Obsesión (Lali song)

"Obsesión" (transl. "obsession") is a song by Argentine singer Lali, taken from her fifth studio album, Lali (2023). The song was written by Lali, Galán, and its producer Mauro De Tommaso. It was released by Sony Music Argentina on 13 April 2022 along with the album as its eighth single.

"Obsesión"
Single by Lali
from the album Lali
English title	"Obsession"
Released	April 13, 2023 (2023-04-13)
Genre	Pop
Length	3:11
Label	Sony Argentina
Songwriter(s)	Mariana Espósito Martín D'Agosto Mauro De Tommaso
Producer(s)	Mauro De Tommaso
Lali singles chronology
"Cómprame Un Brishito" (2023) "Obsesión" (2023) "Nochentera (Remix)" (2023)
Music video
"Obsesión" on YouTube

At the 26th Annual Premios Gardel, "Obsesión" won the Song of the Year award, marking Lali's third win in this category. She previously won in 2019 with "Sin Querer Queriendo" and in 2021 with "Ladrón". This achievement made Lali the first female artist, and the third overall, to secure three Song of the Year wins, joining the ranks of Abel Pintos and Vicentico. The song also competed in the Record of the Year and Best Pop Song categories.^[1]

Composition

"Obsesión" works as the opener to Lali. It was written by the self-proclaimed "Triunvirato del Pop", consisting of Lali, Galán and Mauro De Tommaso. Lyrically, the song narrates a breakup with someone with whom she had a toxic relationship and who still chases her but she rejects.^[2]

The song captures the intention of the album from the very beginning as the opening instrumental already resembles those popular early 2000s pop sounds. Among these, "Love Don't Cost a Thing" by Jennifer Lopez, "The Call" by the Backstreet Boys and "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC were perceived as influences.^[3] The song's most notorious reference is a sample to Britney Spears's "The Stop!" remix version of her 1998 song "(You Drive Me) Crazy" in the middle of its chorus.^[4] In the interlude, the song references Luis Miguel's 1996 song "Cómo Es Posible Que a Mi Lado" and a phrase said by Argentine pop icon Moria Casán in the TV show La Noche de Mirtha.^[5] At the same time, Lali talks to someone on the phone, which coincides with the man that called her asking for forgiveness in her 2014 song "Desamor" from her debut studio album A Bailar.^[6]

Music video

An accompanying music video directed by Lautaro Espósito and co-directed by Lali and Niko Sedano was released on 13 April 2023. The clip shows Lali and her dance coach with whom she had had a secret relationship but with whom she is not longer dating. In class, she notices, from the way he used to treat her, that she has a new relationship with one of her classmates. Heartbroken, Lali walks the streets of Madrid while she performs a professional dance rotuine at the dance studio. The clip references the 1983 American romantic drama dance film Flashdance and features Juan Minujín as the dance coach.^[7]

Reception

Critical reception

Brenda Petrone Veliz of La Voz del Interior wrote that "the single could be sung as a Spanish pop anthem along the Cheetah Girls".^[8] Moreover, it was written in Monitor Latino that the song "paved the way for new generations of artists seeking to break barriers and conquer the world with their music. This surprising success demonstrates that passion, talent, and innovation are key elements in reaching the top of the charts and staying in the memory of listeners."^[9]

Commercial performance

Following the release of the album, "Obsesión" debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot Trending Songs chart.^[10] In Argentina, the song debuted at number 23 before peaking at number 20.^[11] "Obsesión" also charted on the Monitor Latino Uruguayan, Paraguayan and Argentine airplay charts. In the latter, it reached the number-one position across all formats (General, Latin and National).

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Lali

Year	Organization	Award	Result	Ref.
2024	Premios Gardel	Song of the Year	Won	[12][1]
		Record of the Year	Nominated
		Best Pop Song	Nominated

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Obsesión" Chart (2023) Peak position Argentina (Argentina Hot 100)[11] 20 Argentina Airplay (Monitor Latino)[13] 1 Argentina Latin Airplay (Monitor Latino)[14] 1 Argentina National Songs (Monitor Latino)[15] 1 Paraguay Pop Airplay (Monitor Latino)[16] 13 Uruguay Airplay (Monitor Latino)[17] 16 Uruguay Latin Airplay (Monitor Latino)[18] 15

Year-end charts 2023 year-end chart performance for "Obsesión" Chart (2023) Position Argentina Airplay (Monitor Latino)[19] 11 Argentina Latin Airplay (Monitor Latino)[20] 8 Bolivia Airplay (Monitor Latino)[21] 83 Bolivia Latin Airplay (Monitor Latino)[22] 77 Uruguay Airplay (Monitor Latino)[23] 57 Uruguay Latin Airplay (Monitor Latino)[24] 51

References

1. "Premios Gardel 2024: Lista completa de ganadores". Billboard (in Spanish). 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
2. "Lali lanzó su nuevo disco homónimo, lleno de sexualidad y a puro electropop". El Ciudadano (in Spanish). 14 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
3. Miranda, Agustina (17 April 2023). "Todas las referencias de "Obsesión", la nueva canción de Lali". En Agenda (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 April 2023.
4. "Latin American singer Lali samples the iconic 'Stop!' from Crazy in her new song 'Obsesión'". Exhale. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
5. "Lali Espósito lanzó nuevo álbum homenajeando a las divas de los 90′s y 2000". El Comercio (in Spanish). 15 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
6. "Lali: el hilo de Twitter que revela todas las referencias de su nuevo disco". La Nación (in Spanish). 18 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
7. "Lali Espósito vive una historia de amor prohibida con Juan Minujín en el videoclip de "Obsesión"". Todo Noticias (in Spanish). 14 April 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
8. Petrone Veliz, Brenda (13 April 2023). "Cómo es el nuevo disco de Lali Espósito: "K.O" al decorado y "Motiveishon" al pop del 2000". La Voz del Interior. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
9. "Lali y el sorprendente éxito de "Obsesión"" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. 25 July 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
10. "Lali Chart History (Hot Trending Songs Powered by X)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
11. "Lali – Chart History (Argentina Hot 100)" Billboard Argentina Hot 100 Singles for Lali. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
12. "Premios Gardel 2024: Lista completa de nominados". Billboard (in Spanish). 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
13. "Top 20 Argentina – General – Del 15 al 21 de Mayo, 2023" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
14. "Top 20 Argentina – Latino – Del 15 al 21 de Mayo, 2023" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
15. "Top 20 Argentina – Nacionalidad – Del 15 al 21 de Mayo, 2023" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
16. "Top 20 Paraguay – Pop – Del 15 al 21 de Mayo, 2023" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
17. "Top 20 Uruguay – General – Del 14 al 20 de Agosto, 2023" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
18. "Top 20 Uruguay – Latino – Del 14 al 20 de Agosto, 2023" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
19. "Chart Anual Monitor Latino 2023 – Del 1 de Enero al 30 de Noviembre de 2023 – Argentina General" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
20. "Chart Anual Monitor Latino 2023 – Del 1 de Enero al 30 de Noviembre de 2023 – Argentina Latino" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
21. "Chart Anual Monitor Latino 2023 – Del 1 de Enero al 30 de Noviembre de 2023 – Bolivia General" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
22. "Chart Anual Monitor Latino 2023 – Del 1 de Enero al 30 de Noviembre de 2023 – Bolivia Latino" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
23. "Chart Anual Monitor Latino 2023 – Del 1 de Enero al 30 de Noviembre de 2023 – Uruguay General" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
24. "Chart Anual Monitor Latino 2023 – Del 1 de Enero al 30 de Noviembre de 2023 – Uruguay Latino" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 6 December 2023.