Mis Romances | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 20 November 2001 | |||
Studio | Cello Studios (Hollywood, California) Record Plant (Los Angeles, California) Abbey Road Studios (London, England) | |||
Genre | Bolero | |||
Length | 38:55 | |||
Language | Spanish | |||
Label | Warner Music Latina | |||
Producer | Luis Miguel | |||
Luis Miguel chronology | ||||
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Singles from Mis Romances | ||||
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Mis Romances (English: My Romances) [1] is the fourteenth studio album of Mexican singer Luis Miguel, released on 20 November 2001 by Warner Music Latina. It is the fourth album in the Romance series wherein Luis Miguel covers bolero standards from Latin America and includes two original compositions. Produced by Luis Miguel, the album was recorded at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, California with the participation of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Abbey Road Studios in London, England. The recording was promoted by three singles: "Amor, Amor, Amor", "Cómo Duele", and "Al Que Me Siga". It was further promoted by a tour in 2002 that had Luis Miguel performing in the United States, Latin America, and Spain. It was the highest-grossing tour of the year by a Latin artist in the U.S.
Mis Romances was neither a critical nor a commercial success. It was met with unfavorable reviews from critics who felt the record was too similar to its predecessors and lambasted Luis Miguel for not evolving his artistic style. Commercially, it peaked at number two on Billboard's Top Latin Albums and was the second bestselling Latin album of 2002 in the United States. Additionally, it reached number one in Argentina and was the bestselling record of the year in Mexico. Within nine days of its release. Mis Romances sold over 1.5 million copies, but failed to meet the record label's expectations. The album also won the Billboard Latin Music Award for "Latin Pop Album of the Year by a Male Artist" and "Album of the Year" at the 2002 Premio de la Gente.
In 1991, Luis Miguel released his eighth studio album, Romance , a collection of classic boleros, the oldest dating to the 1940s. The record was Produced by Armando Manzanero and arranged by Bebu Silvetti, [2] and was a success in Latin America and sold over seven million copies worldwide. [3] [4] It revived interest in the bolero genre, and was the first recording by a Spanish-speaking artist to be certified Gold in Brazil, Taiwan and the United States. [4] It received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Pop Album. [5] [6] Its follow-up, Segundo Romance , was issued in 1994; Manzanero, Juan Carlos Calderón and Kiko Cibrian co-produced the disc with Luis Miguel, winning a Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance. [7] [8] In 1997, Romances was launched, with Luis Miguel and Manzanero co-producing Silvetti's arrangements; [9] it sold over 4.5 million copies, winning another Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance. [10] [11]
By the time of Romances release, some music journalists felt that the bolero albums were becoming formulaic. Achy Obejas of the Chicago Tribune wondered how long Luis Miguel "can dig into the oldies bag and come up with a credible record" as she felt that he was beginning to "slip" in the disc. [12] Similarly, The San Diego Union-Tribune music critic Ernesto Portillo Jr., while giving Romances a positive review, questioned the need for a third album in the Romance series as he felt it "diminishes the specialness" of Romance and Segundo Romance. [13] After Romances, Luis Miguel released Amarte Es un Placer (1999), a record with original material, and Vivo (2000), a live album. [14] [15]
On 28 September 2001, Luis Miguel confirmed that his next album would be another collection of bolero standards and containing original compositions. He also announced that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra would be assisting with the string arrangements for the string arrangements. [16] Mis Romances was recorded at the Record Plant in Hollywood, California while the string sections were arranged at Abbey Road Studios in London, England under the direction of Nick Davies. [17] [18] Luis Miguel handled the productions of the album himself. [19] He later held a press conference on 30 November 2001 at the Casa Casuarina in Miami, Florida where he affirmed that Mis Romances would be the fourth record in a series of ten bolero albums. [20]
