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"Hawái" (English: "Hawaii") is a song recorded by the Colombian singer Maluma, released on July 29, 2020, through Sony Music Latin as the second single from Maluma's fifth studio album, Papi Juancho (2020). A reggaeton song with pop ballad elements, it was written by Maluma, Edgar Barrera, René Cano, Kevin Cruz, Kevin Jiménez, Johan Espinosa, Stiven Rojas, Bryan Lezcano, Andrés Uribe and Juan Vargas, and co-produced by Ily Wonder, Jowan, Keityn, and Kevin ADG and Chan El Genio (The Rude Boyz). A remix with Canadian singer the Weeknd was released on November 5, 2020, accompanying a music video.
"Hawái" topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart for nine weeks consecutively, giving Maluma his first number one hit on the chart. The song has also topped the record charts in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Spain. After the release of the remix that improved its charting performance, the song peaked at number 12 on the US BillboardHot 100, and at number three on the Global 200 chart. "Hawái" also became the first number-one single on the BillboardGlobal Excl. U.S. chart.[1]
"Hawái" is a reggaeton song with pop ballad elements about the protagonist dealing with his ex lover publicly preaching her newfound happiness after their break-up, not convinced by her social media persona.[2]
In August 2020, Paris Saint-Germain F.C. player Ángel Di Maria posted an Instagram story singing "Hawái" alongside other teammates, including Neymar, who the press noticed became close friends with Maluma's ex-girlfriend. Shortly after, Maluma closed his Instagram account, with the reaction receiving media coverage. The singer later explained that the latter was unrelated to the video and that he was appreciative of them playing the song, denying having any problem with Neymar.[3] Maluma also denied that the song was inspired by his personal life, despite several similarities.[4]
The music video for "Hawái" was released on the same day as the single. Filmed in Miami, the video was directed by Jessy Terrero[5] and stars Maluma and model Yovanna Ventura.[6] In the video, Maluma argues with his girlfriend (portrayed by Ventura) and consequently breaks up with her. Maluma proceeds to crash his ex's wedding ceremony in order to win her back.[7] The music video has generated over 1 billion views on YouTube as of June 2023.[8]
A day after posting a picture together on their respective Instagram pages teasing a collaboration, Maluma and the Weeknd released a remixed version of "Hawái" on November 5, 2020. The Weeknd opens the song with a verse in English and sings the hook in Spanish.[12] A music video directed by Jessy Terrero accompanied the release as well, wherein both artists perform the song in a "neon-lit club".[13][14]
In Billboard, Leila Cobo noticed "[it] wasn't a last-minute, let's-slap-this-together remix, but a let-me-write-a-new-verse-and-work-on-my-Spanish collaboration." In an interview with the magazine, Maluma's music partner Miguel Lua stated that, "Originally, Maluma didn't want to do a remix... he doesn't have any bilingual remixes, and in this particular case, he wasn't looking for one... [however] he had a short list of artists he wanted to work on in general." The Weeknd's manager Sal Slaiby contacted Lua in early October saying that the singer was considering "doing something for the Latin market" and asking for Maluma's unreleased tracks to listen, with the other part proposing them the idea of the remix. They shot the video in Los Angeles and delivered it to Sony Music Latin the night before the release.[15]
Justin Curto of Vulture commented that the Weeknd "brings his R&B longing" to the first verse of the track, which "seems like an extension of his After Hours universe", until he "begins singing in Spanish and loosening up onstage" in the video. He also opined that "the Spanish is fine, but the dancing is unexpectedly dorky, especially compared to the Papi Juancho himself, still oozing sex appeal here" and concluded that his dance routine "just might be the thing that makes you smile today."[16] News agency EFE opined that "the song flows while both artists keep their musical identities intact."[17] Andrew Tendrell of NME called it a "slick party gem"[18] and Jessica Roiz of Billboard deemed it a "fiery" remix.[19]
On the US Billboard Hot 100, the original version peaked at number 55, becoming Maluma's 6th chart entry. After the release of the remix version with the Weeknd, the song peaked at number 12 on November 1, 2020, becoming his first top 15 and highest-charting single in the US, surpassing his collaboration "Arms Around You".[20] The song would become the first #1 of the Billboard Global Excluding US chart (which compiles streaming and sales data for all territories except the United States) when it was launched for the week dated September 19, 2020.[21]
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 46. týden 2020 in the date selector. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
