"Maria" is a song by the American rock band Blondie. It was written by the band's keyboardist Jimmy Destri and was produced by Craig Leon. Taken from their seventh album, No Exit (1999), it was Blondie's first new release since 1982. "Maria" was released to US radio stations on January 5, 1999, then was issued as a retail single in Europe six days later. The song reached number one in the United Kingdom, giving Blondie their sixth UK chart-topper. The song also topped the charts of Greece and Spain, becoming a top-20 hit across Europe and in New Zealand. Its accompanying music video was directed by Roman Coppola.

Background and composition

"Maria" was written by the band's keyboardist, Jimmy Destri, who had penned some of their earlier hits such as "Atomic". He wrote the song while reflecting on his days in Catholic school, when he fantasized about meeting the ideal girl. According to Destri, the track is about teenage desire. A line from the song: "...like a millionaire/walking on imported air", was used in the previous Blondie track "Walk Like Me" (also written by Destri) from the album Autoamerican (1980), and the track shares a similar lyrical motif with their 1977 single "Rip Her to Shreds".

Release

"Maria" was serviced to all US radio formats on January 5, 1999, guitarist Chris Stein's 49th birthday. A CD release followed in Europe on January 11, 1999. The Daily Vault's Mark Millan called it a "pop gem", that "kicks off". He added that the singer's "commanding performance" really shows off her impressive range, and stated that "this one is still one of their best singles to date." Troy J. Augusto from Variety named it an "infectious standout song". In 2025, Classic Pop magazine ranked "Maria" number two in their list of "Top 20 Comeback Singles".

Chart performance

"Maria" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on February 7, 1999, giving Blondie their sixth UK number-one single and first chart-topper since "The Tide Is High" in November 1980.

:A1. "Maria" (Soul Solution full remix)

:A2. "Maria" (Soul Solution Bonus Beats)

:B1. "Maria" (Talvin Singh remix)

:B2. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic remix edit)

:B3. "Maria" (album version)

  • US maxi-CD single (The Remixes)
  1. "Maria" (Soul Solution full remix) – 9:27
  2. "Maria" (Talvin Singh remix) – 7:27
  3. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic remix edit) – 4:39
  4. "Maria" (album version) – 4:51
  • UK CD single
  1. "Maria" (radio edit)
  2. "Maria" (Soul Solution remix radio edit)
  3. "Maria" (Talvin Singh remix edit)
  • UK cassette single

:A. "Maria" (radio edit)

:B. "Maria" (Soul Solution remix radio edit)

  • European CD single
  1. "Maria" (radio edit) – 4:09
  2. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic remix) – 7:26
  • European limited-edition CD single
  1. "Maria" (radio edit)
  2. "Screaming Skin" (live)
  3. "In the Flesh" (live)
  • European maxi-CD single and Australian CD single
  1. "Maria" (radio edit) – 4:09
  2. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic remix) – 7:26
  3. "Maria" (Soul Solution remix radio edit) – 4:08
  4. "Maria" (album version) – 4:51

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the UK and US single liner notes.

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!scope="row"|Estonia (Eesti Top 20)

|14

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!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|5

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!scope="row"|Greece (IFPI)

|1

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!scope="row"|Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)

|10

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!scope="row"|Italy (Musica e dischi)

|15

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!scope="row"|Italy Airplay (Music & Media)

|9

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|-

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!scope="row"|Poland (Music & Media)

|1

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Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+

!scope="col"|Chart (1999)

!scope="col"|Position

|-

!scope="row"|Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)

|13

|-

!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)

|18

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!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|19

|-

!scope="row"|Germany (Media Control)

|11

|-

!scope="row"|Italy (Musica e dischi)

|98

|-

!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)

|70

|-

!scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100)

|78

|-

!scope="row"|Romania (Romanian Top 100)

|54

|-

!scope="row"|Spain (AFYVE)

|8

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!scope="row"|Sweden (Hitlistan)

|31

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!scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)

|20

|-

!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)

|33

|-

!scope="row"|UK Airplay (Music Week)

|26

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!scope="row"|US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)

|46

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!scope="row"|US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)

|24

|}

Certifications

Release history

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

!scope="col"|Region

!scope="col"|Date

!scope="col"|Format(s)

!scope="col"|Label(s)

!scope="col"|

|-

!scope="row"|United States

|January 5, 1999

|All radio formats

|rowspan="3"|Beyond

|

|-

!scope="row"|Europe

|January 11, 1999

|CD

|

|}

References