Señorita

SeñoritaSingle by Shawn Mendes
General information
Main artist	Shawn Mendes
Featured artist	Camila Cabello
Release Date	June 21, 2019
Recorded	May 2019
Genre	R&B, Latin-Pop
Length	3:11
Album	Shawn Mendes
Label	Island Records Epic Records
Composer(s)	Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Andrew Watt, Benny Blanco, Ali Tamposi, Charlie Puth, Miles Ale, Louis Bell, Charli XCX, Jack Patterson, Magnus August Høiberg
Producer(s)	Cashmere Cat, Benny Blanco, Andrew Watt
Singles chronology
← Previous	"If I Can't Have You"
Current	"Señorita"
Next →	"Lover (Remix)"
Music Video

"Señorita" is a song by Canadian singer Shawn Mendes and Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello. It was released as the second single (seventh overall) from the deluxe edition of Mende's Shawn Mendes through Island Records on June 21, 2019. It is also included on Cabello's second studio album Romance (2019). The song was written by Mendes, Cabello, Charli XCX, Ali Tamposi, Jack Patterson, and its producers Andrew Watt, Benny Blanco, and Cashmere Cat.

The song marks Mendes and Cabello's second collaboration, following "I Know What You Did Last Summer" from Mendes' debut album, Handwritten (2015). "Señorita" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, as well as thirty-five other countries. It is certified multiplatinum in thirteen countries, including Diamond in France, Mexico, and Poland. Señorita received highly positive reviews from music critics. The single has won an American Music Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, a People's Choice Award, and received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The song was the biggest song of 2019 in Malaysia and according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), it was the third best-selling single of 2019 worldwide, with combined sales and track-equivalent streams of 16.1 million units globally.

Background

The song was originally conceived during a studio session between Charli XCX, Ali Tamposi, Jack Patterson of Clean Bandit, and Andrew Watt, the latter who produced the song. Watt, prior to the studio session, created a guitar melody that he described as being reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac and Jose Feliciano. He played the guitar melody during the studio session where ideas for melodies and lyrics were created to accompany it. The melody and lyrics for the chorus of the song eventually formed, including what would become the opening line, "I love it when you call me señorita".

Watt sent the rough chorus of the song to Shawn Mendes, suggesting that the song be recorded as a duet, to which Mendes agreed and said that Camila Cabello would be "the only person" who he could do the song with. Watt then sent the song to producers Benny Blanco and Cashmere Cat who liked it and began to work together on the production of the song, deciding to keep it "simple" to make room for the vocals.

Mendes and Cabello both made changes to the melody and lyrics to their liking. After the song's key changed and Cabello recorded some vocals, Watt flew to England and planned to record Mendes' vocals on a day off from his tour after his Manchester Arena show. However, Watt, to Mendes' amusement, accidentally blew the microphone by forgetting to change the conversion of power to 220 on the power box. This forced Watt to record Mendes' vocals at the Birmingham Arena, angering Mendes throughout the process because he wanted to preserve his voice for his then-upcoming shows at the O2 Arena.

Mendes and Cabello had worked together on writing lyrics through FaceTime until they met up at a studio a mere few weeks before the song was released. Cabello had been tweaking lyrics and recorded vocals multiple times. Cabello conceived the lyric, "You say we're just friends but friends don't know the way you taste", as the song was already in the process of being mixed, forcing Mendes to record new vocals and sing new harmonies. Their chemistry in the studio was lauded by producer Benny Blanco, who praised their talent and "energy in the room".

Promotion

Both Mendes and Cabello first hinted at a collaboration in December 2018. They began teasing the project on social media in June 2019, with each sharing a 20-second video teaser. They uploaded teasers of the song's music video to their social media accounts on June 19, 2019. The former confirmed it as a single later that day along with its release date and artwork.

Live performances

Mendes and Cabello performed the single at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards on August 26, 2019. On September 5, 2019, Cabello performed an acoustic version of the song on Elle's Women in Music Party presented by Spotify in The Shed On September 6, during the Shawn Mendes: The Tour live show in Rogers Centre, Toronto, Mendes and Cabello performed "Señorita". Cabello also performed a solo version of the song at the 2019 iHeartRadio Festival, and at a private fan performance hosted by Verizon. On November 24, 2019, Mendes and Cabello performed the song at the American Music Awards.

Mendes has added the single to his setlist on his on going Shawn Mendes: The Tour, as a medley with "I Know What You Did Last Summer"—which Cabello also features in—and "Mutual".