As with its predecessors, Mis Romances features cover versions of bolero standards performed with string arrangements and a synthesizer. [21] "Amor, Amor, Amor" (composed by Ricardo López Méndez and Gabriel Ruiz) and "La Última Noche" (composed by Bobby Collazo) are uptempo tracks with a disco influence. [17] [21] [22] Luis Miguel also covers Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera's tango, "Volver". [23] The opening track "¿Qué Sabes Tú?", originally composed by Myrta Silva, [17] utilizes a harmonica section at the beginning. [24] Mis Romances also includes two original compositions: "Cómo Duele" and "Al Que Me Siga", composed by Armando Manzanero and Manuel Alejandro respectively. [22] "Cómo Duele" tells of a narrator who is in pain "because of his selfish ways". [24]
"Amor, Amor, Amor" was released as the lead single for Mis Romances on 1 October 2001. [18] It peaked at number 13 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart. [25] The music video for the song was directed by Rebecca Blake and filmed in the same month. [26] It also served as the main theme for the Mexican telenovela El Manantial (2001). [27] The second single, "Cómo Duele", was released in February 2002; [28] it reached the top of the Hot Latin Songs chart, becoming Luis Miguel's fifteenth number-one song. [25] The album's third single "Al Que Me Siga" peaked at number 21 on the Hot Latin Songs. [25]
To promote Mis Romances, Luis Miguel began his Mis Romances Tour on 24 January 2002 in San Diego, California. [29] After touring in the United States for a month, he performed one show in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. [30] Afterwards, he presented 13 shows in Mexico, including 12 consecutive shows at the National Auditorium. [31] He also performed five shows at the Auditorio Coca-Cola in Monterrey, Mexico. [32] Luis Miguel continued touring in the United States and ended the first leg of the tour 13 April 2002. [33]
Luis Miguel commenced the second leg of his tour on 12 September 2002 in Chula Vista, California and presented three more shows in the United States. [34] Luis Miguel's concerts in the country grossed over $16 million, the highest-grossing tour of the year by a Latin artist. [35] After his performances in the United States, he made five recitals in Spain. [36] He continued the second leg in South America performing in Chile, Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina. [37] The tour concluded on 14 December 2002 in the Dominican Republic. [38]
The Los Angeles Times editor Agustin Gurza compared Luis Miguel's box office sales at the Universal Amphitheater to Julio Iglesias and noted that it contrasted with the low sales of Mis Romances. [39] The set list consisted of boleros from Mis Romances and its predecessors, as well as pop tracks and ballads from his music career. [40]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [17] |
Chicago Sun-Times | [41] |
AllMusic critic Drago Bonacich rated the Mis Romances three out five stars noting that "Perfidia" had already been covered by several artists previously and regarded Luis Miguel's version of "Tú Me Acostumbraste" as "remembering one of Chilean Lucho Gatica's favorites". [17] Leila Cobo of Billboard magazine called the album's production "predictable" despite being "bolstered" by Luis Miguel's vocals. Cobo cited the disc's usage of "heavy strings and synthesizers" and the disco-influenced songs such as "Amor, Amor, Amor" as examples of Luis Miguel's artistic style remaining "virtually unchanged". [21] Laura Emerick of the Chicago Sun-Times rated the record two-and-a-half out of four stars and believed that Luis Miguel "once-distinctive approach" had "descended into formula". She felt that it may have been due to Manzanero and Silvetti's absence on the album and stated that Miguel "clearly needs to find a new way of expressing his love jones, unless he wants to run the risk of becoming the Jerry Vale" of Latin pop. [41]
