I hate ‘sampling’ almost as much as I hate plagiarism. I’m not sure which one Jennifer Lopez is guilty of, but it’s one or the other.

Oddly, the first time I heard this tune was in a “Visit Israel” commercial. Apparently, its name is “Lambada”. (Funny. It doesn’t look Jewish.)

According to Wikipedia, “The “Lambada” song was actually an unauthorized translation of the 1981 song “Llorando se fue” (which means: Crying he/she went away), from the Bolivian group Los Kjarkas.”

You can hear that version below.

A Japanese version with a slightly faster beat, more like what I remember, is here:

Here’s an “official” Lambada version from 1989. It’s official in the sense that Kaoma  made it an international hit, and Los Kjarkas sued Kaoma for plagiarism and won.

This is the Jennifer Lopez version (“rip-off”?) called “On The Floor”. In my opinion, it’s over-produced and not nearly as appealing as any of the previous versions of this melody.

So call it “Llorando se fue”, call it “Lambada” … Or maybe just call it “stolen”.

Creative bankruptcy: It’s not just for two-bit lounge acts anymore.