"Can't Remember to Forget You" is a song recorded by Colombian singer Shakira from her fourth English and overall tenth studio album, Shakira, featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna. Shakira began planning to make new music in 2011: work continued into 2012, at which time she left her previous label Epic Records and joined RCA Records. The song was released as the lead single of the album on 13 January 2014 through RCA Records and Sony Latin Iberia. A solo Spanish-language version of the song, entitled "Nunca Me Acuerdo de Olvidarte", was released on 24 January 2014.
The song was co-written by Shakira, Rihanna, John Hill, Tom "Kid Harpoon" Hull, Daniel Alexander, and Erik Hassle, while production was handled by Shakira, Hill, and Hull.[5] "Can't Remember to Forget You" is an uptempo track that fuses reggae, rock and new wave pop.[1] Lyrically the song revolves around forgetting someone who is bad even though you love the person. Upon its release, "Can't Remember to Forget You" was met with mixed reviews from critics; while critics praised the ska influences, they felt that the song overall was not memorable. Other critics noted similarities between the song and the music of the Police and Bruno Mars.
Commercially, the single fared very well, reaching number one in Greece and Lebanon and the top ten in twenty-seven additional countries. In the US, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at twenty-eight and later went on to peak at fifteen on the chart, becoming Shakira's highest-debuting track in the region until her 2023 smash hit Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53. The track is certified Double Diamond in Brazil, five times Platinum in Norway, and Gold or Platinum in nine additional countries. The music video, shot in a Los Angeles mansion, was directed by Joseph Kahn and was premiered and uploaded to YouTube on 30 January 2014. The accompanying video featured Shakira and Rihanna in revealing outfits, dancing, smoking cigars, and in a "naked embrace". As of 2022, the video has over one billion YouTube views. The song was performed live for the first time on iHeartRadio.
