"La Camisa Negra" | ||||
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Single by Juanes | ||||
from the album Mi Sangre | ||||
Released | 24 January 2005 | |||
Recorded | 2004 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:36 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Juanes singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"La Camisa Negra" on YouTube |
"La Camisa Negra" ("The Black Shirt") is a Spanish rock song written by Juanes, inspired by Colombian singer-songwriter Octavio Mesa and recorded by Juanes for his third studio album Mi Sangre . In Latin America, the track was released in 2005 as the third single from Mi Sangre, and in Europe, it was released in 2006 as the album's lead single.
The song received mixed reviews from critics and generated controversy when it was used to support neo-fascism in Italy. Juanes strongly repudiated the misappropriation of his song for political purposes. The single was successful in Europe, topping several record charts. It was the summer hit of 2005 in Spain. [1]
"La Camisa Negra" is written in common time in the key of F-sharp minor. [3] The song is carried by a heavy bass guitar and an acoustic guitar strum at a moderate 100 beats per minute, with an accompanying melody on the electric guitar. [3] The lyrics are organized in the common verse-chorus form, [4] and Juanes' range spans around an octave and a half, from C#3 to F#4. [3]
The lyrics implies that the singer is bitterly wearing La Camisa Negra, the black shirt, as a way of mourning a failed love affair or even his own death, presumably singing to the object of his love. Some of the lyrics have double meanings or are structured to suggest more off-color phrases. Several sentences seem ready to end with an obscenity, before gliding into a new sentence that begins with a similar but non-obscene word. The sad lyrics are dissonant with the cheerful melody. [5]
The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(October 2015) |
The song received mixed reviews from critics. Contactmusic.com stated that the track "is a good intro into the world of Juanes as it fully exhibits his guitar style and absorbing voice." [6] MyVillage gave the song two out of five stars, commenting that it "has a certain charm about it, but I certainly won't mind missing the boat on this occasion." [7] IndieLondon called the song "a supremely slick acoustic ballad", stating that "the rolling guitar licks…provide a wonderful accompaniment." [8] OMH gave the song a mixed review, stating that "the powerful chorus has a rather catchy vocal melody to it" but that "it's like being promised a culinary banquet only to be served a few chicken nuggets." [9]
The song was used in Italy in support of neo-fascism because of the association of "black shirt" with the Fascist Blackshirts of Benito Mussolini, [10] and many nightclub attendees from the far right raised an arm in the fascist salute when the song was played. [11] In response, left-wing media network Indymedia called for a boycott of the song. [11] Juanes later stated that "'La Camisa Negra' has got nothing to do with fascism or Mussolini...People can interpret music in all kinds of ways I guess." [12] The song was also banned in the Dominican Republic for its sexual undertones. [13] It was also implicated in controversy at his August 2009 performance in Havana. [14] [15]
In the United States, the song performed quite well for a Spanish language recording reaching number eighty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100. [16] It performed much better on the Latin charts, topping the Hot Latin Tracks for eight non-consecutive weeks, [17] topping the Latin Pop Airplay, and reaching number two on the Latin Tropical Airplay. [16] Billboard listed the song at number two on the 2005 year-end Hot Latin Songs chart, behind fellow Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira's "La Tortura". [18] The song performed well in Europe, topping the charts in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland and reaching the top twenty in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway. [19] The single was certified gold in Switzerland [20] and it is one of the Top 10 singles in the country's history. [21] As of August 2014, it is the 51st best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 395,000 units sold. [22]
A music video for the song was released in 2005. In the video, Juanes arrives in a town, accompanied by two women (played by Colombian actresses Natalia Duran and Norma Nivia) and an older man. The man and women exit the car, and the man begins playing a guitar while the two dance. Various people are shown in realist street scenes. A wave comes out of the guitar, and aside from Juanes, everyone through whom the wave passes is frozen in time, performing the same motion repeatedly in forward and reverse. During the last chorus, the wave reverses direction, and the people of the town disappear. The waves emitted by the guitar are sucked back in to the guitar. The identity of the women and the old man, and their motives remain unexplained.
The song and video appear in the video games Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3 and Dance Dance Revolution X2 .
12" maxi single (House Remixes)
CD single #1
CD single #2
Maxi single (24 July 2005)
Weekly charts
| Monthly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
All-time charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Belgium (BEA) [84] | Gold | 25,000* |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [85] | Platinum | 8,000^ |
Germany (BVMI) [86] | Gold | 150,000^ |
Italy (FIMI) [87] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [88] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
Sweden (GLF) [89] | Gold | 10,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [90] | Gold | 20,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [91] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez, known professionally as Juanes, is a Colombian musician who was a member of the rock band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. Since releasing his solo debut album Fíjate Bien in 2000, Juanes has won 26 Latin Grammy Awards and sold more than 15 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time.
"La Tortura" is a song by Colombian singer Shakira, featuring Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz, from Shakira's sixth studio album, Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005). The song was written and produced by Shakira, with additional writing and production from longtime collaborators Luis Fernando Ochoa and Lester Mendez, respectively. It was released on 11 April 2005, by Epic Records, as the lead single from the album. "La Tortura" is a pop, reggaeton, and dancehall track, which lyrically tells the story of a woman who has been emotionally "tortured" because her boyfriend cheated and eventually left her for another, and has now returned begging forgiveness.
Mi Sangre is the third studio album by Colombian singer-songwriter Juanes, released on September 28, 2004.
"White Flag" is a song by English singer-songwriter Dido, released as the lead single from her second studio album, Life for Rent (2003). The song was first released to US radio on 7 July 2003 and was issued in the United Kingdom as a physical single on 1 September 2003. The song performed well on record charts around the world, peaking at number one in Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Portugal. In Dido's native UK, it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, and in the United States, it climbed to number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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"Temperature" is the third worldwide and the second US single from Jamaican musician Sean Paul's third studio album, The Trinity (2005). The song uses the dancehall riddim "Applause". Officially, there are two versions of the song, which only differ in their rhythm. The track was produced by Rohan "Snowcone" Fuller and received a positive reception from music critics. Released as the second US single in December 2005, the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the following year to become Paul's third US No. 1 single. The single also reached the top 10 in Canada and France and the top 20 in Australia and the United Kingdom. "Temperature" is widely regarded as Paul's signature song.
Colombian Latin rock singer-songwriter Juanes has sold an estimated 15 million records worldwide.
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