"Un Día (One Day)"[note 1] is a song by Colombian singer
J Balvin, English-Albanian singer
Dua Lipa, Puerto Rican rapper and singer
Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican producer
Tainy. Tainy produced the song, while he co-wrote it with Balvin, Lipa, Bad Bunny, Alejandro Borrero, Clarence Coffee Jr.,
Tory Lanez, and Ivanni Rodriguez.
Universal Music Group released the song for
digital download and
streaming as a standalone
single in various countries on July 23, 2020. It appears on J Balvin's second
compilationextended play (EP), Summer Vacation (2020), his fifth studio album Jose (2021), and the reissue of Lipa's second studio album, Future Nostalgia: The Moonlight Edition (2021).
A
house,
Latin pop, and
reggaeton song with
dream pop melodies and
dancehall flairs, "Un Día (One Day)" lyrically talks about emotions of nostalgia and longing between two alienated romantic partners over a somber piano riff. Critics praised the song's fusion of each participating artist's musical styles. The song placed on best of 2020 year-end lists published by Billboard, Idolator and Rolling Stone. It was nominated for
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards. The song reached the top 10 on the charts in various Central American countries, and received
multi-platinum certifications in the United States, Mexico, and Spain.
The
black and whitemusic video for "Un Día (One Day)", which was released on the same day as the song, features
Úrsula Corberó dancing to it and contemplating a heartbreak. It was nominated for Best Music Video at the
46th People's Choice Awards. Lipa performed the song at her livestream concert
Studio 2054, with Bad Bunny and J Balvin contributing their verses through a video.
Background and release
Tainy conceived "Un Día (One Day)" in January 2019, and invited his NEON16 partner Lex Borrero to executive produce it with him.[3][4] Tainy asked
J Balvin to record vocals for the song. J Balvin, in turn, asked
Dua Lipa to join it;[3] he told New Zealand DJ
Zane Lowe in an interview, "I'm grateful and happy to have Dua Lipa on it. It was a dream to me to work with her".[4]Bad Bunny was the last addition to "Un Día (One Day)", recording his vocals during the same session in which "
Callaíta", another 2019 collaboration between him and Tainy, was written.[3] Tainy, J Balvin, Lipa, and Bad Bunny wrote the song alongside Alejandro Borrero, Clarence Coffee Jr.,
Daystar Peterson, and Ivanni Rodriguez. Tainy recorded the song and produced it, while Colin Leonard and Josh Gudwin handled the
mastering[note 2] and
mixing, respectively.[5] It was recorded in 2019.[6]
In May 2020, a nine-second clip of Lipa singing over a
reggaetonbeat leaked online, leading to speculation about a potential collaboration.[7][8] On July 21, 2020, she revealed that "Un Día (One Day)" would be released two days later, and shared a 30-second teaser of the
music video, which included imagery of a statue disintegrating underwater that is surrounded by fishes, people on fire, a glowing rectangle, cityscapes, and fireworks.[9][10]Universal Music Group released the song for
digital download and
streaming as a
single in various countries on July 23.[11] The record label released it for
radio airplay in Italy the following day;[12]Republic Records sent the song to
contemporary hit and
rhythmic contemporary stations in the United States on August 4, 2020.[13][14] "Un Día (One Day)" appears as the first track on J Balvin's second
compilationextended play (EP) Summer Vacation (2020), the 24th and final track on Balvin's fifth studio album Jose (2021), and as the 19th and final track on the reissue of Lipa's second studio album Future Nostalgia: The Moonlight Edition (2021).[5][1][2]
Set to a somber piano line and
dream pop melodies, "Un Día (One Day)" is a blend of
house,
Latin pop, and
reggaeton where Balvin, Lipa and Bad Bunny tell a story about two alienated lovers.
