[1] It achieved mainstream success when Colombian singer Shakira covered it on her ninth studio album Sale el Sol.

Upon its release, "Rabiosa" received generally favourable reviews from music critics, some of whom deemed it one of the strongest tracks on Sale el Sol.

"Rabiosa" was written by artists Armando Pérez, better known by his stage name Pitbull, Edward Bello, and Shakira, for the singer's ninth studio album Sale el Sol (2010).

[3] The album marked the first time she worked with Bello, who is better known by his stage name El Cata, and their collaboration started after Shakira expressed her desire to experiment with merengue music, saying "I grew up listening to merengue— that was a big part of my life, and I was missing it".

[4] Merengue is a type of music and dance originating in the Dominican Republic, and after being referred to Bello by Pitbull, Shakira travelled to the country and began recording sessions with him in his "tiny" studio in Santo Domingo.

English and Spanish words are mixed together in various lines, such as when Shakira sings "Oye papi, if you like it mocha / Come get a little closer and bite me en la boca".

James Reed from The Boston Globe appreciated Shakira's "sly and vampy" vocals, and termed "Rabiosa" an "irresistible merengue hybrid".

[11] Michelle Morgante from Boston.com called the track a "new merengue-rock hybrid that lays down bare horn riffs over a driving beat in a groove that is irresistible".

[12] Jennifer Schaffer from The Stanford Daily deemed it one of the "best tracks on the album", praising its dance beats and calling it an "undeniably sexy song you’d expect from a Shakira/Pitbull collaboration".

[13] Carlos Macias from Terra USA, however, gave the song a negative review, writing it off as a "cheaper version of "Loca"" and criticising Pitbull's collaboration.

[15] At the 2011 Los Premios 40 Principales awards ceremony, "Rabiosa" was nominated for "Mejor Canción Internacional en Español" ("Best International Song in Spanish").

[43][44] Scenes of Shakira pole dancing while wearing a black string bra and knickers and sporting her normal long blonde hair are inter-cut throughout the video.

[37] Becky Bain from Idolator found Shakira's pole dancing sequence similar to the video of Britney Spears' 2007 single "Gimme More", but joked that it is "not terribly depressing and certainly not shot in about 15 minutes".

[46] Ann Lee from Metro also found the video similar to the one for "She Wolf" and commended Shakira's pole dancing ability, noting that she "ups the raunch factor" and "gets pulses racing".