Iglesias told Billboard that even though he usually writes or co-writes the songs he sings on, he didn't provide songwriting on the track.

"When I wrote the beginning of the song—'Did he take you to the moon, and I couldn't do that'—that part hit me really hard," Nicky Jam told Billboard.

The release, with strong first week digital sales, brought the single to reach number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100.

On September 1, 2015, the video for "Forgiveness", directed by Jessy Terrero, debuted on Jam's channel on YouTube, and has more than 45 million views.

The single also peaked at number one in Spain, France, Italy and Netherlands and charted in the top five in Switzerland and Belgium.