“La Mordidita” (English: “The Nibble”) is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin featuring Yotuel Romero, from his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar (2015). It was released on April 21, 2015 through Sony Music Latin as the third single from the album. The song was written by Martin and Yotuel alongside Pedro Capó, Don Omar, José Gómez and Beatriz Luengo while the production was handled by Rayito and Yotuel. It is an uptempo song with prominent elements of Latin pop and lyrics detailing feelings of lust for a desired person.
The song received widely positive reviews from music critics who praised its blend of many music elements such as salsa, cumbia, and reggaeton. It further received numerous nominations at several Latin award ceremonies. “La Mordidita” was commercially successful across Spain and Latin America. It reached number six on the US BillboardHot Latin Songs and number three in Spain where it was certified double platinum. It was also certified 15× Latin platinum in the United States.
The music video for “La Mordidita”, filmed in Cartagena, Colombia and directed by Simón Brand, premiered on June 12, 2015. It features Martin dancing on the streets accompanied by dancers, models and ballerinas all infected with a “dancing virus” transmitted through a bite. It received positive response from the public, winning the Video of the Year award at the Premio Lo Nuestro 2016 and becoming the singer’s most-viewed video on Vevo. As part of the promotion of “La Mordidita”, Martin made several appearances on televised shows and award ceremonies where he performed the song live. It was also performed live during his One World Tour (2015–17).
. . . La Mordidita . . .
“La Mordidita” was written by Ricky Martin, Pedro Capó, José Gómez, Yotuel Romero and Beatriz Luengo for Martin’s tenth studio album A Quien Quiera Escuchar. Its production was completed by Antonio Rayo along with Romero.[1] Talking about his collaboration with Yotuel, Ricky Martin said in an interview, “It was a very big collaboration being able to work with Yotuel; a Cuban brother, big producer, composer, someone who I admire and respect a lot”.[2] During the same interview, he talked about the song, saying “It is a coquettish song, it presents a party, union of cultures, it is energetic”.[2] Two remixes of the song were available for digital download; a Brian Cross remix on June 2, 2015 and an “Urban Remix” by Zion & Lennox on July 17, 2015.[3][4]
The uptempo song contains musical elements of salsa, cumbia, and reggaeton.[5][6][7] Allan Raible from Yahoo! further found “flamenco-esque propulsion and modern electro and EDM touches”.[8] Marcus Floyd of the website Renowned for Sound felt that the song was reminiscent of the “Latino party vibe” characteristic of Martin’s other songs.[9] Other critics further found influences of African and Latin music in its instrumentation and rhythms.[10] “La Mordidita” contains a soccer chant during its bridge.[6] Rapper Yotuel has a short rap contribution in the song.[9] Lyrically, “La Mordidita” which translates to “The Nibble” in English, talks about the lust felt for a desired person.[9]
. . . La Mordidita . . .