"Don't Wanna Lose You" is a song written and recorded by Cuban-American singer-songwriter Gloria Estefan. It was released on June 21, 1989, via Epic Records, as the lead single to her solo debut studio album, Cuts Both Ways (1989). It was her first single released without the Miami Sound Machine. It was produced by Estefan's husband Emilio Estefan, Jorge Casas, and Clay Ostwald.
The pop ballad became a major success for the singer, becoming her second number one hit on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and reached top ten status in Belgium, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. "Don't Wanna Lose You" received a nomination for a Grammy Award in the category for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
International versions
Estefan also recorded "Si Voy a Perderte," which is the Spanish version of this song, (translated as "If I Am Going to Lose You.") "Si Voy a Perderte," also included on Cuts Both Ways, hit number one on the US BillboardHot Latin Tracks chart.
"Se tenho que te perder", (also translated as "If I've Got to Lose You") is the Portuguese version of this song, and was released as a single in Brazil, and as a bonus track on international editions of Estefan's Into the Light album. The Portuguese version was less successful than the English original, which ended being the fourth most played song in Brazilian radio in 1989.[1]
A rerecorded version of "Don't Wanna Lose You" was included in Estefan's 2020 album Brazil305.[2]
Critical reception
Bill Coleman from Billboard magazine wrote that the "emotive slow number" "I Don't Wanna Lose You" showcases the singer's "sensitive vocal."[3] A reviewer from Entertainment Weekly felt it "croon along smoothly".[4] Pan-European magazine Music & Media complimented the song as "a strong, melodic and well put together ballad that will undoubtedly do well."[5] Jerry Smith from Music Week declared it as "another epic ballad, superbly sung and sure to see the Miami sound gain prominence this side of the Atlantic."[6] Pat Thomas from Number One named it a "big ballad".[7] William Shaw from Smash Hits viewed it as a "scarf-swaying ballad of gargantuan soppiness." He added, "It's rather simple, not over the top, and Gloria — who wrote the song — doesn't wreck it by going too excessively mad on the vocal front. Poignant, I think the word is."[8]
Retrospective response
In a 2019 retrospective review, Matthew Hocter from Albumism wrote, "If ever a solo debut was to make its mark, this one well and truly did and this was never more evident than on the album’s lead single 'Don’t Wanna Lose You'".[9]AllMusic editor Jason Birchmeier praised the song as "super".[10] Another editor, Jon O'Brien, complimented it as "beautiful".[11] In 2014, Maryann Scheufele from AXS ranked it among Gloria Estefan's 10 Best Songs, adding that Estefan "inspires women to stand their ground and keep their love."[12] In 2013, Pip Ellwood-Hughes from Entertainment Focus featured the song in their list of "Our Top 10 Gloria Estefan Singles", describing it as a "power ballad".[13] In a 2016 review of the album, Pop Rescue found that "I Don't Wanna Lose You" sees Estefan "pitched against a wonderful synthscape and simple pop-rock beat. Occasional electric guitar chips in, but this is a song about giving Gloria enough space to sing her heartfelt lyrics over a somewhat minimal track."[14]
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