The Washington Post critic Fernando Gonzalez highlighted Mis Romances as an example of the lack of artistic creativity in the Latin pop field. He regarded Luis Miguel's decision to record another bolero a "concession to a lack of fresh ideas" and called Luis Miguel a "one-note performer". Gonzalez also opined that the artist had a "lack of nuance in his readings of lyrics and he shows little interest in phrasing, pacing or dynamics". [23] Despite lauding the record's "exquisite arrangements" and "dazzling orchestrations", Eliseo Cardona of the Miami Herald remarked that the production "oozes formula". Cardona felt that Luis Miguel was "more interested in his bank account than his artistic and musical evolution" and that the album was recorded "with an irritating urgency" due to Luis Miguel producing the album himself. [19] An editor for Latin Styles magazine wrote a more positive review of the album: the critic praised Luis Miguel for utilizing the string arrangements by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and called "Cómo Duele" one of the "most power compositions" in the disc. The editor closed the review by naming it a "one of a kind" album and "a must for all those who love a romantic ballad." [24]
At the 2002 Billboard Latin Music Awards, Mis Romances won the award for Pop Album of the Year by a Male Artist. [42] At the fourth annual Ritmo Latino Music Awards in the same year, it won in the category of Album of the Year. [43] At the 2002 ALMA Awards, it was nominated Spanish language album of the year, [44] but lost to Libre by Marc Anthony. [45]
Mis Romances was released on 20 November 2001. [17] In the United States, it debuted and peaked at number two on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart on the week of 8 December 2001, with Marc Anthony's Libre holding off the number one position. [46] The album also debuted on the top of the Latin Pop Albums chart and spent fourteen weeks in this position. [47] [48] It ended 2002 as the second bestselling Latin album of the year in the United States after Libre. [49] It was certified quadruple Platinum in the Latin field in America by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 400,000 copies. [50] In Mexico, the record was awarded quadruple Platinum for shipping 600,000 units and was the bestselling album of the year in that country. [51] [52] Mis Romances sold over 25,000 units in Central America and was certified Platinum in the region. [28] In South America, it was certified Gold in Brazil and Chile, [53] [54] and peaked at number three on the Uruguay Albums Chart. [55] In Argentina, Mis Romances debuted atop the albums chart and the disc was certified double Platinum by the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers for shipping 120,000 copies. [56] [57] In Spain, it peaked at number two on the albums chart and was certified triple Platinum by the Productores de Música de España for shipping 300,000 copies. [58] Mis Romances sold over 1.5 million copies within nine days of its release—less than expected by his record label. [59] [60]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "¿Qué Sabes Tú?" | Myrta Silva | 4:48 |
2. | "Tú Me Acostumbraste" | Frank Domínguez | 2:34 |
3. | "Perfidia" | Alberto Domínguez | 3:26 |
4. | "Amor, Amor, Amor" | 3:42 | |
5. | "Cómo Duele" | Armando Manzanero | 3:52 |
6. | "Toda una Vida" | Oswaldo Farres | 3:14 |
7. | "El Tiempo Que Te Quede Libre" | José Ángel Espinoza | 2:26 |
8. | "Amorcito Corazón" | Jesús Camacho Villaseñor | 2:50 |
9. | "La Última Noche" | Bobby Collazo | 3:49 |
10. | "Volver" | 3:41 | |
11. | "Al Que Me Siga" | Manuel Alejandro | 4:33 |
Adapted from AllMusic: [61]
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Argentina (CAPIF) [70] | 4× Platinum | 160,000^ |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [53] | Gold | 50,000* |
Central America (CFC) [28] | Platinum | 25,000 [28] |
Chile [54] | Gold | 10,000 [71] |
Colombia (ASINCOL) [70] | Gold | 20,000 [72] |
Mexico (AMPROFON) [51] | 4× Platinum | 700,000 [73] |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [58] | 3× Platinum | 400,000 [74] |
United States (RIAA) [75] | 4× Platinum (Latin) | 400,000^ |
Venezuela (APFV) [70] | Platinum | 20,000 [76] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri is a Mexican singer and record producer. Born in Puerto Rico to an Italian mother and a Spanish father, he is often referred to as El Sol de Mexico, derived from the nickname his mother gave him as a child: "Mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in multiple genres and styles, including pop songs, ballads, boleros, tangos, jazz, big band, and mariachi. Luis Miguel is also recognized as the only Latin singer of his generation not to cross over to the Anglo market during the "Latin Explosion" in the 1990s.
