A Spanish-language translation of the song titled "Ritmo Total" was also recorded and features additional lyrical contributions by Rafael Pérez-Botija.
Upon its release, "Rhythm Divine" was met with positive reactions from music critics, who found it to be catchy and among the album's best tracks.
Commercially, it reached number one in the Czech Republic, Romania, and Spain and peaked within the top 10 in Canada, Finland, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, and Norway, as well as on the Billboard Dance Club Songs in the United States.
The music video for "Rhythm Divine" was directed by Francis Lawrence and was filmed in Hawaii; Malibu, California; and Chinatown, Los Angeles.
[7] The single, along with Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "I Need to Know" by Marc Anthony, contributed to the "Latin Pop Explosion" of 1999.
A Spanish-language version of song, "Ritmo Total", was also recorded with additional lyrical contributions from Spanish musician Rafael Pérez-Botija.
[13] "Rhythm Divine" is a "flamenco-flavored" rhythmic romantic dance-pop ballad that mixes Latin and Mediterranean music with "classic pop touches like synthesized beats".
[19] Lyrically, The Village Voice editor Grace Bastidas compared it to "We Are the World" by USA for Africa, calling it "the kind of anthem that's supposed to unite nations of the Olympics-'from the coast of Ipanema to the island of Capri'".
[20] In the lyrics, Iglesias asks "can you feel the rhythm" and chants "viva la música" ("long live music").
[39] Throughout the video, Iglesias is seen chasing a woman starting from a hotel room in Hawaii, to a salon, and finally through a party crowd street in Chinatown.
[44] The Spanish version won in the category of Best Clip of the Year in the Latin field at the 2000 Billboard Video Music Awards.
[45] In the review of Enrique, AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that while "Bailamos" was a breakthrough hit for the artist, he stated that the song "pales in comparison with much of the first half of the album", citing "Rhythm Divine" as one of the tracks.
[11] Billboard editor Chuck Taylor felt that "Rhythm Divine" is "masterfully produced" and "passionately sung", and the magazine predicted that it would allow Iglesias to increase his commercial potential.
[48] Calling it "infectious", Edna Gundersen of USA Today referred to "Rhythm Divine" as one of the album's "several deeply romantic tracks that reveal the Iglesias gene for seductive crooning".
[51] Ramiro Burr of the San Antonio Express-News felt that the singer is "at his best on rhythmic romantic ballads, highlighting "Rhythm Divine" as an example.
[17] In a mixed review of Enrique, the Knoxville News Sentinel's Chuck Campbell listed "Bailamos" and "Rhythm Divine" as the "singer's best gimmick" in "his sweeping (albeit sterile) dance songs that combine romance with anthemic choruses".
[71] The song rose up the ranking over the next seven weeks, settling at a peak of number 32 on 22 January 2000 to give Iglesias his second top-40 single on the Hot 100.
[74][75] The Spanish version, "Ritmo total", gave Iglesias his 12th number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart, topping the ranking for four weeks in 1999 and 2000.
[77][78][79] In Canada, on 6 December 1999, "Rhythm Divine" appeared at number 29 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, becoming that week's highest debut.
[86] Iglesias performed "Rhythm Divine" at several holiday concerts promoted by local radio stations in Houston,[87] Boston,[88] and New York.
[90] A month after the performance at the award ceremony, he sang "Rhythm Divine" at the 2000 Viña del Mar International Song Festival and later at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
[93][94] "Rhythm Divine" was one of three songs Iglesias performed along with "Bailamos" and "Be with You" after being interviewed by Dan Matheson on CTV's Canada AM on 5 April 2000.
[19][96] Radio personality Howard Stern obtained an "off-the-board feed" tape of Iglesias singing "Rhythm Divine" while the artist was lip syncing to the song during a performance in Europe.