Ai Se Eu Te Pego (Oh, If I Catch You!)

There was a virus spreading around the globe, but the symptoms weren’t fever or body aches. No, this epidemic manifested itself in giggles and grins, waving hands, pumping hips and a bubbly chorus that goes like this: “Nossa, nossa, assim voce me mata. Ai, se eu te pego, ai, se eu te pego!” (Wow, wow, you’re gonna kill me that way. Oh, if I catch you, Oh my God, if I catch you!)

Ai Se Eu Te Pego (Oh, If I Catch You!)

“Ai Se Eu Te Pego” (Oh If I Catch You), a pop song by Brazilian heartthrob Michel Telo, may not be a famous composer, but neither were “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” or “Macarena,” its predecessors as massive, mysterious global hits. Indeed, “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” may be the most popular song to come out of Brazil since “The Girl From Ipanema.”

Brazilian songwriters Sharon Acioly and Antônio Dyggs penned this song in 2008 and it was first recorded by Os Meninos de Seu Zeh, before being covered by various regional Brazilian bands. Realizing that it had the potential to become a national hit in Brazil, Dyggs offered the tune to Brazilian singer-songwriter, Michel Teló. The songwriter's confidence in his tune proved correct.

Sharon Acioly

Michel Teló, who was born on January 21, 1981 in Medianeira, Paraná, had been singing since he was six years old, as well as playing the accordion, the piano, and the harmonica. In 1997, he joined the Brazilian band Grupo Tradição, with whom he released several successful albums and singles as a singer, songwriter, and harmonica player. In 2008, Teló decided to leave the band; his final album with Grupo Tradição, ‘Micareta Sertaneja 2’, was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the Brazilian music category.

Michel Teló & Antônio Dyggs

Teló's first solo album, 2009's ‘Balada Sertaneja’, featured the hit single "Ei, Psiu! Beijo, Me Liga," while his 2010 live album, ‘Ao Vivo,’ was awarded gold status and sported the single "Fugidinha," which reached number one in the Brazilian Hot 100 charts. The following year, Teló released his signature song, "Ai Se Eu Te Pego!," which was made popular when Brazilian soccer player Neymar danced to it in a YouTube video that received several million clicks -- a dance that was performed by several other soccer players as well (among them Spanish players Marcelo Vieira and Cristiano Ronaldo, and Polish player Adrian Mierzejewski).

Grupo Tradição

Télo's accompanying 2011 live album, ‘Michel Na Balada,’ which featured "Ai Se Eu Te Pego!," was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award as Best Sertanejo Album. "Ai Se Eu Te Pego!” had already been a regional hit in Brazil in 2008, but Teló's version of the song became a hit in Brazil, reaching No. 1. Later, the song also reached No. 1 in 23 countries in Europe and Latin America. In the United States, the single topped both the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Songs and peaked at No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Michel Teló the third Brazilian solo act to have a song on the Billboard Hot 100, following Sérgio Mendes and Morris Albert.

Michel Na Balada, 2001 album

The single was the sixth best-selling single of 2012, selling 7.2 million copies worldwide and placing it on the list of best-selling singles of all time. The song exemplifies the global, viral capabilities — and oddities — of the Internet. The official video, with Telo singing along with an adoring crowd of Brazilian beauties, has over 760 million views as of July 2017.

Dancing Neymar

“There’s some magic element to the song,” Telo said by telephone. “We recently toured in Europe and people were singing the song in Germany, in Holland, in Russia, in Switzerland, all these places. These people don’t know a word of Portuguese and they’re singing along.” “We could never have imagined this,” said Som Livre CEO Marcelo Soares. “This was a first for us, a first for any of our artists, a first for anywhere in Brazil. It was absolutely unexpected.”

Michel Telo

The song represents something new in Brazil as well. Part of the 1960s allure of “Girl from Ipanema” (also about a man admiring a passing beauty) was the sensual, nostalgic atmosphere it radiated. In a time of financial anxiety and political divisiveness, perhaps “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” offers another kind of escape, to a carefree moment of celebration and unity. “The song reflects the happiness and joy and the identity of the Brazilian people, and that’s what’s being carried around the world,” Telo said.

Antonio Dyggs, Sharon Acioly & Michel Telo

Ai Se Eu Te Pego (Michel Teló)

Nossa, nossa
Assim você me mata
Ai, se eu te pego,
Ai, ai, se eu te pego

Delícia, delícia
Assim você me mata
Ai, se eu te pego
Ai, ai, se eu te pego

No Sábado na balada
A galera começou a dançar
E passou a menina mais linda
Tomei coragem e comecei a falar

Nossa, nossa
Assim você me mata
Ai, se eu te pego
Ai, ai se eu te pego

Delícia, delícia
Assim você me mata
Ai, se eu te pego
Ai, ai, se eu te pego

No Sábado na balada
A galera começou a dançar
E passou a menina mais linda
Tomei coragem e comecei a falar

Nossa, nossa
Assim você me mata
Ai, se eu te pego
Ai, ai se eu te pego

Delícia, delícia
Assim você me mata
Ai, se eu te pego
Ai, ai, se eu te pego

Nossa, nossa
Assim você me mata
Ai, se eu te pego
Ai, ai se eu te pego

Delícia, delícia
Assim você me mata
Ai, se eu te pego
Ai, ai, se eu te pego

Inna - Ai Se Eu Te Pego

If I Catch You (Michel Telo)

Ow, wow, this way you're gonna kill me
Oh, if I catch you
Oh, my God if I catch you

Delicious, delicious
This way you're gonna kill me
Oh, if I catch you
Oh, my God, if I catch you

Saturday at the party
Everybody started to dance
Then the prettiest girl past in front of me
I got closer and started to say...

Wow, wow, this way you're gonna kill me
Oh, if I catch you
Oh, my God, if I catch you

Delicious, delicious
This way you're gonna kill me
Oh, if I catch you
Oh, my God if I catch you

Saturday at the party
Everybody started to dance
Then the prettiest girl past in front of me
I got closer and started to say...

Wow, wow, this way you're gonna kill me
Oh, if I catch you
Oh, my God, if I catch you

Delicious, delicious
This way you're gonna kill me
Oh, if I catch you
Oh, my God if I catch you

Wow, wow, this way you're gonna kill me
Oh, if I catch you
Oh, my God, if I catch you

Delicious, delicious
This way you're gonna kill me
Oh, if I catch you
Oh, my God if I catch you 

Ai Se Eu Te Pego

Michel Teló & Neymar - Ai Se Eu Te Pego