The song was released for digital download and streaming by Sony Music Latin and Duars Entertainment on December 9, 2021, as the fifth single from the album.

The track received widely positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its danceable and catchy rhythm and the singers' vocals.

[3][4] It featured a 17-second interlude, entitled "Track 4", consisting of electronic sounds and a robot voice repeating the word "loading".

[7] On December 9, 2021, "Desesperados" was released for digital download and streaming by Sony Music Latin and Duars Entertainment as the fifth single from Vice Versa and replaced "Track 4" on the album.

[6][15] The song was written by Alejandro, Corleone, Jorge Cedeño Echevarria, Nino Segarra, NaisGai, Colla, Kenobi, and Eric Duars.

Its production was handled by Alejandro, Dulce como Candy, Dimelo Ninow, and NaisGai,[16] and the track runs for a total of 3 minutes and 44 seconds.

In his review for Billboard, Jason Lipshutz described the track as "shiny", saying it "draws out both of their respective strengths while adhering to the contours of the full-length it's joining".

[19] Rolling Stone critic Lucas Villa described Alejandro's vocals as "smooth" and commented that the track successfully embodys both the reggaeton's "past and present".

[15] Los 40's Carolina Rodriguez Conza noted that its "series of reggaeton sounds and catchy rhythms" make the listeners "dance non-stop".

[10] In another article, she described it as "a single with pure sounds of the urban genre that left us speechless and wanting to hear more from Puerto Rico".

[20] Nadia Juanes from El Rescate Musical applauded the song for being "perfect for dancing at any party",[21] while Raphael Helfand of The Fader described its rhythm as "infectious".

[6] An author of Monitor Latino gave "Desesperados" a positive review, labeling it "[a] great single" that "shines twice as much thanks to the collaboration" of Corleone on Alejandro's song.

critic Rebecah Jacobs introduced Alejandro as "breakout Latin music sensation" and Ocio Latino staff named him a "phenomenon" in their respective reviews of the song.

It peaked at number one in Bolivia,[48] Colombia,[49] Dominican Republic,[50] Ecuador,[51] Honduras,[52] Nicaragua,[53] Peru,[54] and Uruguay,[55] and reached the top 10 in Argentina,[56] Chile,[57] Costa Rica,[58] El Salvador,[59] Guatemala,[60] Latin America,[61] Mexico,[62] Panama,[63] and Paraguay.

[68] On November 17, 2022, Alejandro gave a live performance of "Lejos del Cielo", "Más de Una Vez", "Desesperados", and "Punto 40" at the 23rd Annual Latin Grammy Awards.