Mexican recording artist Luis Miguel has released 21 studio albums, 30 compilation albums, three extended plays (EP) two live albums, two soundtrack albums and five box set. Luis Miguel has sold over 60 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists of all time. Luis Miguel is also the artist with the second-most number ones on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart with nine albums. At the age of 11, he released his debut studio album, Un Sol (1982), which was certified platinum and gold in Mexico. The artist would release four more studio albums under the record label EMI: Directo al Corazón (1982), Decídete (1983), También es Rock (1984), and Palabra de Honor (1984). A Portuguese-language version of Decídete and Palabra de Honor were released in Brazil as Decide Amor and Meu Sonho Perdido, respectively. Luis Miguel made his acting debut in the film as the lead role on Ya nunca más (1984) and recorded its soundtrack. In 1985, he participated in the Sanremo Music Festival 1985 with the song "Noi ragazzi di oggi"; it placed second in the Big Artist category and was later included on the Italian-language edition of Palabra de Honor. In the same year, Luis Miguel recorded the soundtrack for the film Fiebre de amor, which he co-starred with fellow Mexican singer Lucero.
Romances is the twelfth studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel, released on 12 August 1997, by WEA Latina. It is the third album of the Romance series, in which Luis Miguel covers Latin songs from 1940 to 1978. Aside from Luis Miguel, the production also involved arranger Bebu Silvetti, and Armando Manzanero, who directed all of Luis Miguel's Romance albums. Romances consists of twelve cover versions and two new compositions by Manzanero and Silvetti. Recording took place in early 1997 at the Ocean Way recording studio in Los Angeles, California.
Romance is the eighth studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. It was released by WEA Latina on 19 November 1991. Although the production was originally intended as another collaboration with Juan Carlos Calderón, that plan was scrapped when Calderón was unable to compose songs for the album. Facing a new-material deadline in his recording contract, at his manager's suggestion Miguel chose bolero music for his next project. Mexican singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero was hired by WEA Latina to co-produce the album with Miguel. Recording began in August 1991 at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, California, with Bebu Silvetti the arranger.
Segundo Romance is the tenth studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel, released on 30 August 1994 through WEA Latina. Like Luis Miguel's 1991 album Romance, Segundo Romance comprises cover versions of boleros written between 1934 and 1993. It was produced by Luis Miguel with Juan Carlos Calderón, Kiko Cibrian and Armando Manzanero and recorded in early 1994 at the Record Plant in Los Angeles.
Aries is the ninth studio album by Mexican recording artist Luis Miguel. It was released by WEA Latina on 22 June 1993. After attaining commercial success in 1991 with his previous album, Romance, Luis Miguel decided to return to a style similar to his earlier work, featuring pop ballads and dance numbers with R&B influences. The record was produced by Miguel, who was assisted by Kiko Cibrian, Rudy Pérez, David Foster, and Juan Luis Guerra.
"Sol, Arena y Mar" is a song written by Arturo Perez, Francisco Loyo, and Salo Loyo and co-written, produced, and performed by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. It is a horn-driven uptempo pop song with jazz influence which deals with a strained relationship. The song's lyrics were rumored to have been influenced by Miguel's previous relationship with Daisy Fuentes. It was released as the lead single from the album Amarte Es un Placer on 19 July 1999.
"Dormir Contigo" is a song written by Armando Manzanero and produced and performed by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. The song is a pop ballad in which the protagonist expresses the joy of sleeping with his partner. It was released as the third single from the album Amarte Es un Placer in January 2000. The track peaked at number 11 Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States and number two on the Latin Pop Songs chart.
Nada Es Igual is the eleventh studio album by Mexican recording artist Luis Miguel. It was released by WEA Latina on 20 August 1996. The album has a musical style similar to his previous pop album Aries (1993) on which Miguel performs power ballads and R&B tunes. Recording took place at the Record Plant Studios in February 1996, with production handled by Miguel and his longtime associate Kiko Cibrian. Its songwriting was assisted by Cibrian, Rudy Pérez, and Alejandro Lerner. The album was promoted by three singles: "Dame", "Cómo Es Posible Que a Mi Lado", and "Que Tú Te Vas"; the former became the most successful single reaching number two and number one on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Songs charts, respectively. To further promote the recording, Miguel launched the Tour America 1996 where he performed in several South American countries.
33 is the fifteenth studio album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. It was released through Warner Music Latina on 30 September 2003. It is a pop record which contains pop ballads and uptempo disco numbers. The album was produced by Miguel and recorded in Hollywood, California. 33 was promoted by two singles: "Te Necesito" and "Un Te Amo". It was also promoted by a tour which lasted from 2003 to 2004. Several songwriters including Armando Manzanero, Juan Luis Guerra, and Kike Santander contributed to the compositions in the record.
