"Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" is a song by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin from his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded (2000).

A mid-tempo pop song and power ballad with elements of flamenco and Latin music, it is about heartbreak and longing.

The accompanying music videos for the duet and Spanish versions were directed by American director Wayne Isham and filmed in Florida.

[7] Martin re-recorded the song along with Christina Aguilera in Las Vegas in December 2000 for the 11th Annual Billboard Music Awards.

[8] Aguilera wrote about the re-recording in an online message: "An incredible music and career opportunity has come up for me to record a duet with Ricky Martin.

"[10] The duet was released to radio stations in the United States, by Columbia Records on January 16, 2001, as the second single from Sound Loaded.

[11] The track was not released in a major commercially available single format in the United States, and consumers could purchase the song only with buying the album.

[18] According to the duet version's sheet music on Musicnotes.com, "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" uses piano and guitar and is composed in the key of B♭ minor with a groove of 100 beats per minute.

[33] According to Stephen Daw from Billboard, "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" is a love song about "heartbreak" and "longing",[27][28] as well as "love, lose, and hope" according to mitú's Cristal Mesa,[34] with lyrics including, "Nobody wants to be lonely / Nobody wants to cry / My body's longing to hold you / So bad, it hurts inside / Time is precious and it's slipping away / And I've been waiting for you all of my life".

Billboard staff reviewed the duet version, following its release in January 2001, writing that the song was "edgier and sexier" than Martin's previous works and calling his vocal performance with Aguilera "radiant".

They described the track as "the combination of two of pop music's most sexually charged performers", mentioning the song's "sensuality" and its "feel-good vibe".

[36] British trade paper Music Week referred to the duet as a "pop swayer" and noted its "perfect" performance.

"[38] Writing for The Advocate, Gina Vivinetto praised "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely", saying the singers "blended their voices beautifully" on the track.

[34] In 2017, Bustle critic Mathew Jedeikin gave the song a positive review, saying it is "basically a cult classic".

[40] Kevin Apaza from Direct Lyrics labeled the song "an iconic hit",[41] and Mark Blankenship from NewNowNext described it as "spectacular".

[43] Writing for O, The Oprah Magazine, Amanda Mitchell ranked the track as Martin's third-best song on her 2019 list.

[52] The song was also nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards but lost to "Lady Marmalade" by Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mýa, and Pink.

[64][65] The Spanish-language version of the song, "Sólo Quiero Amarte", debuted at number 18 on Billboard Hot Latin Tracks on the chart issue dated February 10, 2001.

[66] It subsequently reached number one on April 7, 2001,[67] and stayed there for four weeks,[68] giving Martin his sixth number-one hit on the chart.

[70][71] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted and peaked at number four on March 4, 2001, staying on the UK Singles Chart for 12 weeks.

[72] In July 2020, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the song silver for sales and streams exceeding 200,000 units.

[101] The same month, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) certified the song gold for shipments of over 35,000 copies.

[102][103] The accompanying music video for "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" was filmed at the Miami Biltmore Hotel[104] in December 2000 and was directed by American director Wayne Isham,[105][49] who had also directed the videos for Martin's previous singles "Vuelve", "The Cup of Life", "La Bomba", "Livin' la Vida Loca", "She Bangs", and "Shake Your Bon-Bon".

[109] Mallory Schlossberg from Bustle described "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" video set as "pretty epic", saying: "The architecture steals the show.

Members of 2B, Bernice Chitiul and Laurentiu Barzoi performed the song on the second season of Romanian television series X Factor in 2012.

Coach Kelly Clarkson loved that Consoer "can handle any genre thrown" at her and couldn't "say no to such a versatile performer", while Gwen Stefani called Zamora "effortless".

Credits for "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" are lifted from the second European maxi-CD single liner notes and the Sound Loaded booklet.