Tropical Airplay is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks the top-performing songs (regardless of genre or language) on tropical radio stations in the United States, based on weekly airplay data compiled by Nielsen's Broadcast Data Systems. [1] It is a subchart of Hot Latin Songs, which lists the best-performing Spanish-language songs in the country. [2] In 1997, 11 songs topped the chart, in 52 issues of the magazine.
The first number one of the year was "No Quiero Na' Regala'o" by Gilberto Santa Rosa, which had been in the top spot since the issue dated December 21, 1996, and spent a total of three weeks at this position. [3] It was succeeded by Grupo Manía's song "Linda Eh", which remained on top of the chart for four weeks. American singer Frankie Negrón released his debut album Con Amor Se Gana (1997), which was promoted by its singles "Inolvidable" (a cover version of Italian singer Laura Pausini's song) and "Hoy Me He Vuelto a Enamorar". [4] [5] Negrón spent 12 weeks at number one and "Inolvidable" was named the best-performing track of the year on the Tropical Airplay chart by the magazine. [6]
Brenda K. Starr achieved her first chart-topper with a salsa cover of Myriam Hernández's ballad "Herida". [7] Starr had previously established herself as a freestyle artist in the 1980s and returned to the music scene as a salsa artist with Te Sigo Esperando (1997) following the commercial failure of her previous album By Heart (1991). [8] She was the only female artist to have a number one on the Tropical Airplay chart in 1997. "Dile a Ella" by Víctor Manuelle held the top spot for the longest in 1997 at nine weeks. [9] The final number one of the year was "Y Hubo Alguien" by Marc Anthony which spent eight weeks at number one and became the first salsa song to top the Hot Latin Songs chart. [9]
† | Indicates number 1 on Billboard's year-end tropical chart [6] |
"No Me Ames" is a Latin pop duet recorded by American singers Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony for Lopez's debut studio album, On the 6 (1999). It is a Spanish cover version of the Italian song "Non Amarmi", written by Giancarlo Bigazzi, Marco Falagiani and Aleandro Baldi and recorded by Baldi and Francesca Alotta for Baldi's album Il Sole (1993). The song was translated into Spanish by Ignacio Ballesteros at Anthony's request. Two versions of the song were produced for On the 6; one as a ballad and the other as a salsa. The ballad version was produced by Dan Shea, while the salsa version was arranged and produced by Juan Vicente Zambrano. The music video was directed by Kevin Bray and received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Short Form Music Video. It served as the encore during the couple's co-headlining tour in 2007.
Frankie Negrón is a singer of salsa music and actor of Puerto Rican descent. He is among a group of notable young tropical singers and soneros who have woven a blend of pop, rock, gospel music, R&B, hip-hop, and reggaetón elements into their salsa, a group that includes Huey Dunbar, Charlie Cruz, Kevin Ceballo, and Obie Bermúdez. Siblings include a younger sister, Jaqueline Negrón, who is also a singer and dancer, and a brother, David Negrón.
"I Need to Know" is a song by American singer Marc Anthony for his eponymous fourth studio album. It was released as the lead single from the album on August 16, 1999. Written and produced by Anthony and Cory Rooney, "I Need to Know" is a song about a man who longs to know how a woman feels about him. The song blends the musical styles of several genres, including R&B and Latin music; the instruments used include synthesized violin and piano sounds, timbales and congas. Anthony recorded a Spanish-language version of the song, translated by Angie Chirino and Robert Blades, titled "Dímelo".
"Miente" is a song by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias from his second studio album, Vivir (1997). The song was written and produced by Rafael Pérez-Botija. It was released as the third single from the album in 1997. An uptempo pop power ballad backed by a piano and percussion, the song deals with the singer being in denial about a relationship ending.
The Tropical Airplay chart is a record chart published by Billboard magazine introduced in 1994. The first number-one song on the chart was "Quien Eres Tu" by Luis Enrique. Originally, rankings on the chart were determined by the amount of airplay a song received on radio stations that primarily played tropical music, namely music originating from the Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean such as salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, vallenato, and tropical fusions. Any song, regardless of its genre, was eligible for the chart if it received enough airplay from the panel of tropical music radio stations being monitored.
"Incancellabile" is a song written by Cheope, Marco Marati and Angelo Valsiglio and recorded by Italian singer Laura Pausini. It was released as the first single from the album Le cose che vivi in 1996. The song was also recorded in Spanish and Portuguese, with the titles "Inolvidable" and "Inesquecível", respectively. The Portuguese version is included only in the Brazilian version of the album.
"Y Hubo Alguien" is a song by American singer Marc Anthony from his third studio album, Contra la Corriente (1997). The song was written by Omar Alfanno, with record production being handled by Ángel "Cucco" Peña. It was released as the first promotional single from the album in 1997. A salsa song which combines elements of R&B, it describes a man who has found love again after his former lover left him. The song was inspired by a fight Alfanno had with his partner and pitched the song to RMM, but was turned down. Anthony offered to record the track after Alfanno presented it to him.
