"Tusa" is a song by Colombian singer-songwriter Karol G and Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj. Written alongside Keityn and producer Ovy on the Drums, the song was released on November 7, 2019 by Universal Music Latino and Republic Records, as the lead single from Karol G's third studio album, KG0516 (2021).
Background The song was announced a day prior to its release through Karol G's social media platforms, with a snippet of the music video and release date. The song was officially released on November 7, 2019.
Composition "Tusa" is a reggaeton song that is three minutes and 20 seconds in length. It was written by the two artists alongside Keityn and Ovy on the Drums, with production being handled by the latter. Lyrically, Karol G's verses tell the story of a woman who struggles to forget her former boyfriend, while Minaj's rap tells the man that the woman has moved on with her life.
The word is Colombian slang for someone's heartache and feeling of incapability to overcome their ex-partner, accompanied by a desire for revenge. A person affected by this feeling is described as /.
Karol G explained how the song came to be: "I took the initiative to reach out that I wanted to write a song with her, and she loved the idea. When the opportunity came to work with Nicki, it wasn't something I wasn't looking for at the time, destiny gave me that surprise. I had a list of English speaking artists that I always wanted to work with, but I felt that Nicki Minaj was still on a higher level to which I had to work a little bit more."
In an interview with Billboard Giraldo revealed how Nicki Minaj's verse came to be:
At a Pollstar conference, Minaj spoke on her part on "Tusa", stating: "She had sent me another song, and she really loved it, and I tried to write to it but I couldn't, and instead of brushing her off, [I] finally was like 'You know what, I love you, but I don't like this song. Could you send me something else?' And she sent me 'Tusa'."
Commercial performance In the United States, "Tusa" debuted at number one on the Hot Latin Songs, becoming the first song by two lead female artists to debut atop the chart, and also the first song by a female act in a lead role to chart at number one since 2016, when Shakira's "Chantaje" featuring Maluma reached the top. It became Minaj's sixth entry on the Hot Latin Songs chart, and her second top 10, following 2017's "Krippy Kush" remix with Farruko, Bad Bunny, 21 Savage and Rvssian.
On the US Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number 78, and later peaked at number 42. "Tusa" also debuted at 56 and later peaked at number 41 on the Rolling Stone US Top 100 Songs chart on the week ending 30 January 2020, with 67,200 sales plus track-equivalent streams. The song peaked at number one in numerous other countries. The song is the longest-running number one single on the Argentina Hot 100, spending 25 weeks on the top of the chart.
In 2022, the single became highest certified song in Mexico (AMPROFON), and the second-highest certified song by a female collaboration by the Latin division of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), after "Mayores".
The song became the longest running number one single on the Argentina Hot 100, spending 25 consecutive weeks atop the charts. The song passed one billion streams on Spotify.
Awards and nominations +Award and nominations for "Tusa" Year Ceremony Award Result 2020 American Music Awards Favorite Song - Latin Heat Latin Music Awards Best Video Latin Grammy Awards Record of the Year Song of the Year Latino Music Awards Song of the Year Best Urban Song LOS40 Music Awards 2020 Best Latin Song Best Latin Video MTV Europe Music Awards Best Collaboration Best Video MTV Video Music Awards Best Collaboration Best Latin NRJ Music Awards International Song of the Year International Duo/Group of the Year Premios Juventud La Más Pegajosa (Can't Get Enough of this Song) Premios Nuestra Tierra Song of the Year Public's Favorite Song Urban Song Best Video Premios Tu Música Urbano Female Song Spotify Awards The Monday Song 2021Billboard Latin Music AwardsHot Latin Song of the YearVocal Event Hot Latin Song of the YearAirplay Song of the YearSales Song of the YearLatin Rhythm Song of the Year El Premio ASCAP Song of the Year Award Winning Song iHeartRadio Music AwardsLatin Pop/Reggaeton Song of the Year Latin American Music Awards Song of the Year Collaboration of the Year Song of the Year - Urban Lo Nuestro Awards Crossover Collaboration Of The Year Song of the Year Urban - Collaboration Of The Year Urban - Song Of The Year Spotify Plaques One Billion Streams Award 2022 BMI Latin Awards Award Winning Song
Music video The music video for "Tusa" was directed by Mike Ho and was released on Karol G's YouTube channel on November 7, 2019.
Live performances On December 8, 2019, Karol G premiered "Tusa" at Pixel 4's Motion Sense Concert Series. Karol G performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on January 10, 2020. On November 19, 2020, Giraldo performed the song at the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards. On February 19, 2023, Karol G was the headlining act for Viña Del Mar International Song Festival, where "Tusa" was performed. "Tusa" has been present on the set list of all of Karol G's solo headlining tours, including the Bichota Tour, Strip Love Tour and the Mañana Será Bonito Tour. Nicki Minaj performed "Tusa" multiple times during the Pink Friday 2 World Tour, although it was not present on the main set list.
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2019–2020) Peakposition Bolivia (Monitor Latino) 1 Chile (Monitor Latino) 1 Colombia (National-Report) 1 Costa Rica (Monitor Latino) 1 Dominican Republic (SODINPRO) 1 Ecuador (National-Report) 1 El Salvador (Monitor Latino) 1 Greece (IFPI) 69 Guatemala (Monitor Latino) 1 Honduras (Monitor Latino) 1 Latin America (Monitor Latino) 1 Mexico (Billboard Mexican Airplay) 3 Netherlands (Dutch Tipparade 40) 13 Netherlands (Single Tip) 1 Nicaragua (Monitor Latino) 1 Panama (Monitor Latino) 1 Paraguay (Monitor Latino) 1 Peru (Monitor Latino) 1 Puerto Rico (Monitor Latino) 1 Romania (Airplay 100) 57 Slovenia (SloTop50) 50 Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) 6 Uruguay (Monitor Latino) 1 US Rolling Stone Top 100 42 Venezuela Airplay (Monitor Latino) 1
Monthly charts Chart (2020) Position Paraguay (SGP) 1
Year-end charts Chart (2020) Position Argentina Airplay (Monitor Latino) 1 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) 57 Bolivia (Monitor Latino) 1 Colombia Airplay (Monitor Latino) 2 Costa Rica (Monitor Latino) 1 Dominican Republic (Monitor Latino) 4 Ecuador (Monitor Latino) 1 El Salvador (Monitor Latino) 1 El Salvador (ASAP EGC) 1 France (SNEP) 17 Guatemala (Monitor Latino) 1 Honduras (Monitor Latino) 1 Italy (FIMI) 29 Latin America (Monitor Latino) 1 Nicaragua (Monitor Latino) 3 Panama (Monitor Latino) 1 Paraguay (Monitor Latino) 1 Peru (Monitor Latino) 6 Puerto Rico (Monitor Latino) 5 Spain (PROMUSICAE) 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 13 Uruguay (Monitor Latino) 1 US Hot Latin Songs (Billboard) 2 Venezuela Airplay (Monitor Latino) 1 Chart (2021) Position Panama (Monitor Latino) 35 Peru (Monitor Latino) 83 Portugal (AFP) 168
Certifications
Release history Region Date Format(s) Label Various November 7, 2019 Italy December 13, 2019 Contemporary hit radio Universal United States February 11, 2020 Various December 6, 2024 7-inch vinyl Universal Latino
See also List of best-selling singles in Mexico List of best-selling singles in Spain List of Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Airplay number ones of 2020 RIAA certification
References