"La Fama" is a mid-tempo non-guitar driven bachata track with electropop and experimental elements. Its lyrics see Rosalía describing the seductions of fame as well as its superficiality and emptiness. The song was met with generally positive reviews from music critics, who embraced its challenging way to produce bachata without its characteristic acoustic guitar. It received a nomination for Record of the Year at the 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards.[3] The song's music video, directed by Director X and inspired by Robert Rodríguez' From Dusk till Dawn, accompanied the song's release, and depicts Rosalía as a bloodstone vedette.
Commercially, "La Fama" debuted atop the PROMUSICAE chart in Spain, becoming Rosalía's seventh number-one single in her home country and the Weeknd's first. Elsewhere, the song entered the top ten charts in Belgium, France, Mexico, Bulgaria, Panama, El Salvador and the US Hot Latin Songs. It also entered the Billboard Hot 100 and the Global 200, peaking at 94 and 34 respectively.
Background
On 2 November 2021, to celebrate the three-year anniversary of the release of her second studio album El Mal Querer (2018), Rosalía revealed that her upcoming third studio album Motomami would be released in 2022.[4][5] Earlier in October, during a meet and greet in Mexico, Rosalía revealed that the lead single from Motomami would be released in November.[6] Later in the month, she posted a snippet of a then-unreleased song on her TikTok account.[7]
On 8 November 2021, multiple advertisements were spotted in Buenos Aires that revealed the name of the single was "La Fama". It was also announced that the song would feature the Weeknd and that it was set to be released on 11 November.[8] Later in the day, Rosalía unveiled the trailer for the song's music video.[9] This marked the second collaboration between Rosalía and the Weeknd, following the remix of the Weeknd's 2019 single "Blinding Lights".[10][11]
Composition
"La Fama" is a mid-tempobachata track with electropop influences.[12] In a statement for Rolling Stone, Rosalía noted that she "wanted to write, in my own way, a bachata with a little story around ambition. The challenge was also to compose a bachata song without using a guitar, which was able by chopping my voice. Taking as a reference the lyrics of Rubén Blades or Patti Smith and the songs of Aventura, I ended up writing a story of romance with fame."[13][14] She also stated for Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 that, after expressing her aim to write a bachata track, Romeo Santos reached out to the singer and sent her an extense playlist.[15] The composition of "La Fama" began in 2018 and was intended to be solo. However, the Weeknd hopped on the song in early 2020, before the recording of the "Blinding Lights" remix.[16]
Music video
The music video for "La Fama", directed by Director X, who also directed the music video for Rosalía and J Balvin's "Con Altura", premiered on 11 November 2021 alongside the single's release.[17] Filmed at the Aurora Banquet Hall in Tujunga, California, it features a cameo appearance from actor Danny Trejo[13] and is heavily inspired by the 1996 horror cult film From Dusk till Dawn. The typography featured in the video was inspired by the 1996 slasher film Scream.[18][unreliable source?]
In the video, Rosalía, introduced by Trejo, performs at a dimly lit nightclub as "La Fama". She wanders out to the crowd until she notices the Weeknd sitting alone watching her performance. She seduces him onto the stage, where they embrace before Rosalía stabs him with a hidden knife.[19] She continues her performance while the Weeknd perishes. In the end, the audience applauds enthusiastically as Trejo is heard off-screen saying, "Be careful what you wish for".[20]
Published by Songs of Universal, Inc. O/b/O itself and La Guantera Publishing (BMI) / KMR Music Royalties, admin. by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing (ASCAP) / Noah Goldstein Music (ASCAP) / EMI April Music Inc. (ASCAP) O/b/O itself EMI Music Publishing Ltd. and Nylan King Music Ltd. (PRS) / Sony/ATV Discos Music Publishing LLC (ASCAP) / EMI Blackwood Music Inc. (BMI) / WC Music Cop. (ASCAP) O/b/O Warner/Chappell Music Spain S.A. and RICO Publishing / Sony/ATV Ballad (BMI)
Recorded by David Rodríguez, Tyler Murphy and Shin Kamiyama.
