Con Altura

"Con Altura"
Single by Rosalía and J Balvin featuring El Guincho
LanguageSpanish
English title"With Height"
Released28 March 2019
RecordedSeptember 2018
Genre
Length2:41
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Rosalía singles chronology
"De Aquí No Sales"
(2019) 		"Con Altura"
(2019) 		"Barefoot in the Park"
(2019)
J Balvin singles chronology
"I Can't Get Enough"
(2019) 		"Con Altura"
(2019) 		"La Rebelión"
(2019)
Music video
"Con Altura" on YouTube

"Con Altura" is a song by Spanish singer Rosalía and Colombian singer J Balvin, featuring Spanish producer el Guincho. Written by Rosalía, Balvin, Aury "Mariachi Budda" Pineda, el Guincho, Frank Dukes, Teo Halm, and Sky Rompiendo and produced by the last four alongside the Spanish singer, the song was released by Columbia Records on 28 March 2019.[1]

"Con altura" peaked at number one in six countries, many of them Latin American, and started the ascent of Rosalía into the international music scene. The song was one of the best-performing singles of 2019, being streamed for over 1.5 billion times during the year.[2] It was listed in many year-end lists and received critical acclaim, with Billboard ranking it fifth on their list of 100 Best Songs of 2019 as Pitchfork the eighth best.[3][4] "Con altura" won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Urban Song and was also nominated for a Teen Choice and an MTV Europe Music Award, among others.[5][6][7]

Its music video, directed by Director X, accompanied its release the same day. It reached social media virality and became the most-watched female music video on YouTube of 2019.[8] It earned the performers multiple accolades. Rosalía made history after winning two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Latin and Best Choreography as she became the first ever Spanish-winning artist at the ceremony.[9] "Con altura" also appeared on Just Dance 2020 and Grand Theft Auto Online.[10]

Background

[edit]

In May 2018, Colombian singer J Balvin released his fifth studio album Vibras (2018). The album included a collaboration with Rosalía called "Brillo", which reached the 19th position on the Spanish singles chart. In September 2018, Rosalía stayed a couple days in Miami due to her performance at the Ziff Ballet Opera House to celebrate her five Latin Grammy nominations. The singer told at a press conference in Argentina that the song was born there.[11] The song includes a talked sample of Dominican influencer Mariachi Budda, which Rosalía eventually found on the Internet spontaneously and had coined and registered the phrase "Con altura".[12]

At the end of 2018, Rosalía began to work on her third studio album, which was set to be released in mid-2021. By that time, she also began to announce the first dates of her debut world tour named El Mal Querer Tour. In December 2018, a snippet of the music video was posted by Balvin's team on their Instagram stories; the videos were deleted almost instantly. In March 2019, rumors began circulating about Rosalía performing new (un)released song(s) on her tour. Those rumors were confirmed by Rosalía herself when she finally announced the song's release on 27 March 2019 through a social media post.[13] As well as Rosalía and J Balvin, the songwriters are Frank Dukes, Teo Halm, Alejandro Ramírez and el Guincho.[1]

Critical Reception and Cultural Appropriation

[edit]

After its release, the song was received well by critics. Pitchfork named Rosalía's new single "a lighthearted mix of boastful tropes meant to be playful. It's a high-flying trifle of a song whose video and title show both artists at the top of their game".[14] Rolling Stone had this to say about the song: "it's a modern take in reference to Spanish flamenco songs inspired by Afro-Caribbean sounds; ever the champion of cross-cultural experimentation, Rosalía has ultimately described it as her personal homage to classic reggaeton."[15]

Furthermore, Rosalía has played a significant role in cultural heterogenization (cultural hybridization) of Reggaeton and Flamenco music, contributing to a new sound in the Latinx music industry. However, her rise to mainstream success has sparked controversy, with accusations of cultural appropriation. Critics argue that she has adopted elements of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and music, despite not belonging to that culture. In Ellen Rebecca Bishwell's article, a PhD Researcher in Modern Languages at Newcastle University, she highlights how Reggaeton belongs to the Afro-Caribbean music genre, emphasizing its rich history and cultural mixtures [29]. The media, including platforms like Billboard’s “Growing Up Latino” web series [30], has enabled Rosalía to bypass scrutiny for her actions, portraying her as a Latina woman despite her European background. This portrayal contributes to the whitewashing of Reggaeton and erases its historical roots, perpetuating modern colonialism.