Musically, "Un Día (One Day)" is a
midtempohouse,
Latin pop, and reggaeton song,[15][10][16][17] with
dream pop melodies,
dancehall flairs,
hip hop elements and
Latin rhythms as well as a somber pop piano riff.[18][19][20][21] Bad Bunny
samples Puerto Rican singer
Tito El Bambino and Jadiel's song "Sol, Playa y Arena" (2007) during his verse.[18] Lyrically, the song has themes of nostalgia and longing emotions.[22][23] A bilingual English and
Spanish song, Lipa and J Balvin voice two alienated romantic partners as they employ a
call and response technique on it. Bad Bunny narrates a hopeful future for them during his verse. Lipa sings the titular line, "One day you'll realize I'm more than your lover/I'm your friend", over a
downtempodembow.[16] The lyrics are an expression of being unable to see "a good thing" even when it is right there; Bad Bunny and J Balvin try to court estranged ex-girlfriends by promising vacation trips to Marbella and
Turks and Caicos.[3]
Reception
Critical
Entertainment Tonight's Liz Calvario described "Un Día (One Day)" as a flawless fusion of Lipa's pop-house musical style with J Balvin, Bad Bunny, and Tainy's critically acclaimed reggaeton music.[24] Jessica Roiz of Billboard agreed it fuses "the best of both worlds".[18] For the same magazine, Jason Lipshutz complimented the song for "simultaneously [showcasing] the complexities of its creators".[25] Writing for Idolator, Mike Wass positively reviewed the song, describing it as a continuation of Lipa's "triumphant 2020".[4]NME's Anna Rose named it "a breakup anthem for the summer".[26] Ana Monroy Yglesias, a staff writer for
Grammy.com, shared a similar opinion, stating that "Un Día (One Day)" is "a perfect 2020 summer jam", and praising its melancholy nature and "infectious, slowed down reggaetón beat".[27] For Exclaim!, Antoine-Samuel Mauffette Alavo viewed the song as "genre-bending" while praising Balvin for proving to be "taking risks the whole way through" and concluding the Jose album "neatly" with the song.[28]
In Clash, Robin Murray wrote that the artists collaborating is like a "genuine Avengers Assemble line up of 2k20 pop music", while also noting that each artist pushes and pulls the single in "exciting new directions". She went on to say that it "remains true" to Balvin's roots: "matching his latin culture heritage against house music, future-facing pop, and hip-hop".[19] In his review of Jose, the reviewer thought that the four artists was a "somewhat odd casting".[29]Stereogum writer Chris DeVille named "Un Día (One Day)" a "midtempo reggaeton pop-crossover ballad of sorts" and thought it was an "Event Song" he'd expect to hear in "ad campaigns, inspirational montages, and heavy Top 40 radio rotation".[30]Variety's Jem Aswad thought it is "another great song to add to the catalogs of all four artists".[31] The staff of The Face named the song a "bilingual banger" while stating that the blend of Latin rhythms and Lipa's "irresistible" pop sound is "a recipe that's destined for success".[32]
Commercial
"Un Día (One Day)" debuted at its peak of number 72 on the
UK Singles Chart issue dated August 6, 2020.[33] On the US
Billboard Hot 100, the song reached number 63, while it topped the US
Hot Latin Songs and
Latin Airplay charts.[34][35][36] The
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the song
quindecuple Platinum (
Latin) in the US, which denotes 900,000 units based on sales and track-equivalent on-demand streams.[37] "Un Día (One Day)" charted at number 70 on the
Canadian Hot 100 and was certified Platinum by
Music Canada.[38][39] The song peaked within the top 10 of various national record charts, reaching number one in Costa Rica,[40] number two in El Salvador,[41] Nicaragua,[42] and Panama,[43] number three in Honduras,[44] number five in Colombia,[45] number six in Spain,[46] number seven in both Chile and Guatemala,[47][48] number nine in both Bolivia and the Dominican Republic,[49][50] and number 10 in Poland.[51] It was certified Diamond+quadrouple Platinum+Gold in Mexico,[52] double Platinum in Spain,[53] and Platinum in both Italy and Portugal.[54][55]
Accolades
"Un Día (One Day)" has received several awards and nominations. The song was awarded winning songwriters awards at the
ASCAP Latin Awards and Crossover Collaboration of the Year at the
Premio Lo Nuestro 2021.[56][57] At the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards, it was nominated for
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, which Billboard called "the process of normalizing non-English singles appearing in the pop categories at the Grammys" and viewed a surprising due to its commercial underperformance.[58][59] The song was nominated for OMG Collaboration at the
2021 Premios Juventud and International Collaboration of the Year at the 2020
Premios MUSA.[60][61] It was nominated for
Best Latin at
2021 MTV Video Music Awards.[62] "Un Día (One Day)" also placed on numerous best of 2020 year-end lists, including unranked ones by Billboard for best Latin music and Rolling Stone for pop collaborations.[63][21]Billboard hailed it as 2020's 42nd best song while it placed at number 39 on Idolator's year-end list.[64][65]
Promotion
Stillz directed the music video for "Un Día (One Day)", which was filmed during the
COVID-19 lockdowns. It stars Spanish actress
Úrsula Corberó, who captured the footage on her own without the involvement of production assistance.[3] The video was released on the same day as the song.[22] The
black and white clip does not feature appearances by J Balvin, Lipa, Bad Bunny or Tainy.[3][66] It depicts Corberó passing a day by spinning in bed and dancing to "Un Día (One Day)" in her room,[66] stressed over a relationship that has ended and trying to find happiness.[24] Rose drew a connection between the video's storyline and the song's lyrics; she thought that while "going through life alone", the actress is "processing the [same] breakup that Lipa sings about on the track".[26] It earned a nomination for the Music Video of 2020 award at the
46th People's Choice Awards and won Video with the Best Social Message at the 2021 Premios Juventud.[67][60]
"Un Día (One Day)" was included as the 11th track on Lipa's set list for her livestream concert
Studio 2054, held on November 27, 2020.[68] She donned
Versace attire and sang the song while sitting in a pink and red-hued dressing room; Bad Bunny and J Balvin contributed their verses through a video broadcast on a tube television set in the room's corner.[69][70]
^Arvunescu, Victor (October 19, 2020).
"Top Airplay 100 – Nu scăpăm prea curând de hitul momentului!" [Top Airplay 100 – We are not getting rid of the current hit anytime soon!] (in Romanian). Un site de muzică.
Archived from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 202033 into search. Retrieved August 18, 2020.