“Despechá” by Rosalía

As explained by Rosalía, “Despechá” is one of those be-free-and-dance kinda songs. We have dealt with tunes of similar sentiment numerous times in the past, and the more memorable of such outings usually have some type of reason as to why the vocalist feels a need to let loose in the first place. And in this instance, well first of all the title of the track, is actually “Despise”. 

As presented, who it is Rosalía would logically be extending such a sentiment towards would be her (former) significant other, who is more or less the addressee of the chorus.

As the situation reads, said individual is akin to a toxic associate in her life. So accordingly it appears, as stated in the chorus, as if the vocalist has decided to cut him off. And that is very much the case this particular evening, where she has decided to ‘forget his ills’ – i.e. the pain he has caused her – and spend the night out chillin’ ‘with all her ladies’.

Indeed the chorus goes on to further reveal that Rosalía is “spiteful”, which, all lyrics considered, would mean that the addressee has pissed her off to the point that she has decided to go out and mess with another dude(s). But it isn’t as if she has set off to do anything romantic per se.  Instead, her intent is to dance the night away alongside a partner of the opposite sex – her “crowned disco baby” – as well as her homegirls. 

In fact the sole actual verse of this song, unlike the chorus, doesn’t allude to any romantic discontent Rosalía may be experiencing but rather depicts her as someone who, most simply put, needs a break from her “fame”, her “job” and everything else that is causing stress in her life.

Some Facts about “Despechá”

This is a track which Sony and Columbia released as a standalone single on 28 July 2022. Rosalía wrote and produced “Despechá” with Sir Dylan, Noah Goldstein, Gaby Music and Chris Jedi. Meanwhile, David Rodriguez and Dímelo Ninow acted as additional cowriters.

“Despechá” is a song which Rosalía introduced to the world via her Motomami World Tour, which commenced earlier in July of 2022. And before its title was officially chosen by fandom, this track was rather referred to as “Lao a Lao”.

This track managed to chart in nearly 10 countries, performing best in Ecuador and in Rosalía’s homeland of Spain.

Omega, a merengue singer from the Dominican Republic, has stated that originally he was supposed to be a feature on “Despechá”. In explaining the background behind this track, Rosalía did in fact give a shoutout to “the DR” as well as Omega himself.

This song achieved some level of virality, via TikTok, even prior to its official release.