Follow the Leader (Wisin & Yandel song)
| "Follow the Leader" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Wisin & Yandel and Jennifer Lopez | ||||
| from the album Líderes | ||||
| Released | April 10, 2012 | |||
| Genre | Latin pop, dance-pop | |||
| Length | 4:00 | |||
| Label | WY, Machete | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
|
|||
| Producer(s) | Jonas Saeed and Niclas Kings for Cave Music | |||
| Wisin & Yandel singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Jennifer Lopez singles chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Follow the Leader" on YouTube | ||||
"Follow the Leader" is a song by Puerto Rican duo Wisin & Yandel and American singer Jennifer Lopez. They performed the song during the American Idol season eleven finale. The song went on to sell over 500,000 copies in pure sales in the United States earning a gold certification.
Background and composition
On January 24, 2012, Lopez teased a collaboration between her and Wisin and Yandel by posting a picture online. "Follow the Leader" contains South American rhythms. "'Wisin sings in the style of Yandel and Yandel in that of Wisin', referring to the more powerful tone of the former and the lighter vocal touch of the latter." The song was produced by Jonas Saeed and Niclas Kings for Cave Music, a Swedish company of producers, and written by the Jamaican writing team Bloodline (Nyanda, Nailah, Tasha and Candace Thorbourne).
Music video
The music video for "Follow the Leader" was shot in Acapulco, Mexico by director Jessy Terrero and Lopez's partner Casper Smart. For the first shot, Lopez wore a pair of tight latex leggings with a silver and black long-sleeved shirt with tornado sirens blaring in the background. The singer paired the look with metallic makeup, nude lips and a "funky" hairstyle, which included cornrows. For the second shoot in Mexico, Lopez wore a sparkly silver vest and tight white jeans. During the shooting of the video, the Government of Acapulco gave additional police cars, ambulance and helicopter services to the team working with the duo and López, with the goal to promote the city among "all the young people who will watch the clip".
The Tourism secretary, Graciela Báez Ricardez, commented that the clip "will help reshape the image of the port city". She also said that "the music video will be watched in many countries, millions of times mainly by young people who will soon choose their vacation destination". The video premiered on Thursday May 3 on both Twitter and official VEVO channel of Wisin & Yandel. Jordan Zakarin from The Hollywood Reporter described the video's plot:
- "Set in Mexico, the video features Lopez dancing on a rooftop with the reggaeton stars, shaking her hips and writhing with alluring fervor and seductive purpose; traipsing through the city while being chased by her friends (and crashing through windows and making massive jumps all the while); and bare-skinned, with the word "lidere," [sic] Spanish for leader, tattooed to her chest and a giant ink spot on her back."
Sarah Anne Hughes of The Washington Post noted the product placement in the video, including a Dodge truck and BlackBerry phones. It was further nominated for Video of the Year at the Premio Lo Nuestro 2013.
The music video for the song as of 2019 has garnered 528 million views and when translated into streaming sales equivalents, it generated an additional 77,000 single sales equivalents.
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA) | Gold | 500,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
||
Release history
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | April 10, 2012 | Digital download | Machete Music |
| Mexico |