"Por Ese Hombre" is a song originally recorded by Argentine duo Pimpinela and Spanish singer Dyango for the former's fifth studio album, Lucía y Joaquín (1985). It was covered by American singer Brenda K. Starr and Puerto Rican singers Tito Nieves and Victor Manuelle, as the lead single for Starr's seventh studio album, Temptation (2002). Mexican singer Ana Bárbara and Mexican band La Original Banda El Limón also recorded the song for Bárbara's eleventh studio album, Yo Soy La Mujer (2014).
"Herida" (Wound) is a song originally recorded by Chilean singer Myriam Hernández as the third single from her second studio album, Dos (1990). The song reached number three on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart in 1991.
"Ironía" ("Irony") is a song written by Jankarlos Nuñez and performed by Puerto Rican salsa singer Frankie Ruiz on his final studio album Tranquilo (1996) and was released as the lead single from the album. It became his second and final one song on the Tropical Airplay chart and tied with "Loco de Amor" as the longest-running number one song of 1996 on the chart. In the song, the singer notes the irony of being lovers with a woman of higher class while he himself is poor. "Ironía" was the best-performing tropical song of 1996 in the United States. "Ironía" won the Billboard Latin Music Award for Hot Tropical/Salsa Track of the Year in 1997 and was recognized as one of the award-winning songs at the ASCAP Latin Awards in the same year.
"Loco de Amor" is a song by Puerto Rican singer Jerry Rivera from his seventh studio album Fresco, (1996). The song was written by Mary Lauret and produced by Sergio George and Cuto Soto. It is a salsa tune, in which Rivera confesses that he is crazy in love. The song received positive from music critics, being identified by them as a standout from the album. It was nominated for the Tropical Song of the Year award at the 9th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards in 1997 and was a recipient of the ASCAP Latin Award in the tropical field in the same year. In the United States, "Loco de Amor" reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and topped the Tropical Airplay chart, spending eight weeks at this position on the latter chart. A music video for the song was filmed in a barn.
"No Quiero Na' Regala'o" is a song by Puerto Rican salsa band El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico from their studio album De Punta a Punta (1971). Written by Perín Vasquez, it deals with the singer not wanting love merely out of pity.
"Dile a Ella" is a song written by Gil Francisco and performed by Puerto Rican salsa singer Víctor Manuelle on his fourth studio album A Pesar de Todo (1997). It was released as the lead single from the album. In the song, the singer asks his friend to tell a woman that he loved that he cannot forget her. It became his third #1 hit on the Tropical Airplay chart and spent nine weeks week on top, making it the longest-running tropical song of 1997. José A. Estévez, Jr. called it a tune that "bristles with uninhibited energy". Paul Verna of Billboard cited the song as one of the album's "amorous ditties". "Dile a Ella" was also listed on Billboard's "Best 15 Salsa Songs Ever". "Dile a Ella" won a BMI Latin Award in 1999.
"Hoy Me He Vuelto a Enamorar" is a song written by Jorge Luis Piloto and performed by American salsa singer Frankie Negrón on his debut studio album Con Amor Se Gana (1997). It was released as the second single from the album. Piloto specifically wrote the song for Negrón. In the song, the singer gets over his former lover by finding a new love interest. It became his second #1 hit on the Tropical Airplay chart. On the review of the album, the Newsday critic Richard Torres praised Negrón for being able to "convey the drama" on the track. Similarly, Alisa Valdes of the Boston Globe noted that the artist "seizes upon traditional montuno sounds to relax his reserve, and belts out some nice licks." The track was recognized as one of the best-performing songs of the year on the Tropical/salsa field at the 1998 ASCAP Latin Awards.
"Contra la Corriente" is a song by American singer Marc Anthony from his third studio album of the same name (1997). It was released in 1998 by RMM and served as the album's fifth single. The song was written by Omar Alfanno, with co-production handled by Ángel "Cucco" Peña and Anthony. "Contra la Corriente" is a salsa song, that lyrically recalls a "good love from the past."
"Agua Pasada" is a song written by Gil Francisco and performed by American salsa singer Frankie Negrón on his second studio album No Me Compares (1998). It was released as the lead single from the album. It became his third number one on the Tropical Airplay chart. On the review of the album, the Newsday critic Richard cited "Agua Pasada" and the title track where George and Negrón "deliver the salsa goods". John Lannert of Billboard called it a "sizzling leadoff single". "Agua Pasada" was nominated in the category of Tropical Song of the Year at the 11th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards, but lost to "Suavemente" by Elvis Crespo. It was acknowledged as an award-winning song at the 2000 BMI Latin Awards.