Lyrics

[Chorus: Camila Cabello]
I love it when you call me señorita
I wish I could pretend I didn't need ya
But every touch is ooh-la-la-la
It's true, la-la-la
Ooh, I should be runnin'
Ooh, you keep me coming for ya

[Verse 1: Shawn Mendes]
Land in Miami
The air was hot from summer rain
Sweat drippin' off me
Before I even knew her name, la-la-la
It felt like ooh-la-la-la, yeah, no
Sapphire and moonlight, we danced for hours in the sand
Tequila sunrise, her body fit right in my hands, la-la-la
It felt like ooh-la-la-la, yeah

[Chorus: Camila Cabello & Shawn Mendes]
I love it when you call me señorita
I wish I could pretend I didn't need ya
But every touch is ooh-la-la-la
It's true, la-la-la
Ooh, I should be runnin'
Ooh, you know I love it when you call me señorita
I wish it wasn't so damn hard to leave ya
But every touch is ooh-la-la-la
It's true, la-la-la
Ooh, I should be runnin'
Ooh, you keep me coming for ya

[Verse 2: Camila Cabello & Shawn Mendes]
Locked in the hotel
There's just some things that never change
You say we're just friends
But friends don't know the way you taste, la-la-la (La, la, la)
'Cause you know it's been a long time coming
Don't ya let me fall, oh
Ooh, when your lips undress me, hooked on your tongue
Ooh, love, your kiss is deadly, don't stop

[Chorus: Camila Cabello & Shawn Mendes]
I love it when you call me señorita
I wish I could pretend I didn't need ya
But every touch is ooh-la-la-la
It's true, la-la-la
Ooh, I should be runnin'
Ooh, you know I love it when you call me señorita
I wish it wasn't so damn hard to leave ya
But every touch is ooh-la-la-la
It's true, la-la-la
Ooh, I should be runnin'
Ooh, you keep me coming for ya

[Outro: Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello]
All along I've been coming for ya (For you)
And I hope it means something to you (Oh)
Call my name, I'll be coming for ya (Coming for you)
Coming for ya (Coming for you)
For ya
For ya (Oh, she loves it when I come)
For ya
Ooh, I should be runnin'
Ooh, you keep me coming for ya

Music video

The song's official video was premiered on YouTube on June 21, 2019. The video, directed by Dave Meyers, filmed in Los Angeles, sees Mendes and Cabello in Miami. Cabello portrays a waitress working at a small diner, and Mendes is a newcomer to the city. They meet at the diner, and later see each other at a party. He then takes her on a motorcycle ride and they go to a hotel where they proceed to make love. In the end, however, they are separated, and it ends with Mendes looking out into the ocean and Cabello being consoled by a fellow waitress on their break. As of April 2020, it has reached over 1 billion views.

Commercial performance

"Señorita" debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 6, 2019. It later peaked at number one on the chart issue dated August 31, 2019 dethroning Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy", becoming Mendes' first US number-one song and Cabello's second after "Havana". Cabello became the youngest female artist to achieve a second Hot 100 number one and a fourth Mainstream Top 40 chart-topper since Rihanna (2010). It was replaced by Lizzo's "Truth Hurts" the following week. The single was the most-streamed song on Spotify in 2019 and 9th overall.

Critical reception

Shaad D'Souza from The Fader praised the single for being "effortlessly steamy and wonderfully lightweight", concluding that although "Cabello is clear MVP, the song would fizzle without Mendes as her foil". TJ Lovell from Medium called the track a "sexy ode to a vacation rendezvous that allows the pair to flex their undeniable chemistry on and off the mic". Lovell ended by giving the song 4 out of 5 stars, and called it a "fun if unremarkable track that’ll sound right at home in Mendes' and Cabello’s discographies". The song appeared on Barack Obama's Summer Playlist in 2019.

In other media

Jennifer Lopez and Jimmy Fallon recreated the choreography of the video of "Señorita" and other videos in a new The Tonight Show segment, "The History of Music Video Dancin".

Videos

“Señorita” Behind The Scenes – Part 1

“Señorita” Behind The Scenes – Part 2

Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes - Señorita (Official Teaser)

Performances

Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello - Señorita (Live From The AMAs 2019)

Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello - Señorita (Live From The MTV VMAs 2019)

Trivia

• Señorita debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Top 100.
• Señorita is the first song by Shawn Mendes in the Just Dance (Series).
• Señorita is referenced in the ESRB label of Just Dance 2021, in which the following lyric is cited: "But friends don’t know/The way you taste...".
• "Tequila", "damn", and "lips undress me" are censored in Just Dance 2021 Gameplay .

Personnel

• Vocals - Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello
• Songwriting - Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello, Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat, Andrew Watt, Ali Tamposi, Louis Bell, Charlie Puth, Miles Ale, Jack Patterson, Charli XCX
• Guitar - Shawn Mendes
• Backing Vocals - Andrew Watt
• Production - Andrew Watt, Benny Blanco
• Programming - Andrew Watt, Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat
• Bass - Andrew Watt
• Guitar - Andrew Watt
• Keyboards - Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat
• Additional Production - Cashmere Cat
• Engineering - Paul Lamalfa
• Mix Engineering - John Hanes
• Mixing - Serban Ghenea
• Vocal Engineering - Nathaniel Alford, Zubin Thakkar