The song was released on February 9, 2009, on radio stations in the United States and across Latin America by Siente Music, a subdivision of
Universal Music Latin Entertainment and Venemusic. A music video was made to promote the single. The salsa version with La India was released digitally on August 31, 2009, as a single. On the
Billboard Radio Songs chart, the song debuted at number 73 on the week of May 16, 2009 and peaked at number 72 on the week of June 6, 2009. On the
Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, the song debuted at number 49 on the week of February 28, 2009. It reached number one for the week of May 16, 2009, replacing "
Tú No Eres Para Mi" by
Fanny Lu and later succeeded by
Makano for "
Te Amo". On the
Billboard Latin Pop Songs chart, the song debuted at number 39 on the week of March 14, 2009 and peaked at number three on the week of May 30, 2009. On the
Billboard Tropical Songs chart, the song debuted at number 17 on the week of February 28, 2009. It reached number one for the week of April 18, 2009, replacing "
Por un Segundo" by
Aventura, and later succeeded by
Gilberto Santa Rosa for "Llegó El Amor". On the
Billboard Latin Rhythm Airplay chart, the song debuted at number 14 on the week of February 28, 2009. It reached number one for the week of April 18, 2009 replacing "
Me Estás Tentando" by
Wisin & Yandel featuring
Nesty "La Mente Maestra" and was later succeeded by
Aventura featuring
Akon and Wisin & Yandel for "
All Up 2 You". "El Amor" ended 2009 as the
second-best performing song of the year. Outside of the United States, the song was successful in Mexico and Venezuela becoming a top-10 hit in both countries. ==Critical reception==