Ocean was supported by nine singles off of the album's sixteen tracks, released between March 2018 and April 2020: "Pineapple", "Mi Cama" (including a remix with J Balvin and Nicky Jam), "Culpables" (with Anuel AA), "Créeme" (ft. Maluma), "Punto G", "Ocean" (with a duet version ft. Jessie Reyez), "Love with a Quality" (ft. Damian Marley), "Dices Que Te Vas" (ft. Anuel AA) and "La Vida Continúo" (ft. Simone & Simaria).
The album was met with generally positive reviews from music critics and was initially a moderate commercial success. It managed to chart within the top sixty on the mainstream US Billboard 200, and peaked at No. 2 on the US Top Latin Albums chart, selling 12,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[2]
Background
Following the release of her debut studio album in 2017, Unstoppable, Karol G released "Mi Mala", collaboration with Mau y Ricky. On March 1, 2018, Karol G released "Pineapple", as the lead single for Ocean.[3] Later that same month on March 29, 2018, "Tu Pum Pum" in collaboration with Shaggy, El Capitaan and Sekuence was released. "Princesa" with Tini was released on April 5, 2018. On May 11, 2018, "Mi Cama" was released as the second single from the album.[4] Giraldo would later join on two remixed songs, including Luis Fonsi's "Calypso" and "Dame Tu Cosita", with El Chombo, Pitbull and Cutty Ranks. "Culpables" with Anuel AA was released on September 13, 2018, as the album's third single. "Créeme" with Maluma was released as the fourth single on November 1, 2018.[5]
The following year Giraldo would release two collaborative songs as a lead artist, including "Secreto" with Anuel AA on January 15, 2019, and "Hijoepu*#" with Gloria Trevi on March 15, 2019. "Punto G" was released on April 4, 2019, as the fifth and last single prior to the release of the album.[6]
On April 21, 2019, Karol G teased the album's name through an Instagram post.[7] On April 26, 2019, she announced the release of the album, revealing its title and release date.[8]Ocean was officially released on May 3, 2019, alongside the album's sixth single of the same name.[9]
Release and promotion
The album was released on May 3, 2019, through Universal Music Latino. It was released on CD, vinyl, digital download and streaming.
"Pineapple" was performed by Karol G on May 1, 2018, at La Voz Kids Colombia.[10] "Mi Cama" was performed at the Urban Color Fest Trujillo on August 24, 2018. The song was performed once again at the 19th Annual Latin Grammy Awards on November 15, 2018.[11] "Créeme" was performed through Vevo's Live Performance series on YouTube on December 7, 2018. From March 15 to May 31, 2019, Karol G embarked on the "Culpables Tour", alongside Anuel AA. "Pineapple", "Mi Cama", "Culpables" and "Créeme" were performed.[12] On May 1, 2019, Giraldo performed "Pineapple", "Punto G" and "Go Karo" through Vevo's Live Performance series. "Punto G" was performed on May 13, 2019, at the Heat Latin Music Awards and later on June 23, 2019, at the MTV MIAW Awards.[13][14] Through 2019, multiple songs were performed through various musical festivals, including Festival Catrina, PicNic Festival and En Pal Norte Festival. On November 2, 2019, "Mi Cama" was performed on Wild 'n Out. In 2020, "Ocean", "Culpables", "Pineapple", were performed through Bud Light Seltzer Sessions.[15]
Singles
"Pineapple" was released on March 1, 2018, as the album's lead single. It peaked inside the top fifty of the US Hot Latin Songs.
"Mi Cama" was released on May 11, 2018, as the second single. It peaked inside the top ten of the US Hot Latin Songs at number 6 and was certified RIAA Latin Diamond.
"Culpables" with Puerto Rican rapper Anuel AA was released as the album's third single on September 12, 2018. It peaked inside the top ten of the US Hot Latin Songs at number 8 and was certified RIAA Latin Diamond.
"Créeme" with Colombian singer Maluma was released on November 1, 2018, as the fourth single. It peaked inside the top twenty of the US Hot Latin Songs.
"Punto G" was released on April 4, 2019, as the fifth single. It peaked inside the top thirty of the US Hot Latin Songs.
"Ocean" was released on May 3, 2019, as the album's sixth single. It peaked inside the top thirty of the US Hot Latin Songs.
"Love with a Quality" featuring Damian Marley was released as the seventh single on May 9, 2019.
"Dices Que Te Vas" featuring Anuel AA was released as the album's eight single on May 30, 2019.
"La Vida Continuó" featuring Simone & Simaria was released as the album's ninth and final single on April 28, 2020.
Elias Leight of Rolling Stone said, "The power of Ocean is somewhat diminished by the fact that a third of these songs are already out" but that "the remaining tracks are impressively varied: Piano balladry ('Ocean'), throwback hip-hop, which no one in the Latin mainstream is making ('Yo Aprendí'), guitar balladry ('Dices Que Te Vas', which tests her fiancée Anuel AA’s vocal limits) and a collaboration with the Brazilian duo Simone & Simaria... All the different styles mean that Ocean feels center-less, but that's kind of the point: If you hope to conquer the globe, you have to be all things to all people."[17]
Commercial performance
Ocean debuted at number two on the US Top Latin Albums chart, earning 12,000 album-equivalent units (including 2,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.[2] This became Karol G's second top-ten debut on the chart. The album also debuted at number 54 on the US Billboard 200 and number two on the US Latin Rhythm Albums charts respectively.[2] In addition, the album accumulated a total of 10.9 million on-demand audio streams for its songs.[2] On September 12, 2019, the album was certified five times platinum by the Latin Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 300,000 units in the United States.[18]
