"I Like It" is a song performed by Spanish singerEnrique Iglesias taken from his first bilingual studio album,Euphoria. It features guest vocals from American rapperPitbull. Both artists co-wrote theelectropop[1] song withRedOne, who produced it. It alsointerpolatesLionel Richie's 1983 single "All Night Long (All Night)",[2] with vocals re-recorded by Richie himself. "I Like It" was released on 3 May 2010 as the debut English single and second single overall.[3] The song was also included on the official soundtrack toMTV reality seriesJersey Shore. A version of the song without Pitbull is also found on the international version ofEuphoria. The song also serves as the first single from theJersey Shore soundtrack.[4] The song was the official song ofAirtel2010 Champions League Twenty20. "I Like It" received mixed reviews frommusic critics, who praised its catchy melody and energetic production, but criticized its cheesy lyricism and over-reliance onAuto-Tune. Commercially, the song reached number one in Canada and the top ten in nineteen additional countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, where it reached number four. The song has sold 4 million copies in the US alone.[5]
Pitbull's verse features a reference to theTiger Woods andJesse James scandals, joking that he was involved with both scandals. The official remix to the song was produced by JAYLIEN and features rapperT.I.[7]
The song was also the official song ofAirtelChampions League 2010 cricket tournament held in South Africa. Iglesias performed "I Like It" along with "Be With You" in the opening ceremony of Airtel Champions League 2010.[8]The song was also the official song of theSpain national football team leading up to the World Cup 2010, in part due to Iglesias being Spanish.
"I Like It" received mixed reviews frommusic critics.Digital Spy's music editor, Robert Copsey, gave the song 3 stars out of 5 and said "The verses may feature enoughAuto-Tune to makeKesha feel vocally exposed, and the Eurodisco production courtesy ofRedOne may have a hint of theCascada to it, but it's the cheesy lyrics that ensure this stays an unmistakably Enrique affair."[10] Bill Lamb, editor of the websiteAbout.com, gave a positive review and rated it with 3.5 stars (out of 5), enjoying: "Enrique's charming pop falsetto",Lionel Richie "All Night Long" sample" and the "singalong chorus". Lamb concluded that: " "I Like It" features a retro disco-ish production from RedOne, guest raps from Latin starPitbull, brief excerpts from Lionel Richie's party anthem "All Night Long," and a shout along chorus of "Baby, I like it!" The overall effect is hit single as churned out by committee. Still, despite the assembly line mentality, "I Like It" retains a certain pop charm.[9]Erika Berlin ofRolling Stone also gave the song 3.5 stars (out of 5), saying "Enrique is back with his most danceable fiesta since 'Bailamos,'" and added "Pitbull gives us insight into his bedroom: "Tiger Woods times Jesse James equals Pitbull all night long." Cheating never sounded so fun!"[11]
The song reached number one on theCanadian Hot 100 and became a top-ten hit in a number of countries, including Australia, Belgium, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, where it reached number four on theBillboard Hot 100, becoming Iglesias' first solo top five hit in nearly eight years, the last being 2001's "Hero", which peaked at number three. The song peaked at number one in Canada, Australian Dance Charts, US Latin Pop Songs and US HotBillboard Dance Club Songs.[12] With this song Iglesias made history, tying withMichael Jackson andPrince as the male artist with most number-one hits at theHot Dance Club Songs chart. It even reached number 2 onMainstream Top 40 for four weeks, (kept from number one by "Dynamite" byTaio Cruz and "Teenage Dream" byKaty Perry).
On theBillboard Hot 100, the song made its debut at number eighty-nine and has since reached number four, becoming his best single on the U.S. charts since "Hero".[13] This marked Iglesias' first foray into theBillboard Hot 100 top 10 in nearly nine years. The track is Iglesias' fourth Hot 100 top 10 and his first since "Hero" reached number three in November 2001.[14] The song reached its 4 million sales mark in the US in September 2013.[5] As of June 2014, the song has sold 4,081,000 copies in the US.[15] I Like It hit number 12 on theBillboard Year-End Hot 100 in 2010, Iglesias's first song to do so since "Escape".
The song reached number one on the Canadian Hot 100 on the chart issue 25 September 2010. It debuted at number four on theUK Singles Chart,[16] his highest-charting single in the UK since "Do You Know? (The Ping Pong Song)", which peaked at number three.[17] On the AustralianARIA Charts, it has reached number two, his best Australian single since his 2001 hit "Hero", which topped the charts.[18] On theEuropean Hot 100, the song climbed the chart to number five.[19] On theGerman Singles Chart, it debuted at No. 12 and reached its highest position, No. 10, in its 7th week on that chart.[20]In France, the song debuted at number 2 in the issue of August 21, 2010, becoming Iglesias's fifth top ten and Pitbull's third. The single spent 24 weeks in theFrench Singles Chart.[21]
Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull dancing in the music video
Amusic video was filmed along withPitbull directed byWayne Isham.[22] An alternate video featuring theMTV'sJersey Shore cast was also released,[23] the music video for this version was released on 7 June 2010, directed by David Rousseau. As of June 2024, the video has been viewed over 365 million times on YouTube.[24] It is Iglesias' first music video to cross 100 million views on the site.[24]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
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