Promise (Romeo Santos song)

"Promise" is a song by Romeo Santos, featuring Usher, from Santos' debut studio album Fórmula, Vol. 1 (2011). The track was co-written and produced by Rico Love. It was released as the album's second single in Latin America and the United States.

"Promise"
Single by Romeo Santos featuring Usher
from the album Fórmula, Vol. 1
ReleasedSeptember 1, 2011[1]
Genre
Length4:12
LabelSony Latin
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rico Love
Romeo Santos singles chronology
"You"
(2011)		 "Promise"
(2011)		 "Mi Santa"
(2012)
Usher singles chronology
"Dirty Dancer"
(2011)		 "Promise"
(2011)		 "Without You"
(2011)
Audio sample
A 24 second sample of "Mi Santa", the second single released from the album. The first half of the sample features Santos performing the song in R&B in Spanish with the second half of the sample features Usher performing the song in bachata.
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Music video
"Promise (Spanglish Version)" on YouTube
"Promise (English Version)" on YouTube

The song combines elements of bachata and R&B and peaked atop the Billboard's Latin Songs chart, becoming the second consecutive number-one song in the chart for Santos and the first for Usher. It is recognized as one of Romeo Santos's signature songs. The music video for "Promise" was directed by Anthony Mandler, who previously worked with Rihanna, Jay Z and Kanye West.

Background

After the temporary separation of the band, Aventura,[2] Romeo Santos signed a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment and recorded his debut studio album, Formula, Vol. 1, which includes most of the tracks in bachata rhythm and bilingual songs such as the lead single "You", which peaked at number-one in the Billboard Latin Songs,[3] and "Promise", with vocals by American singer Usher.[4] The collaboration came through because Santos' manager Johnny Marines introduced Usher to Santos. Usher was impressed by Santos ability to perform after seeing him on YouTube, saying: "This is the thing that people will remember".[4] "Promise" was co-written and produced by Rico Love and features Usher singing on bachata rhythm for the first time.[4][5] According to Carlos Quintana of About.com the song and the rest of the tracks included on Formula, Vol. 1 may be classified as Latin urban contemporary with R&B and hip hop influences.[6] The track was named "fluttering" by Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly on his review of the parent album.[7]

Music video
Santos with Usher on the red carpet in 2011

The music video for "Promise" was directed by Anthony Mandler who worked previously with Jay Z, Kanye West and Rihanna.[8] Usher and Santos spent 24 hours on set, with a highly specialized a scenic setting, full lights, cameras and special effects. The video shows both performers singing to their love partners about the love they feel for them and asked them to promise to never leave them without their love.[8][9] Upon release the video has had a heavy rotation on MTV reaching the top of the most-played list, even with Santos performing in Spanish language, something noted by Ruben Leyva, Sony U.S. Latin president, commenting that Santos has been "able to do what other artists have been able to do-reach a dominant-English-speaking audience-only by singing in Spanish".[4]

Live performances

The song was performed by Santos and Usher for the first time in the Latin Grammy Awards of 2011 on November 11, 2011 in Las Vegas, and received a standing ovation.[10]

Chart performance

"Promise" was released as the second single from Fórmula, Vol. 1 to airplay and digital download on September 2, 2011.[1] The song was the highest debut at the Billboard Latin Songs chart on the week of September 24, 2011 at number 24, climbing to the top ten the following week.[11][12] The song reached the top of the chart the week of October 29, 2011 replacing Ricardo Arjona's "El Amor".[13] "Promise" became the second number-one single for Santos in the chart, following the seven-week reign of his previous single "You".[4] The song is also the first number-one in the chart for Usher surpassing his highest-placement in the chart with "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" which peaked at number 16 in 2010.[14] According to Nielsen SoundScan the track has sold 49,000 digital downloads in the United States.[4]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Mexico (AMPROFON)[24] 2× Platinum 120,000‡
United States (RIAA)[25] 34× Platinum (Latin) 2,040,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Track listing and Digital Download Formats
  • Original Version[26]
  1. "Promise" – 4:13
  1. "Promise (English Version)" – 4:13

See also

References
  1. "Romeo Santos, exvocalista de grupo Aventura, estrena sencillo a dúo con Usher". Terra (in Spanish). Terra Networks. September 1, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  2. "Lanza Romeo Santos primer sencillo como solista "You"". Publimetro (in Spanish). Metro International. May 9, 2011. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  3. Quintana, Carlos (May 24, 2011). "Romeo Santos Tops Billboard Latin Music Charts with "You"". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  4. Cobo, Leila (October 21, 2011). "Romeo Santos Finds His Own 'Formula' After Aventura Success". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  5. "New Music: Romeo Santos f/ Lil Wayne – 'All Aboard'". Rap-Up. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  6. Quintana, Carlos (October 27, 2011). "Romeo Santos Stays on Top of Latin Music Charts with "Promise"". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  7. Wood, Mikael (November 2, 2011). "Fórmula, Vol. 1 – Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  8. "Romeo Santos junto a Usher en "Promise"". Terra (in Spanish). Terra Networks. August 30, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  9. "Video: Romeo Santos f/ Usher – 'Promise'". Rap-Up. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  10. Quintana, Carlos (October 27, 2011). "Latin Grammy Awards To Feature Duet Performances with , Marc Anthony, Romeo Santos and Usher". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  11. "Latin Songs – Week of September 24, 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. September 24, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  12. "Latin Songs – Week of October 1, 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. October 1, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  13. "Latin Songs – Week of October 29, 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. October 29, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  14. "Usher – Chart History – Latin Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  15. "Mexico Airplay". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. November 11, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  16. "Monitor Latino". Monitor Latino. Archived from the original on May 1, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  17. "Romeo Santos Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  18. "Romeo Santos Chart History (Hot Latin Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  19. "Romeo Santos Chart History (Latin Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  20. "Romeo Santos Chart History (Tropical Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  21. "Hot Latin Songs – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  22. "Hot Latin Songs – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  23. "Decade-End Charts: Hot Latin Songs". Billboard. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  24. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved October 7, 2022. Type Romeo Santos in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Promise in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  25. "American single certifications – Romeo Santos – Promise". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  26. "Promise (feat. Usher) - Single by Romeo Santos". iTunes. September 6, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  27. "Promise (feat. Usher) (English Version) - Single by Romeo Santos". Deezer. October 21, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
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