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Danza Kuduro
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Wikipedia article
"'Danza Kuduro'" (English: Dance Kuduro) is a Spanish/Portuguese song by Puerto Rican recording artist Don Omar and PortugueseFrench singer Lucenzo from Don Omar's collaborative album 'Meet the Orphans'. The song is an adaptation of Lucenzo's "Vem Danar Kuduro", a Portuguese/English song. "Danza Kuduro" was released as the lead single from the album on August 15, 2010, through Machete, VI. It became a hit in most Latin American countries,[https://itunes.apple.com/es/album/danza-kuduro-single/id386158241 Danza Kuduro - Single by Don Omar & Lucenzo] 'iTunes.com' Retrieved 2010-08-18 and eventually all over Europe. "Danza Kuduro" was number one on the Hot Latin Songs, giving Don Omar his second US 'Billboard' Hot Latin Songs number-one hit and Lucenzo his first. A remake of the song is also featured in the 2011 movie 'Fast Five' as an ending song and is on the film's soundtrack album. "Danza Kuduro" ended up being the most successful song with a significant number of verses in European Portuguese of the 2010s. The track ranked 43 on Rolling Stone`s Greatest Latin Pop Songs.
Kuduro is a style of dancing, as well as a musical genre, from Angola. In spite of the name, "Danza Kuduro" - just like "Vem Danar Kuduro" - can't be considered straight-up Kuduro. Brazilian rapper Daddy Kall and singer Latino released a Brazilian version of the song, "Dana Kuduro", of the song with amended Portuguese lyrics.
Background
The song, written and produced by Lucenzo, is mostly sung in Spanish by Don Omar, except for Lucenzo's lone verse in European Portuguese. The verse is taken from Lucenzo's previously released song "Vem danar kuduro", featuring Big Ali.
Kuduro is a dance style practiced in the West African country of Angola. Originally designed to pay tribute towards the many disfigured and crippled people within the country due to the deadly civil war that ravaged the country and left landmines throughout the region. The dance is meant to not only pay tribute towards these handicapped individuals, but also incorporate their erratic and jerky movements into the flow of the moves. While Portugal once retained bloody control over the former colony the diasporic spread of the musically inspired dance craze has added to the feel of "world music" taking the concept of Kuduro from Brazil to Beijing.
Critical reception
Amar Toor from Aol Radio Blog said that the song "showcases one of reggaeton's brightest stars at his absolute best. [...] Don Omar's song is so infectious, it will likely get buried in your mind after just one listen -- and trust us, that's a very good thing".
Monica Herrera from 'Billboard' said "The propulsive beat is laced with crowd-pleasing electric accordion runs, over which Don Omar sings and raps about a simple yet evergreen concept: dancing up a storm. The song wisely shifts him toward more tropical-leaning material-a move all too familiar in reggaetn's post-boom era-while letting him continue to explore new sounds and maintain his hold over Latin dancefloors around the world." Allison Stewart from The Washington Post said that the song "exemplifies what Omar and company do best: It's a sunny, up-tempo, utterly winning variation on Latin dance pop. 'Orphans' otherwise contains seemingly infinite variations on reggaeton, though there's nothing else as great as the standard genre track 'Hasta Abajo', which appears here in un-remixed form". At the Latin Grammy Awards of 2011, "Danza Kuduro" received a nomination for Best Urban Song. It won the Billboard Latin Music Award for Latin Rhythm Airplay Song of the Year in 2011 and 2012.
Commercial performance
The song debuted at number 48 on the 'Billboard' Hot Latin Songs. One week later, the song debuted at number 34 on the Tropical Songs. The song has become Don Omar's second number-one hit on the Billboard Latin Songs, and also topped the Latin Rhythm Songs, Latin Tropical Songs. On the Venezuelan Airplay Chart from the Record Report, the song also reached the top of the Latin Chart, and peaked at number 2 on the main Top 100 Chart. Due to heavy airplay and strong sales in the US, on the issue of May 21, 2011 the song debuted at number 82 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 and number 93 on the Canadian Hot 100.[http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/686/hot100may212011.jpg Billboard Hot 100 - Issue Date: 2011-05-21] Billboard. Retrieved 2011-05-12 It has sold over a million digital copies in the US by October 2012.
According to Universal Records, the single became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Romania, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden and on the US Hot Latin Songs chart, and making the top 5 in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Chile, Central America, Denmark, and Norway. The single has found greater success especially in Italy where it topped the charts for 10 straight weeks.
Music video
A music video was filmed on the Caribbean island of St. Martin,[http://www.enlatino.com/musica/don-omar-se-tomara-las-pistas-de-baile-con-danza-kuduro Don Omar se tomar las pistas de baile con "Danza Kuduro"] enlatino.com Retrieved 2010-08-18 and was directed by music video director Vincent Egret, who has directed most of Lucenzo's recent videos. Production/Post supervised by Frederico Panetta and his team (4brostudio) Marc-Olivier Jean, Anderson Jean, Dullin Jean, Fayolle Jean Jr. did the post-production of the music video. After Title Short Song Taboo By Don Omar In this The video shows the singers boasting of all the wealth of a millionaire. It portrays Don Omar inviting Lucenzo to a boat ride, and picking him up in a BMW Z4. Also there are scenes of women dancing around the two artists on the beach. Before the video premiere, a preview of the video was released on July 30, 2010, through Omar's Facebook account.[http://www2.esmas.com/ritmoson/noticias/191066/conoce-danza-kuduro-don-omar Conoce la "Danza Kuduro" de Don Omar] esmas.com Retrieved 2010-08-18
The full music video was premiered on August 17, 2010, through Vevo. There were more than 1 million views within the first few days of its release, making "Danza Kuduro" the #3 Most Seen Video in the World.[http://meettheorphans.com.ar/el-video-musical-de-danza-kuduro-rompe-en-vevo-y-es-3-del-video-mas-visto-del-mundo/ El video Musical De "Danza Kuduro" Rompe en Vevo y es #3 Del video mas visto en el mundo] MeettheOrphans.com Retrieved 2010-11-04. Since 2018 the music video for "Danza Kuduro" exceeded one billion views.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
All time charts
Certifications
References
Category:2010 singles
Category:Don Omar songs
Category:Machete Music singles
Category:Number-one singles in Austria
Category:Number-one singles in Venezuela
Category:Number-one singles in Italy
Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Spain
Category:Number-one singles in Romania
Category:Number-one singles in Switzerland
Category:Number-one singles in Germany
Category:Number-one singles in Sweden
Category:Record Report Top Latino number-one singles
Category:Songs written by Don Omar
Category:2010 songs
Category:Songs written by Lucenzo
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