América & en Vivo is a live extended play (EP) by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. It was released on 25 September 1992 by WEA Latina. The EP consists of three live versions of "Inolvidable", No Sé Tú", and "Contigo en la Distancia" from his performance at the National Auditorium in Mexico during his Romance Tour on June 26, 1992, as well as a new track "America, America", originally performed by Nino Bravo. "America, America" was released as a single and peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. The EP was rated three out of five stars by an editor on AllMusic and received a positive review from Mario Taradell of the Miami Herald, who praised his vocals and the production of the EP. América & En Vivo peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart and was certified platinum in Argentina by the Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers (CAPIF).
Mis Boleros Favoritos is a compilation album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. Released on 8 October 2002 by Warner Music Latina, it contains thirteen previously-recorded songs from the Romance-themed albums as well as a new track "Hasta Que Vuelvas". A special edition of the record was released on the same day and includes a DVD containing seven music videos from the bolero-themed discs. "Hasta Que Vuelvas" was released as a single for the album and peaked at number 16 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States. Iván Adaime of AllMusic gave the album a 3.5 out of 5 star rating citing that the new song and music videos are the only incentives for fans to buy it and noted the album's purpose to end the Romance era. "Hasta Que Vuelvas" received a Latin Grammy nomination for Record of the Year in 2003. Commercially, Mis Boleros Favoritos peaked at number three on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart in the United States, number one in Spain, and number seven in Argentina.
Todos Los Romances is a box set compilation album by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. Released on 11 August 1998 by WEA Latina, the record features the three previously released Romance-themed albums in which Miguel covered classic boleros in each of them: Romance (1991), Segundo Romance (1994), and Romances (1997). An editor for AllMusic rated the album four of five stars. Commercially, Todos Los Romances peaked at number four in Spain and was certified double Platinum in the country. It also achieved Gold status in Argentina and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard's Top Latin Albums in the United States.
The Mis Romances Tour was a concert tour performed by Luis Miguel during the year 2002 to promote his 2001 album Mis Romances. The tour consisted in 63 concerts and ran through US, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. In February he performed at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California for six consecutive sold-out nights drawing more than 32,000 spectators, beating his previous record of five consecutive concerts in this venue, he played also two more concerts in September. Miguel performed at Mexico's Aztec Stadium for first time in his career in front of 80,000 spectators, and also gave twelve nights at National Auditorium in Mexico City.
"Por Debajo de la Mesa" is a song written by Armando Manzanero and performed by Mexican recording artist Luis Miguel. Arranged by Bebu Silvetti, it was one of the two original compositions written for Miguel's fifteenth studio album Romances. It was released as the lead single from the album on 15 July 1997 and it became his thirteenth number-one single on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States. The music video features Miguel performing at a fine-dining restaurant in New York City.
"O Tú o Ninguna" is a song written by Juan Carlos Calderón and produced and performed by Mexican singer Luis Miguel. The song is a bolero in which the protagonist cannot envision his life without anyone else besides his love interest. It was released as the second single from the album Amarte Es un Placer on 6 September 1999. The track topped the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart; and reached the top-five in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama.
"Inolvidable" ("Unforgettable") is a song written by Julio Gutiérrez in 1944. It is considered one of the most popular boleros released during the Cuban musical movement led by pianists. The song has been recorded by several performers, including Roberto Carlos, Diego El Cigala, Fania All-Stars, Eydie Gormé, Danny Rivera, Tito Rodríguez and Bebo Valdés, among others.
"Contigo En La Distancia" is a bolero which was written by the Cuban singer-songwriter César Portillo de la Luz when he was 24 years old. It was written in the year 1946.
"No Sé Tú" is a song written and performed by Mexican singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero, released from his studio album, Cariñosamente (1986). A popular bolero song, the lyrics describe the protagonist unable to stop thinking about his lover. Manzanero re-recorded "No Sé Tú" as a duet with Francisco Céspedes on Manzanero's album Duetos (2001). It was listed among Manzanero's best songs by an editor for BBC Mundo.