; ) is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez. It was written and produced by Édgar "Edge" Barrera, Andrés Castro, Oscar "Oscarcito" Hernández and Jesús "DalePlay" Herrera, while vocal production was handled by Steve Mackey and Hernández. The song was released digitally on April 26, 2018, by Nuyorican Productions and Sony Music Latin.
Background
Lopez began dating former baseball player Alex Rodriguez in February 2017. Oscar "Oscarcito" Hernández, who had co-written Lopez's previous Spanish singles "Ni Tú Ni Yo" and "Amor, Amor, Amor" (both released in 2017), came to her with an idea for a song which he described as "a little crazy". Lopez was surprised when the song was presented to her, given how personal it was. Explaining how the song developed, Lopez said: "Somebody wrote it for me specifically, which I thought was really funny. Not because I'm thinking of doing anything like this, but because it's a funny thing and I played it for Alex and I was like, 'Are you cool with this? I think it's kind of funny.' He's like, 'Yeah, I'm totally cool with it.
Composition
"El Anillo" is a Latin pop song with a Brazilian funk beat, which Lopez had asked the song's producers to incorporate. It was written by Edgar Barrera, Andrés Castro, Oscar Hernández and Jesús Herrera. Described as "sexy and provocative" by Jennifer Machin of Billboard, the song alludes to Lopez's relationship with Alex Rodriguez, with lyrics such as "Me tratas como una princesa y me das lo que pido. Tu tienes el bate y la fuerza que yo necesito", which in English translates to "You treat me like a princess and give me what I ask. You have the bat and the strength I need." Telemundo characterized the song as "an anthem for all the women out there that have put their time and effort in a relationship, and now all they're waiting for is that big rock on their finger."
Critical response
Mike Wass of Idolator described the song as a "bone-rattling floorfiller with the most forward-thinking production of the era thus far. This is all about the enduring diva's fierce vocals and the hardest beat to grace a Latin-pop song since 'Mi Gente'." Michael Love Michael, writing for Paper magazine, praised the track's "sound-the-alarm production" and described Lopez's delivery as "characteristically fierce". Rolling Stone writer Suzy Exposito noted, "J.Lo's latest streak of Spanish-language singles is crowned by the baile funk-infused track", describing "El Anillo" as "quite the bounce-back" from Lopez's "ballad-heavy" first Spanish album, Como Ama una Mujer (2007).
Chart performance
For the week ending May 3, 2018, "El Anillo" debuted at number twenty-one in Spain, higher than the peak positions of her previous Spanish singles, "Ni Tú Ni Yo" and "Amor, Amor, Amor". It later peaked at number nine, becoming her thirteenth top-ten single there, and was certified Platinum by Productores de Música de España for sales of 40,000 units. In the United States, the song peaked at number twelve on the Hot Latin Songs chart. On June 25, 2018, it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting sales of 120,000 units. On the chart dated July 14, 2018, "El Anillo" reached number one on both the US Latin Airplay and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts. It rose more than 88% to 16 million in audience impressions during the week ending July 8, 2018, which Billboard attributed to the release of the remix with Ozuna. This gave Lopez her eighth number one on the Latin Airplay chart, and third in 2018, following "Amor, Amor, Amor" and "Se Acabó el Amor". On the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart, it became her fourth number one, extending her record as the female with the most number ones.