try to get back together. The track received widely positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its danceable and catchy rhythm and the singers' vocals.

"Desesperados" was ranked among the 100 Greatest Reggaeton Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone. It was nominated for Best Reggaeton Performance and Best Urban Song at the 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. The song was commercially successful, reaching number one in nine countries, including Colombia and Spain, as well as the top five in several other countries such as Argentina and Mexico, and on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs in the United States. It also reached the summit of the Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts, peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Global 200, and became Corleone's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has received several certifications, including Latin quadruple platinum in the United States. An accompanying music video, released simultaneously with the song, was directed by Manson and contains erotic scenes. To promote the song, Alejandro and Corleone performed it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Rauw Alejandro released his second studio album, Vice Versa on June 25, 2021.^[1] The album debuted at number one on Billboard Top Latin Albums, giving Alejandro his first number one on the chart,^[2] and was ranked as the third-best album of 2021 and the best Spanish-language album of the year by Rolling Stone.^[3][4] It featured a 17-second interlude, entitled "Track 4", consisting of electronic sounds and a robot voice repeating the word "loading".^[5][6] The following month, during an interview with Los 40, he explained about it: "Track 4 is a surprise. People still don't understand why I did that. It is a song that has no song. It's a surprise I have for you, but it's a song that's going to come out soon." The "hype" made by the interlude was noted by the media as "a good marketing technique". On November 17, 2021, Alejandro announced that he had set a release date for the track via Instagram.^[7]

On December 9, 2021, "Desesperados" was released for digital download and streaming by Sony Music Latin and Duars Entertainment as the fifth single from Vice Versa and replaced "Track 4" on the album.^[8][9][10] It marked the second collaboration between Alejandro and Chencho Corleone, who had previously worked on "El Efecto" in 2019.^[11] In May 2022, during an interview with Billboard, Alejandro called Corleone a "legend" and spoke about the collaboration: "[...] I did my first collab with Chencho, it was in 'El Efecto'. It was like three years ago and it did really well. We have good chemistry, so people was like waiting for the next collab and I waited for my album to put 'Desesperados' [in it], and you know, we got two of two right now."^[12]

"Desesperados"

A 22-second sample of the chorus, which features an upbeat reggaeton melody.

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Musically, "Desesperados" is a Spanish language upbeat reggaeton song,^[10][13][14] with elements of cumbia and dembow.^[6][15] The song was written by Alejandro, Corleone, Jorge Cedeño Echevarria, Nino Segarra, NaisGai, Colla, Kenobi, and Eric Duars. Its production was handled by Alejandro, Dulce como Candy, Dimelo Ninow, and NaisGai,^[16] and the track runs for a total of 3 minutes and 44 seconds.^[8] Lyrically, "Desesperados" which translates to "Desperate" in English,^[17] is about two people who are apart, but still have love for each other, so they somehow try to get back together.^[18] There is a very passionate affair between the two lovers who cannot even "be bothered to park their car before ripping their clothes off", while they have already reserved a hotel room.^[6] The lyrics include, "La primera vez que perriamos / No pudimos evitarlo y nos besamos / Que el momento no acabara" (The first time we lost / We couldn't help it and we kissed / That the moment wouldn't end).^[11]

Upon release, "Desesperados" was met with widely positive reviews from music critics. In his review for Billboard, Jason Lipshutz described the track as "shiny", saying it "draws out both of their respective strengths while adhering to the contours of the full-length it's joining". He continued praising Alejandro's "vocal showcase" and Corleone's "especially animated" sound.^[19] Rolling Stone critic Lucas Villa described Alejandro's vocals as "smooth" and commented that the track successfully embodys both the reggaeton's "past and present".^[15] Los 40's Carolina Rodriguez Conza noted that its "series of reggaeton sounds and catchy rhythms" make the listeners "dance non-stop".^[10] In another article, she described it as "a single with pure sounds of the urban genre that left us speechless and wanting to hear more from Puerto Rico".^[20] Nadia Juanes from El Rescate Musical applauded the song for being "perfect for dancing at any party",^[21] while Raphael Helfand of The Fader described its rhythm as "infectious".^[6] An author of Monitor Latino gave "Desesperados" a positive review, labeling it "[a] great single" that "shines twice as much thanks to the collaboration" of Corleone on Alejandro's song.^[22] ¡Hola! critic Rebecah Jacobs introduced Alejandro as "breakout Latin music sensation" and Ocio Latino staff named him a "phenomenon" in their respective reviews of the song.^[23][24] In 2022, Ernesto Lechner from Rolling Stone ranked the track as the singer's third-best song.^[25]

In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked "Desesperados" as the 90th Greatest Reggaeton Song of All Time.^[15] The track has received a number of awards and nominations. It was nominated for Best Reggaeton Performance and Best Urban Song at the 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards.^[26]

"Desesperados" became a global hit, peaking at numbers 13 and 10 on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. US charts, respectively.^[32][33] The song debuted at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart on December 25, 2021, becoming Alejandro's 26th entry. On April 2, 2022, the track reached its peak of number five, giving Alejandro his sixth top-10 hit on the chart.^[34][35] It also peaked at number one on both the Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts on July 2, 2022. Thus it became Alejandro's ninth crowning hit on both, as well as Corleone's first ever number one hit as a lead artist on a Billboard radio chart.^[36][37][38] "Desesperados" debuted at number 99 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the chart issue dated June 16, 2022, becoming Alejandro's third entry on the chart and Corleone's first. The following week, it climbed to number 98, and subsequently peaked at number 91 in its third week on the Hot 100.^[39][40][41] The song was certified quadruple platinum (Latin) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for track-equivalent sales of over 240,000 units in the United States.^[42]

Besides the United States, "Desesperados" hit the charts in several European countries, including Portugal and Switzerland,^[43][44] and was certified gold by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI), for track-equivalent sales of over 50,000 units in Italy.^[45] In Spain's official weekly chart, the song debuted at number seven on December 19, 2021. It subsequently peaked at number one on the chart for three consecutive weeks, becoming Alejandro's third number one hit in the country and Corleone's first.^[46] The track was later certified sextuple platinum by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE), for track-equivalent sales of over 360,000 units in the country.^[47] In Latin America, "Desesperados" experienced a huge commercial success. It peaked at number one in Bolivia,^[48] Colombia,^[49] Dominican Republic,^[50] Ecuador,^[51] Honduras,^[52] Nicaragua,^[53] Peru,^[54] and Uruguay,^[55] and reached the top 10 in Argentina,^[56] Chile,^[57] Costa Rica,^[58] El Salvador,^[59] Guatemala,^[60] Latin America,^[61] Mexico,^[62] Panama,^[63] and Paraguay.^[64] In Mexico, the song was certified diamond by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON), for track-equivalent sales of over 700,000 units.^[65] It was also certified gold by Pro-Música Brasil for track-equivalent sales of over 20,000 units in Brazil.^[66]

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[16]

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