Commercial performance

[edit]

Within 24 hours on streaming platforms, the song received 201,000 Spotify streams in Spain, beating Aitana's "Teléfono" as the most-streamed female song in a single day in Spotify Spain.[16] After a week, the song had been streamed over 15 million times of which 4.71M came from Spain. This set the record for the most streamed song in Spain in only a week.[17] Its music video received over 22 million views in that time.[18] The song debuted number one in Spain, being Rosalía's second number one there after "Di mi nombre". "Con altura" topped the Argentina Hot 100 chart in July 2019.[19]

Music video

[edit]

Rosalía shared a preview of the music video on 27 March 2019. The video itself premiered on the singer's YouTube channel the day after.[20] The video features Spanish dance formation, Las Ocho Rosas (who are Rosalía's backup dancers) and J Balvin inside a plane while dancing to the song and piloting the plane.[21] The music video was directed by Director X, marking the first time they collaborate. It reached social media virality and drew comparisons to the music video of "Toxic" by Britney Spears.[citation needed]

In the third week of June 2019, it became the most-viewed music video globally in a single week, with more than 19 million views in 7 days.[22] A week later, the music video had been viewed more than 500 million times.[23] Starting 9 July, it became the most-viewed music video by a female artist of 2019, a record previously held by Ariana Grande's "7 Rings".[24] It reached one billion views by mid-October.[25]

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from Tidal, Jaxsta, and The New York Times.[26][27][28]

Production

  • El Guincho – production, songwriting; vocals
  • Frank Dukes – production, songwriting
  • Rosalía – production, songwriting; vocals
  • Sky Rompiendo – production, songwriting
  • J Balvin – songwriting; vocals
  • Teo Halm – production, songwriting; background vocals
  • Aury "Mariachi Budda" Pineda – songwriting

Technical

  • Morning Estrada – recording engineer
  • El Guincho – recording engineer
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing
  • Chris Galland – assistant engineer
  • Jeremie Inhaber – assistant engineer
  • Robin Florent – assistant engineer
  • Emerson Mancini – mastering

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[82] Diamond 160,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[83] Gold 40,000‡
France (SNEP)[84] Gold 100,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[85] Gold 25,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[86] 2× Diamond+Gold 630,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[87] Gold 10,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[88] Gold 5,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[89] 5× Platinum 200,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[90] Gold 10,000‡
United States (RIAA)[91] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Country Date Format Label
Various 28 March 2019
Columbia
Spain 31 March 2019 Contemporary hit radio
Italy 21 June 2019

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Rosalia, J Balvin Win Latin GRAMMY". GRAMMY.com. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  2. ^ EFE, RTVE es / (16 October 2019). "El videoclip "Con altura" de Rosalía supera los 1.000 millones de visualizaciones". RTVE.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  3. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2019: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  4. ^ Sampaio, Sofia (11 December 2019). "Pitchfork: Con Altura e Caro estão entre as 10 melhores do ano". Latina Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Rosalía se encumbra sobre el escenario de los MTV EMA Sevilla en una gala con protagonismo femenino". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 3 November 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Teen Choice Awards: lista de nominados". www.milenio.com (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  7. ^ "La noche inolvidable de Rosalía en los Grammy Latinos 2019". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 15 November 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  8. ^ "El videoclip 'Con altura' de Rosalía es el segundo más visto de YouTube en 2019". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 5 December 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
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  12. ^ Libre, Diario (9 July 2019). "Locutor Mariachi Budda en los créditos de la canción "Con altura" de Rosalía y J Balvin". www.diariolibre.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  13. ^ Charlie (27 March 2019). "Rosalía se convertirá en la obsesión de muchos: su nuevo tema con J.Balvin (y sus estilismos) tienen la culpa". Trendencias (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2019.[permanent dead link]
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  15. ^ Exposito, Suzy (28 March 2019). "Rosalía and J Balvin Fly High in New Video for 'Con Altura (feat. El Guincho)'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 April 2019.[dead link]
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  84. ^ "French single certifications – Rosalía & J Balvin feat. El Guincho – Con Altura" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  85. ^ "Italian single certifications – Rosalía & J Balvin feat. El Guincho – Con altura" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 7 October 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Con altura" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  86. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 27 April 2023. Type Rosalía & J Balvin feat. El Guincho in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Con Altura in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
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  91. ^ "American single certifications – Rosalía – Con Altura". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
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